Unfortunately for us, where there is organic matter such as plants and animals, mold is also there in the form of spores or colonies. It is on the ground we walk on and in the air that we breathe, so there is not that much that we can do to totally escape it unless you live in a home with an air supply that is very strictly controlled. Aside from living in a clean area of a hospital or a laboratory, getting away from mold completely is not really an option.
Keeping mold off of your belongings probably does not seem like a difficult thing to do if you have never had to deal with mold on anything that you own before, but if you have, then there might be a few things that you are not doing that you should be.
For example, wet clothing or towels should be washed as soon as possible, preferably within about 2 days to prevent mold from starting to grow on them. Whatever you do, do not throw these items on your floor or in a laundry basket anywhere and just leave them there. Even worse, do not cover them up with dry clothing and forget that the wet ones are underneath, since this will mold the entire batch. While that is bad, there is something else that you can do that is even worse: putting wet clothes on the floor of a bathroom closet that has carpet on it. The clothes and carpet will both mold and you will end up having to take the carpet up to get rid of it.
Try not to pack your clothing into your closet so tight that air cannot circulate in it. This is a problem mostly for people that have large amounts of clothing that they do not wear, but refuse to throw away or take to the thrift store. Your clothes need to breathe to keep from being contaminated with mold, since mold likes to grow on dust as much as anything else.
Strangely shaped baby bottles and other items in our kitchen cabinets can also become moldy if we have a hard time getting them completely dry. This happens most often when someone does not have a dishwasher with a dry cycle or when the item is just washed in the sink. To keep these items from molding on the inside, especially the ever important baby bottles, put them inside the freezer for storage until you need them again.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Flooded Vehicle Facts
When you go to buy a used vehicle, the last thing on your mind is whether or not the car has been submerged in water before. This is not as rare as you might think that it is and a used car dealer or an individual defrauding a buyer is not uncommon, either. In order to protect yourself from flooded vehicles that you may not know how to look for correctly, there are a few things that you can do.
The first thing that you need to realize is that not all vehicle history reports are created equal. These reports do not list all of the damage done to a vehicle or all the work that has been done on it simply because these things are only listed if the person who owns the vehicle makes a claim on it with their insurance company. If a vehicle is flooded and the owner does not file an insurance claim, then the damage is not recorded as ever having happened at all. Vehicle history reports are useful, but you should realize that not all damage may be included.
Look around the trunk and glove box of the car and see if you can find any signs of rusting, sand, or silt. These are signs of being exposed to water. Also look for these signs under the seats and in any nooks and crannies that these things may settle into.
While you are in there, inhale deeply and notice what the car smells like. If there is a musty smell, then this is probably due to the presence of mold growing either in the carpeting or the upholstery. If there is an air freshener smell, then you may be dealing with someone who is trying to cover up another odor of some kind. Be wary of air freshened vehicles.
All electronic components need to be checked. Be sure that they are in working order before purchasing. Some electronic items are expendable to some vehicle owners, but if many of them are not working, consider it a possibility that the vehicle has been submerged. Test the turn signals, windshield wipers, and etcetera.
Look around under the dashboard and see if any of the wires appear to be brittle or cracked. If they are or they crack when you try to flex them, then they have probably been exposed to water.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
The first thing that you need to realize is that not all vehicle history reports are created equal. These reports do not list all of the damage done to a vehicle or all the work that has been done on it simply because these things are only listed if the person who owns the vehicle makes a claim on it with their insurance company. If a vehicle is flooded and the owner does not file an insurance claim, then the damage is not recorded as ever having happened at all. Vehicle history reports are useful, but you should realize that not all damage may be included.
Look around the trunk and glove box of the car and see if you can find any signs of rusting, sand, or silt. These are signs of being exposed to water. Also look for these signs under the seats and in any nooks and crannies that these things may settle into.
While you are in there, inhale deeply and notice what the car smells like. If there is a musty smell, then this is probably due to the presence of mold growing either in the carpeting or the upholstery. If there is an air freshener smell, then you may be dealing with someone who is trying to cover up another odor of some kind. Be wary of air freshened vehicles.
All electronic components need to be checked. Be sure that they are in working order before purchasing. Some electronic items are expendable to some vehicle owners, but if many of them are not working, consider it a possibility that the vehicle has been submerged. Test the turn signals, windshield wipers, and etcetera.
Look around under the dashboard and see if any of the wires appear to be brittle or cracked. If they are or they crack when you try to flex them, then they have probably been exposed to water.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
Drying Your Home After a Flood
Drying out your home after a flood or a hurricane is a time consuming task and while you might think that you can just dry everything as fast as possible and fix all the problems, this is not always the case. There are a few things that you need to be aware of when you go to dry out your home after one of these events and they are important to restoring your home to the way that it used to be.
Most of the time you cannot prepare for a flood to come upon your home, but you can do your best to prepare yourself for it mentally. This is done by equipping yourself with the knowledge necessary to dry out and repair the items in your home after the damage has already been done.
Before re-entering the house, you need to make sure that there is no electricity running to it, since there is probably still some standing water inside. This brings along with it a serious risk of electrocution that you need to be aware of. Do not rely on the condition of your neighbor’s electricity to be an indicator of yours. Switch the power off to the entire house before going back in.
Take a video camera and record all the damage. You can also do this with a digital camera or one that takes traditional film, but a video camera is the most recommended method. Make sure you record all the belongings in the house that were damaged and their approximate value, if possible. This will help you out when your insurance claims adjuster comes to assess the damage to your home and decide how much compensation you will receive.
The entire home needs to be dried out as soon as possible, but do not use artificial heat sources such as space heaters or blowers to accomplish this. This will promote buckling or cupping of hardwood floors, if you have them, and may do more harm than good. Open the doors and windows throughout the house. Odds are good that until your home dries out completely, you will not be sleeping there, unless you have second floor that was not affected by the flood.
Look in the attic and see if your insulation has gotten wet. If it is fiberglass and has gotten wet, you will need to replace it. Wet fiberglass insulation is no longer any good.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Houston Fire Damage Water Restoration Contractor companies and
Los Angeles Water Damage and Restoration Services.
Most of the time you cannot prepare for a flood to come upon your home, but you can do your best to prepare yourself for it mentally. This is done by equipping yourself with the knowledge necessary to dry out and repair the items in your home after the damage has already been done.
Before re-entering the house, you need to make sure that there is no electricity running to it, since there is probably still some standing water inside. This brings along with it a serious risk of electrocution that you need to be aware of. Do not rely on the condition of your neighbor’s electricity to be an indicator of yours. Switch the power off to the entire house before going back in.
Take a video camera and record all the damage. You can also do this with a digital camera or one that takes traditional film, but a video camera is the most recommended method. Make sure you record all the belongings in the house that were damaged and their approximate value, if possible. This will help you out when your insurance claims adjuster comes to assess the damage to your home and decide how much compensation you will receive.
The entire home needs to be dried out as soon as possible, but do not use artificial heat sources such as space heaters or blowers to accomplish this. This will promote buckling or cupping of hardwood floors, if you have them, and may do more harm than good. Open the doors and windows throughout the house. Odds are good that until your home dries out completely, you will not be sleeping there, unless you have second floor that was not affected by the flood.
Look in the attic and see if your insulation has gotten wet. If it is fiberglass and has gotten wet, you will need to replace it. Wet fiberglass insulation is no longer any good.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Houston Fire Damage Water Restoration Contractor companies and
Los Angeles Water Damage and Restoration Services.
Drying Out A Home to Minimize Water Damage
If your home has been submerged in water, you are going to want to get it dried out as soon as possible, but there are a few things that you need to be made aware of before you attempt to do this. Floods are often unexpected events and preparing for them physically is usually not possible unless the flood comes as a result of a hurricane and even then, protecting the belongings that you have to leave in the house after you evacuate isn’t very easy to do. You can stop most rain from getting into the house, but not flood waters.
Before you go back into the house after the majority of the water has receded, you need to make sure that going into the house will not expose you to the risk of being electrocuted. You should not rely on the condition of your neighborhood’s electricity and assume that just because the rest of the neighborhood is without power, you are, too. Cut the electricity to the house completely off so that you can go back inside safely.
Get a video, digital, or traditional film camera and begin making a record of just how much damage was done to the home. Include just how long the house was under water, what was damaged, and approximately how much it will cost to repair or replace it. This will help a lot when you have to file a claim with your insurance company.
Help ventilate the house and start drying it out by opening all windows and doors, as long as it is not raining outside. The breeze blowing through the house should help dry things out a little faster, but do not use an artificial heat source to do this task. Drying out hardwood floors and some other items too quickly this way can do more damage to them than good, so using a space heater or a hot air blower is not advised.
Any electronic devices in the house should be let to dry out completely before you attempt to use them again. It is the electricity flowing through an electronic device that damages it to the point of being irreparable, not the water itself. The combination of the two is what does the damage.
Take wet furniture outside and allow them to dry out; put them in the shade, if possible. This is because direct sunlight can bleach fabrics and you do not want to do more damage to your furniture than has already been done.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
Before you go back into the house after the majority of the water has receded, you need to make sure that going into the house will not expose you to the risk of being electrocuted. You should not rely on the condition of your neighborhood’s electricity and assume that just because the rest of the neighborhood is without power, you are, too. Cut the electricity to the house completely off so that you can go back inside safely.
Get a video, digital, or traditional film camera and begin making a record of just how much damage was done to the home. Include just how long the house was under water, what was damaged, and approximately how much it will cost to repair or replace it. This will help a lot when you have to file a claim with your insurance company.
Help ventilate the house and start drying it out by opening all windows and doors, as long as it is not raining outside. The breeze blowing through the house should help dry things out a little faster, but do not use an artificial heat source to do this task. Drying out hardwood floors and some other items too quickly this way can do more damage to them than good, so using a space heater or a hot air blower is not advised.
Any electronic devices in the house should be let to dry out completely before you attempt to use them again. It is the electricity flowing through an electronic device that damages it to the point of being irreparable, not the water itself. The combination of the two is what does the damage.
Take wet furniture outside and allow them to dry out; put them in the shade, if possible. This is because direct sunlight can bleach fabrics and you do not want to do more damage to your furniture than has already been done.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
Easy Ways To Maintain A Smoke Free Fireplace
Quite a few homes have fireplaces, but not all of them are fit to be used as they are because they have not been cleaned in so long that when you do try to use them, it fills the house with smoke. This can do a lot of damage to the inside of the home, including ruin the paint on your walls, your curtains, and discolor your carpet. It is also a health risk, since breathing this in is not good for anyone, but the elderly, people with allergies, pets, and children are especially affected. Fortunately, though, in most situations you can make a fire that will not smoke up your house without much trouble as long as you follow a few rules.
The damper of your chimney needs to be open before you do anything. Burn some paper or other easily combustible materials in the fireplace, because you want to warm the chimney up. Cold air in the chimney is will push the warm air down and cause the smoke to fill up the room.
Open up the windows in the house and make sure that there is enough air circulating to ignite the fire. A home that is insulated well might not have enough of a draft to allow the wood to catch on fire.
You should also have some fireplace bricks underneath the grill to add some more air circulation to the process. More draft in the fireplace will make it easier for the fire to ignite.
The top of the fireplace also needs to be cleaned out regularly, since anything that gets stuck in it like leaves, sticks, bird nests can keep the smoke from being able to escape and so it floods back into the house, which is exactly where you do not want it.
You should also have the fireplace cleaned by a professional cleaning service if possible, since a layer of creosote is likely built up on the inside of the chimney. This is a tar-like substance that results from burning wood in the fireplace and if your chimney has not been professionally cleaned before and you have lived in your house for many years, then it is time for it to be. Creosote can catch on fire and cause the whole house to burn down, so having it cleaned out is essential.
To keep your fireplace functioning the way that it should, you need to know how to use it and take care of it and by the time winter gets to you, you will be able to enjoy your fireplace once again.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Emergency Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
The damper of your chimney needs to be open before you do anything. Burn some paper or other easily combustible materials in the fireplace, because you want to warm the chimney up. Cold air in the chimney is will push the warm air down and cause the smoke to fill up the room.
Open up the windows in the house and make sure that there is enough air circulating to ignite the fire. A home that is insulated well might not have enough of a draft to allow the wood to catch on fire.
You should also have some fireplace bricks underneath the grill to add some more air circulation to the process. More draft in the fireplace will make it easier for the fire to ignite.
The top of the fireplace also needs to be cleaned out regularly, since anything that gets stuck in it like leaves, sticks, bird nests can keep the smoke from being able to escape and so it floods back into the house, which is exactly where you do not want it.
You should also have the fireplace cleaned by a professional cleaning service if possible, since a layer of creosote is likely built up on the inside of the chimney. This is a tar-like substance that results from burning wood in the fireplace and if your chimney has not been professionally cleaned before and you have lived in your house for many years, then it is time for it to be. Creosote can catch on fire and cause the whole house to burn down, so having it cleaned out is essential.
To keep your fireplace functioning the way that it should, you need to know how to use it and take care of it and by the time winter gets to you, you will be able to enjoy your fireplace once again.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Emergency Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
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