For many parents, home safety concerns no longer stop at what is easily detected. While familiar issues like mold and fire hazards remain key worries, attention is increasingly focused on risks that are harder to detect but ever-present in daily life.
A recent national survey of 1,000 American parents shows that three concerns rank among the highest in home health: mold and mildew, water contaminants, and indoor air pollution and allergens. Each represents a different kind of risk, yet all share a common trait: They can build quietly over time, sometimes without obvious warning signs. Together, these concerns reflect a shared challenge for parents: managing risks that are easy to overlook, difficult to measure, and part of everyday life.
These findings also point to a broader shift in how parents think about their homes. Rather than reacting only to visible problems, many families are paying closer attention to ongoing exposures and taking proactive steps to reduce potential risks where they can. For many parents, the definition of home safety is expanding beyond what feels urgent to include what feels constant.
Key Findings
- 64% of parents strongly agree that their home environment plays a significant role in their child’s long-term health.
- Mold and mildew was the top most-cited home health concern, noted by 56% of parents.
- Water contaminants ranked second among health and safety concerns, cited by 46% of parents.
- 36% of Gen Z parents think about home health risks daily, more often than other generations.
Mold and mildew lead parents’ list of home health concerns
When asked to identify the home health issues that concern them most, 56% of parents selected mold or mildew, making it the most commonly cited risk in the survey.
Mold is often visible, persistent, and difficult to ignore once discovered. Its presence can feel immediate, especially in homes with children. Unlike other hazards that feel distant or technical, mold is something many families have encountered firsthand. That familiarity may be a factor in its high ranking.
For many parents, concern about mold reflects a desire to address problems they can understand and act on directly, reinforcing that visibility still plays a role in perceived risk.
Water quality stands out as a widespread concern
Water quality emerged as another major point of concern. Nearly half of parents (46%) ranked water contaminants among their top safety worries in their home environment, ahead of issues including electrical hazards, chemical exposure, food storage/foodborne illness, and others in the survey.
The high level of attention to water revealed in the data makes sense given how deeply integrated water is into daily life, from drinking and cooking to cleaning and bathing. Only one-quarter of parents say they are “very confident” in the safety of their home’s tap water, suggesting this remains an ongoing concern.
Some of this may be related to uncertainty. About 24% of parents say they do not feel knowledgeable about the quality of their home’s water, and nearly one-quarter feel somewhat or very unprepared to handle an unexpected home safety issue such as water contaminants, mold discovery, or other problems.
This lack of clarity may leave families relying on assumptions or partial information when making decisions. When risks are difficult to measure or understand, confidence can lag behind concern.
Many parents are taking proactive action
Despite some uncertainty, concern about home health is often paired with action. Many parents have tested their home in the past 12 months for a variety of concerns, including:
- Water quality (44%)
- Air quality (34%)
- Mold (32%)
- Lead (16%)
Additionally, parents have taken even more steps to improve the home’s safety. Half of parents say they purchased a water filtration system in the past 12 months to improve their children’s safety. More than one-third say they’ve purchased a smart smoke or carbon monoxide detector, while 43% bought an air purifier and 31% purchased a dehumidifier.
The data suggests that parents are taking a proactive approach rather than only reacting once there is a crisis. Instead of waiting to confirm a specific hazard, parents are taking precautionary measures to help reduce overall risk. For many families, this can offer reassurance when information feels incomplete and help regain a sense of control in an area that can otherwise feel uncertain.
Chemical exposure is a growing concern for parents
In terms of less visible issues, chemical exposure also ranks alongside mold and water as a major source of concern. While it doesn’t yet rank among the top concerns, more than half of parents (53%) say they worry about chemical exposure in their homes, including substances found in cleaning products, plastics, furnishings, and building materials.
Unlike hazards like mold, which have more obvious signs and fixes, chemical exposure tends to feel harder to track and address. Many products associated with concern are already part of daily routines, making exposure feel constant rather than occasional, such as in kitchens, bedrooms, and playrooms. For parents, this creates a different kind of unease, one tied to accumulation over time rather than a single event.
One example of chemical exposure risk that’s drawing increasing news coverage and concern is around PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” PFAS are a set of toxic, manmade chemicals that can be found in everyday items like nonstick cookware, cosmetics, pizza boxes, and water-resistant fabrics. While parents can address PFAS in their water with targeted filtration, their widespread use makes PFAS an ongoing concern.
Younger parents think about home safety more often
The survey also reveals generational differences in attention to home health. 36% of Gen Z parents say they think about potential household risks daily, a higher rate than older parent groups.
This heightened awareness may reflect greater exposure to health information, environmental discussions, and recent public health events. For younger parents, home safety appears to be an ongoing consideration rather than an occasional check-in.
A shift toward prevention at home
Taken together, the findings show that parents are rethinking what home safety means. Mold and mildew remain a leading concern, but water quality and environmental exposure are close behind. These risks may be less visible, yet they influence daily routines in meaningful ways.
Rather than reacting to threats as they arise, many families are adopting a more preventive mindset. They are paying attention, taking manageable steps, and seeking reassurance where possible. In doing so, parents are shaping homes that feel safer not only in moments of crisis, but in everyday life. In the end, the findings reflect how parents are navigating responsibility, uncertainty, and care in the spaces their families rely on most.
Methodology:
This report is based on an original survey of 1,000 parents conducted in December 2025. Respondents were asked over a digital questionnaire a series of questions about home health concerns, safety perceptions, and household behaviors. The findings reflect self-reported attitudes and experiences at the time of the survey and have not been sourced or replicated from third-party research. All data presented is drawn exclusively from this study, making the results unique to our analysis and reflective of current sentiment during the survey period.
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