Bathrooms can be very wet and humid places.
Water splashed onto floors,
wet shower walls with closed curtains or glass enclosures,
wet towels hung to dry,
and boys with bad aim,
can account for a lot of humidity in a bathroom. This is especially the case if there is no exhaust fan----or if the fan is not functional or doesn't get used.
These conditions make for a great place to grow a good batch of mold. While some of this will be apparent on grout lines, the corners of the tub and shower, and on walls and ceilings, the condition can be concealed by recent painting, caulking and cleaning----as is common when the house is put on the market.
The inspector wants to know how the bathroom is doing moisture wise. He or she wants to know if a month after the inspection, whether all the painted-over mold going to break through the surface like some creature in a science fiction movie.
There is usually one place that gets overlooked in the quest to eliminate this unsightly condition prior to sale. This is the coldest and wettest place in the bathroom. Even under the best of conditions it can be a good habitat for mold growth. But because of this "naturally conducive" environment it is also a good indicator of the bathroom humidity in general, and would lead the inspector to look more carefully in other areas of the bathroom.
Can you guess where this place is?
It is the underside of the toilet tank.
Bathrooms with poor ventilation or high humidity (due to the many causes discussed) will often have toilet tanks that look like this. How about your toilet tank?
Charles Buell
PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)
all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Click on the Rose 
to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group
PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)
all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.
DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.
