In a national survey released by CertainTeed Corporation, Valley Forge, Pa., and conducted for them by Opinion Research Corporation, 55 percent of the 1,040 respondents expressed concerned about mold in the home.
One in four adults surveyed said they have experienced a problem with mold in their homes or know someone who has. When asked about their largest concern regarding mold in the home, 65 percent of respondents cited a health risk to themselves or their families as their first choice. Thirty-one percent of respondents selected the expense of repairing their homes as their second choice and 27 percent of respondents said structural damage to their homes was their third largest concern.
So how would survey respondents take to buying an existing home that had a mold problem or purchasing a home from a builder who had a problem in the past? Not very well. In fact, 84 percent of survey respondents said they would not.
When asked what they would do should they discover mold in their houses, 56 percent of survey respondents said they’d call in a mold remediation expert, while 34 percent said they would try to clean it up themselves. Five percent actually indicated that they would move.
Forty-eight percent said they would sue a builder, previous owner or landlord if they found mold in the walls of their home. Forty-six percent said they would not sue and 8 percent said they don’t know what they would do.
The survey also queried respondents as to what they think is the most common cause of mold in the home. The answers? Forty-five percent of respondents said excess moisture, 15 percent indicated living in a humid climate, 13 percent said poor construction, 11 percent a leaking roof, 10 percent a leaking or burst pipe and 3 percent water spills. Another 3 percent responded that they didn’t know.
