The last thing that anyone wants to discover in their home is mold, but unless you do at least a casual inspection of your property on a regular basis, you might end up finding it in larger quantities than you are capable of dealing with. Mold is a health hazard for anyone that comes into even just indirect contact with it, since the spores float in the air that we breathe every single day. Larger quantities are noted indoors than outdoors only in environments where there is an excess growth of mold somewhere in the property that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. If you discover a growth that is large and appears to be more than you can handle, do not be afraid to hire a professional to get rid of it for you.
However, if you cannot afford a professional mold remediation, then there are a number of things that you can do to get rid of the mold in your home. If you discover it on a non-porous surface, then you can get rid of it using normal chemicals that are advertised as killing mold, such as Tilex.
Most of the time, though, you will find it growing on items like drywall or on organic materials like floor joists or papers and cardboard boxes that have gotten wet. Standing water in your home will be one of the worst areas for mold to grow in, since species such as the deadly Stachybotrys atra enjoy this level of moisture and thrive heavily on it. Remove standing water from your home wherever it may occur, even if it is just a slow drip underneath the kitchen or bathroom sink. It is these slow leaks that cause the majority of the problems, not the huge bathtub or toilet overflows.
If you have experience in interior remodeling, you can perform the removal of materials contaminated by mold yourself. Hiring a professional to do this for you can be expensive, but as long as you take the proper safety measures, doing it yourself is much less so.
Purchase some protective, disposable clothing made of plastic and a respirator from a local hardware or department store. Purchase them online if you need to, but do not continue the remediation without them. Breathing in or coming into contact with mold and its spores can be hazardous and bring about long term health problems.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Mold Remediation and other states such as
New Jersey Sewage Damage Cleanup companies across the united states.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Clean Water and Supplies During a Hurricane
Hurricanes are devastating events that occur on a yearly basis around the world and in the United States and any homeowner that has gone through this event knows that it is often a much better idea to evacuate than it is to stay behind and ride out the storm. People still insist, however, upon staying behind in their homes instead of leaving along with most of the people in the area, but if you are going to do this, you need to know exactly what you will require during the storm.
The most important thing that you need during a hurricane is a good sized supply of drinking water. The human body cannot survive very long without water, so you should make sure that you and anyone else staying with you at the time has at least one gallon of water to use for every day you plan to be there. The last thing that you want is to run out of water and then resort to drinking water from the faucet. You should never drink water out of your tap while the storm is raging outside, due to the fact that it may be contaminated with more than just rain and sea water. Sewage and the bacteria that comes with it has been known to get into water supplies during these storms, so drinking water out of your faucet is never advisable. You can boil it if you need to, but it is much safer to make sure that you have a clean supply ahead of time.
Having an electricity generator to run things with is a good idea, since you may end up needing to boil water to finish riding out the storm. If the electricity goes off (and it very well may), you can survive without it as long as you have clean water to drink, but if you run low, you may end up in trouble.
A decent supply of non-perishable food is a good thing to have, since water is not the only thing your body needs to survive. Try to have some foods that are ready to eat and do not have to be cooked or refrigerated, like granola bars, cereal, and canned food.
To keep in contact with the outside world, you should also purchase a radio that has a hand crank on it to produce electricity for the radio to work on. This will make sure that you hear what is on the radio and if anything important is happening.
You should also have a sturdy flashlight and extra batteries.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Houston Fire Damage Water Restoration Contractor companies and
Los Angeles Water Damage and Restoration Services.
The most important thing that you need during a hurricane is a good sized supply of drinking water. The human body cannot survive very long without water, so you should make sure that you and anyone else staying with you at the time has at least one gallon of water to use for every day you plan to be there. The last thing that you want is to run out of water and then resort to drinking water from the faucet. You should never drink water out of your tap while the storm is raging outside, due to the fact that it may be contaminated with more than just rain and sea water. Sewage and the bacteria that comes with it has been known to get into water supplies during these storms, so drinking water out of your faucet is never advisable. You can boil it if you need to, but it is much safer to make sure that you have a clean supply ahead of time.
Having an electricity generator to run things with is a good idea, since you may end up needing to boil water to finish riding out the storm. If the electricity goes off (and it very well may), you can survive without it as long as you have clean water to drink, but if you run low, you may end up in trouble.
A decent supply of non-perishable food is a good thing to have, since water is not the only thing your body needs to survive. Try to have some foods that are ready to eat and do not have to be cooked or refrigerated, like granola bars, cereal, and canned food.
To keep in contact with the outside world, you should also purchase a radio that has a hand crank on it to produce electricity for the radio to work on. This will make sure that you hear what is on the radio and if anything important is happening.
You should also have a sturdy flashlight and extra batteries.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Houston Fire Damage Water Restoration Contractor companies and
Los Angeles Water Damage and Restoration Services.
Checking Out Your House For Mold
Checking your home for mold is something that every homeowner should do if they want to protect their investment and the health of their family, since mold has been known to cause health problems for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Breathing problems and numerous different types of infections have arisen from breathing in or coming into contact with mold and its spores, not to mention the allergic reactions that some people have. Around one third of the population is allergic to mold, but most people do not realize that even dead mold spores can cause allergic reactions.
There are a number of reasons that you should check for mold in your home and signs that should tell you where to check. Any room that has a large amount of water going in and out of it every day should be considered at risk for mold growth and while this usually includes the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room, it can also include the basement.
The basement should be considered for another reason: it is underground. Humidity builds up easily in basements, especially those that have not been properly waterproofed. Water can leak into this room from the outside of the house, but it can also leak in from cracks in the concrete formed by ground water. If you have any plans on finishing your basement with drywall, you should get the water issues in the basement solved as thoroughly as you can.
The floor of your bathroom and kitchen should also be completely waterproofed. You can install any kind of flooring that you like (although hardwood is not recommended) as long as it is sealed so that water does not get underneath and soak into the floor boards. This can rot the floor over time and cause it to fall right out from underneath you, but before that happens, mold growth is very common.
Mold has also been known to grow on bathroom and kitchen ceilings and walls because the steam has nowhere to go. Both of these rooms should have exhaust vents that will pull the steam out of the room. If not, it becomes absorbed by the ceiling and upper walls and will cause mold growth.
Another problem occurs when people put carpet in moist areas of their home. While most people do not put carpet in the kitchen, some have been known to put carpet in the bathroom. Since water is dripped onto the floor almost every single day in the bathroom, this is one of the worst bathroom remodeling ideas going. No matter how careful you care, mold will eventually start to grow underneath this carpet and you will have to throw it out.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration contractors and
Mold Remediation companies across the united states.
There are a number of reasons that you should check for mold in your home and signs that should tell you where to check. Any room that has a large amount of water going in and out of it every day should be considered at risk for mold growth and while this usually includes the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room, it can also include the basement.
The basement should be considered for another reason: it is underground. Humidity builds up easily in basements, especially those that have not been properly waterproofed. Water can leak into this room from the outside of the house, but it can also leak in from cracks in the concrete formed by ground water. If you have any plans on finishing your basement with drywall, you should get the water issues in the basement solved as thoroughly as you can.
The floor of your bathroom and kitchen should also be completely waterproofed. You can install any kind of flooring that you like (although hardwood is not recommended) as long as it is sealed so that water does not get underneath and soak into the floor boards. This can rot the floor over time and cause it to fall right out from underneath you, but before that happens, mold growth is very common.
Mold has also been known to grow on bathroom and kitchen ceilings and walls because the steam has nowhere to go. Both of these rooms should have exhaust vents that will pull the steam out of the room. If not, it becomes absorbed by the ceiling and upper walls and will cause mold growth.
Another problem occurs when people put carpet in moist areas of their home. While most people do not put carpet in the kitchen, some have been known to put carpet in the bathroom. Since water is dripped onto the floor almost every single day in the bathroom, this is one of the worst bathroom remodeling ideas going. No matter how careful you care, mold will eventually start to grow underneath this carpet and you will have to throw it out.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration contractors and
Mold Remediation companies across the united states.
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