Harlem Water Damage Restoration

Mold in Your Apartment - Who is Liable?

2008-01-26T16:09:00.000-08:00

If you move into an apartment or a home and you sign a lease, some people might think that they’re stuck with that lease even if they discover that the property has a substantial mold problem. This is not true.

No matter who you’re renting from or what kind of property, it is the landlord’s responsibility to provide you with a healthy place to live. If you or your children become sick due to the mold located in the home, apartment, or business you are leasing, your landlord can be held responsible.

The only thing that you have to do first is prove that mold exists in your rented space. That burden or proof is on you because in most leases, mold testing, inspections, and removal are not covered by the landlord. Landlords do not pay for these; you do. If there is a problem, you have to prove it.

If the rental property is infested with mold, the landlord might be liable for the damage to the tenant’s health, the medical bills associated with mold, loss of income due to sickness, and for the damage to clothing and other possessions. Other possible liabilities include the expense it takes to move to a mold-free environment, the difference between the rent at the mold-infested rental and the new, habitable rental, and for any mold inspections, testing, and remediation of the rental that were paid for by the tenant before moving out.

You should mail a notice to your landlord via certified mail that there is a mold problem first and foremost and provide proof within the envelope. An analysis and identification of the mold sample you collected using a mold test kit signed by a mold laboratory is a good way to prove that mold exists in the property.

Even better than this is to have a written report signed by a certified mold inspector along with the above mentioned laboratory report. If notice is ignored by your landlord, you can choose to send a second notice stating that due to the failure to have the mold removed from the property, you are withholding your rent.

Lastly, if that is ignored by your landlord, you should send another notice via certified mail that you are vacating the premises and that legal action is going to be taken, especially if you have suffered health complications due to the mold. You shouldn’t need a lawyer to draw up these notices for you, as long as you are clear and to the point that mold exists on the landlord’s property that you are renting and you want it removed and if you are suffering any health complications, these should be stated very clearly and with proof, as well. Most landlords will respond promptly.

Mold and Your Insurance: generally uncovered unless it is the result of something that is covered by the home’s insurance policy

2008-01-26T16:08:00.000-08:00

Under most home insurance policies, mold is one of the few things (along with rust, rot, and fungi) that are generally uncovered unless it is the result of something that is covered by the home’s insurance policy, such as flood damage and the water caused by a burst pipe. However, mold that has been caused by leaks, condensation, or flooding (in the case where the homeowner does not have flood insurance) is not covered.

Even though mold has been around for thousands of years and will continue to be for thousands more, the amount of mold claims that have been submitted to insurance companies have increased significantly. Insurers are beginning to insert some language into their policies that is very specific as to what is covered and what is not. Some companies may soon decide to offer to cover damages caused by mold and will raise the price of the policy and others may choose to continue to completely exclude mold from the homeowner’s insurance policy. In order to guard against the failings of your homeowner’s insurance, removing mold and preventing it from returning is essential if you wish to retain the value of your home and your health.

Anyone who owns or rents property should be aware that mold should be cleaned up as soon as it is discovered and that mold cannot grow without a decent access to moisture. Repairing water damage, the cause of excess humidity, and other leaks should be done immediately in order to minimize the amount of mold that will grow in that area of the property. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that people take measures to safeguard not only their properties, but also their health by making swift work of the mold growing where they live and/or work and taking appropriate measures to make sure it does not return.

Your home should not be completely air tight and a home that is cannot breathe. Homes that air cannot flow freely through are breeding grounds for mold because the air is allowed to become stagnant. You should have vents installed in the bathrooms, laundry room, and kitchen in your home.

Wood and other cellulose-based debris should not be placed in any crawl spaces or against the side of the home because mold eats these and any other organic-based material.

Carpet shouldn’t be installed anywhere in the home where moisture should be a problem such as the bathroom where toilets or bath tubs can overflow or in the laundry room where the washer could leak out into the floor.

Mold and Our Pets: dogs most affected by blasto are larger, male, young dogs, and any breed

2008-01-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

Most of us who have pets aren’t really aware that mold is just as dangerous to them as it is to us. In fact, pets, especially young ones and birds, are more susceptible to the affects of mold than human beings are. They are in the category of the first to suffer from the health complications associated with mold and some have even died while living in mold infested homes. Infants, pets, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are the most threatened when it comes to most environment-related health risks. One kind of mold in particular is more dangerous to our pets than others are and that is blastomycoses.

Blastomycoses is also a dangerous kind of mold that has been known to cause pneumonia, skin, and other respiratory infections in our pets. Other organs can be infected and it’s no surprise that these symptoms and complications can also occur in human beings. Much like the canaries in mines that were used long ago to detect poisonous gases, pets are often the ones to warn us that there is a problem in our home. While blastomycoses is a natural part of our every day environments, excessive amounts of it can be extremely harmful. It takes the form of a mold in an indoor or outdoor environment, but when it comes into contact with human beings or animals, it becomes a yeast. Once it has taken on the form of yeast, it is no longer contagious. The animal (or human) can only contract blastomycoses by inhaling the mold spores or by allowing them to enter the body through a cut or sore on the skin.

Unfortunately, pneumonia is the most common form of blastomycoses symptoms in pets and can lead to eventual death if it isn’t untreated. Dogs often cough, become tired or lazy in appearance, have trouble breathing, and cease eating. Skin infections often are wet and itchy and can damage muscle and bone structure if something is not done about them.

Blastomycoses can be dealt with using antifungal medications and a full recovery can be made in up to six months, although a blasto infection is often misdiagnosed and by the time it is diagnosed correctly, it is often too late.

The dogs most affected by blasto are larger, male, young dogs, and any breed that spends a lot of time outdoors, even though blastomycoses is a mold that can grow indoors.

Penicilliosis In Southeast Asia: symptoms of a case of Penicilliosis are generally anemia, fever, lesions on the skin, generalized lymphadenopathy, ab

2008-01-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

Even though Penicillin was developed back in the 1940’s to help combat infections caused by bacteria and it was developed from penicillium mold, other species of penicillium molds can also cause diseases. One such disease, called penicilliosis, occurs predominantly in Southeast Asia.

The mold that causes the disease, Penicillium marneffei, is indigenous to the region and so the cases of the disease are generally confined to that area, although people traveling to the region can become infected if they are not careful. People particularly at risk are those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS and it has been called the third most common opportunistic infection in these people.

This mold is a fungus at room temperature, but like with any other mold, when it enters the body and is warmed up to body temperature, it changes into a yeast. The symptoms of a case of Penicilliosis are generally anemia, fever, lesions on the skin, generalized lymphadenopathy, abdominal pain, and weight loss. The skin lesions generally are located on the genitalia, face, ears, toes, and fingers, but the symptom that happens the most often is a skin rash that can cause small bumps on the top skin layer and some of these bumps can have ulceration. This happens most often on the upper part of the body.

Fungus cultures can be grown from the swabbing of skin lesions and this is to identify the infection as being Penicilliosis, but this is not the only way to detect this infection. A biopsy of bone marrow, skin lesions, or lymph nodes can also detect the presence of the fungi in the body. When the fungus is grown in a Petri dish, it has a flat green surface and a red color on the bottom.

It is advised that anyone with HIV or AIDS who is going to be traveling to the region of Southeast Asia should be very careful or to not travel there at all. This is a dangerous infection, especially in someone with a compromised immune system. Without treatment, this disease tends to have a high mortality rate and even when treatment is administered, the mortality rate still lingers around the area of twenty percent. Treatment often comes in the form of an antifungal drug called amphotericin and is followed up with a maintenance-type drug named itraconazole. If you have been to Southeast Asia recently and are experiencing any of the symptoms named here, you should seek medical treatment immediately.

The Effects Of Mold In Your Laundry Hampers, And Bathroom Vents

2008-01-26T16:03:00.000-08:00

I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a good bath or shower a lot and one of the worst things that you can notice while you’re in the bathroom is mold starting to grow on the ceiling or on the wall. It appears as a splotchy growth that’s slowly creeping its way from one end of the room to the other and if you leave it untreated, it will cover your entire bathroom. You can scrub it off the walls with mold and mildew cleaner all you want to, but in the end if the infection has spread so far, you will probably have to replace the sheetrock in the bathroom. Sheetrock (or drywall) is a porous surface and mold cannot be effectively removed from it by surface cleaning. The mold will infect the entire depth of the board and most of the time there is not anything that you can do except throw it away and replace it.

Something that has been popular in the past and even in a few homes now is putting carpet in the bathroom. This is a very bad idea, because no matter how careful you might be, your toilet, sink, or bathtub is going to overflow eventually and leave you with a mess of soaked carpet and padding. Carpet needs to be dried as soon as possible when it comes into contact with water. Once the water dries naturally, the carpet will smell, especially if you are unlucky enough to have to live with only well water.

If you live in an older home and your bathroom does not have a vent to release the hot air and steam outside so that it does not attach itself to the sheetrock and become absorbed by it. This is a worthy investment to make and it should not cost more than $50 to $70 and maybe half a day of time to install if you do it yourself.

Whatever you do, do not leave damp towels, rags, or clothing in the bathroom closet or on the floor, especially if you have carpet in the bathroom. Your best bet is to use a plastic laundry hamper and put the dirty laundry in that and only in that so that even if the clothes do become moldy, it is not likely to infect the floor or the wall because of the plastic barrier.

Mold And What It Does : Mold living in your home can cause all kinds of medical problems

2008-01-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

I hate mold and you hate mold, but unfortunately it’s something that we all have to deal with on a daily basis. It lives either outside on the ground or inside our homes in the walls eating away the internal structure. You have no doubt seen it living on foods in your kitchen that have spoiled, perhaps on fruit or in jars of grape jelly. It is unsightly and also unhealthy. So, what is mold exactly?

Mold is a fungus. It lives both indoors and outdoors and there is not much that you can do to escape it. It is truly almost everywhere humans are and are not. They typically come in the colors of grey, blue, green, brown, black, and red and even more. While they are definitely unsightly, what most people do not realize is just how unhealthy living in a home contaminated with mold can be.

Mold living in your home can cause all kinds of medical problems and which one you will end up with is a matter of chance. You never know which condition mold will hand to you. It has been known to cause allergies and to aggravate people who have asthma and other respiratory conditions and also to cause skin rashes, damage to the central nervous system, and problems with vision.

The people who should be the most concerned with mold are the elderly, small children, pets, and those who have a weakened immune system. These tend to be people who are pregnant, who are HIV-positive, or are recovering from a surgery, especially a major one. They should take special care and if mold is found in a home, anyone fitting these descriptions should relocate until the mold is removed.

Mold also does damage to the internal structure of the home, eating the wood, sheetrock, carpet, and anything else that is organic. The sole job of a fungus such as mold is to decompose organic material such as dead plants and dead animals.

If you suspect that mold lives in your home, it is highly suggested that you purchase a mold testing kit and test your home for mold yourself. Follow the instructions exactly or the tests will be of no use. Send the tests off to be analyzed by a mold laboratory and when you receive the results back, if they are positive, contact a professional mold remediation company.

Cleaning Moldy Fabric : contaminated with mold can be cleaned and the mold

2008-01-26T16:00:00.002-08:00

Sometimes we look into the backs of our closets while we are cleaning them out and we discover an old article of clothing with a fuzzy substance all over it. If you find something like this in the back of your closet, the best thing to do is drop it immediately and go wash your hands. What you were handling was a piece of clothing that has been contaminated with mold and it has been advised to not touch mold spores with your bare hands. This can possibly cause an allergic reaction or just some skin rashes, but either way, there will probably be consequences to deal with.

Most items of clothing that are contaminated with mold can be cleaned and the mold done away with, but most of the time the mold ends up leaving stains. Using bleach to remove the stains can be effective if you are dealing with mold on white clothing, but this is not always the case and chlorine bleach is not effective in killing molds on porous surfaces. You can use a brush to remove the majority of the mold and put a pre-wash spray on it; allow this to soak for about 45 minutes and put it through the washing machine. After this, allow them to dry outside naturally in the sun. Using an artificial source of heat to dry the clothes can set the stain deeper into the fabric and if you are dealing with white clothing, the sun can actually help to bleach the fabric further.

If you are looking to remove the mold and mold stains from something that was made with real leather, you are probably not going to have any luck. Items made out of leather become discolored very easily and mold does a good job of this. They cannot usually be restored after coming into contact with mold.

You can clean off upholstery or curtains that have come into contact with mold using the same method described above and one of the best purchases you can make to keep your home mold free is a vacuum that has a HEPA filter in it. Use this vacuum and its brush attachment to suck up all the mold and its spores; the filter will make sure that the spores are not re-released into the air in your home after being collected.

Here’s How To Stop Water Damage

2008-01-26T16:00:00.001-08:00

One of the last things that any homeowner wants to have to do is completely renovate their bathroom or kitchen due to water damage and mold growth, but it happens all the time. It does not have to happen to you, though, as long as you know how to maintain these two rooms properly. They require a lot of daily maintenance to keep in top shape, but it is not the kind of difficult maintenance that you might think. Most of it is just a light cleaning up or casual inspection.

Inspect the floor of the room first. This is what supports everything else, so the integrity of this structure is paramount to the integrity of the entire room. If this goes, so will the rest of it. Try bouncing up and down a little on your toes and see if the room shakes. If it does or if the floor feels weak at all, you may have a water damage problem on your hands. You can also inspect for water damaged floors by looking at the tile and seeing if it is cracked at all. If you have a vinyl floor, looking for cracks in this can also help. Grout or caulking around the room should not be missing or loose at all.

The ceiling in both the kitchen and the bathroom is also at risk, although most kitchens come with a range hood with an exhaust fan built into it that will remove the steam from the room. The bathroom should come with one, as well, but if you live in an older home that has a bathroom in the center of the house, you may not have an exhaust vent already installed. These are installed by standard procedure now, especially in bathrooms that do not have windows, as a part of most building codes.

Make sure that the cabinets underneath the sinks in both of these rooms are covered in a laminate material to keep any dripping pipes from rotting the wood and causing you to have to replace that, too.

Spills of water in the kitchen and bathroom can be somewhat controlled by using rugs to help absorb some of the water. Most homes like to have rugs in these rooms, anyway, but many do not realize that they have a practical application other than just feeling good under bare feet and looking pretty.

House Fires And Common Appliances that get hit hard

2008-01-26T15:59:00.000-08:00

House fires are often caused by some of the most common appliances imaginable, but this is usually due to the mistakes and clumsiness of the people who are using them. Most appliances are completely safe to use in the home, but it is most often their misuse that causes accidents and fires, since all appliances come with a list of warnings.

The most dangerous appliances, though, in terms of the risk that they post to your safety and the safety of your home are the ones that are designed to emit heat.

Space heaters are very dangerous in the hands of someone who is clumsy or does not follow directions. Perhaps following directions is a little more important here, though. There are a number of things that you should take into account when you are using space heaters to keep your place warm during the winter. Never place space heaters near fabric items or upholstered furniture, if you can help it. If you have to, move these items out of the way and never use common household extension cords with space heaters for any reason. A heavy duty extension cord is the only thing that you can use here and most of us know these by their bright orange color and thick diameter. Small extension cords that you use indoors for small appliances will melt if you try to use them with space heaters.

Another item to be careful with is an electric blanket. Everyone likes to crawl into a toasty bed during the winter, but you should never use an electric blanket to do more than just warm the bed up for you before you get into it. Leaving these on or even plugged up while you are sleeping is a very bad idea, simply because many beds have been caught on fire and houses burned down because of this.

Grease fires are the most common type of house fire, since cooking is something that every household has to do in order to survive. Unfortunately, inexperienced cooks do not know how to handle grease correctly and often make mistakes. You can help prevent these fires by cleaning underneath the burners on your stove as often as necessary, since grease and food particles will build up and catch on fire when you turn the burner on. Keep baking soda around for these small burner fires and a fire extinguisher in case the fire grows in size.

A Few Sources Of Smoke Damage

2008-01-26T15:58:00.002-08:00

Smoke damage to your home can come from a few different sources, but the main one is just an outright house fire. Having a good knowledge of fire safety and what should be considered fire hazards around your house is the best way to avoid this, so while we are going to give you a few fire safety tips, we will also tell you a couple of other sources of smoke damage to your home.

The most important place of the house to practice fire safety is the kitchen. Most fires start here and are usually due to clumsiness or simple carelessness that is almost completely avoidable. The first thing that you need to know is that you should never leave things in your kitchen unattended on the stove. Always try to leave someone to watch the cooking for you if you have to leave and if you do not have anyone that can stay, turn it off.

Grease fires are common occurrences in the kitchen, as well, and there are a few things to know about this. Heat any oil or grease that you are using slowly, since heating it too quickly can allow it to reach its smoke point before you can stop it, making it unsuitable for cooking. It gives the food a bad taste, so throwing it out is best. If it manages to catch on fire, you can use a pot lid to smother it with and this should work fairly well at putting it out. Grease fires also start under the burners sometimes if they have not been cleaned out as they should have been. You can use baking soda to put these small fires out with, but if it even remotely starts to get out of control, use your fire extinguisher. Every kitchen and household needs to have one.

Another source of smoke damage to your home is candles. If you burn a lot of candles or incense, the smoke has to cool and settle to the floor eventually and will become rubbed into the carpet as you walk across it. You can tell if you have this kind of damage if you move a piece of furniture that has been in the same spot for a while and the carpet is lighter.

Cigarettes and cigars are another source of this damage and the same principle that applies to the candles applies here. The best thing to do to prevent this is to just stop smoking, since it will affect your health.

Cleaning Up A Smoke Damaged Home

2008-01-26T15:58:00.001-08:00

If your home has been damaged by fire and smoke, there are a lot of things that you need to do to get your home back to livable condition. These are usually things that you can do yourself, although if you do not have the time, you can hire someone else to do them for you. No matter which one you choose, these are the things that you are going to need done to get your home back to its former condition.

Getting the smell of smoke out of the house is not going to be too easy, so open the windows and doors throughout the house and use fans to get the air circulating.

The smoke damage is going to be easier to take care of in the house than the fire, especially on the walls. Unfortunately, cleaning the soot off the walls is probably not going to be an option, since trying to wipe it off will only smear it. This means that you will have to paint over it. If you have a popcorn ceiling, you will have to strip it in order to be able to paint over it. Most popcorn ceilings make a house look outdated, anyway, so removing this will probably be a good thing, anyway.

Try not to walk on any carpet that has been affected unless you plan on removing it, anyway. If you want to try and clean it, though, you will have to vacuum it with a vacuum that does not have brushes, since they will only work the soot down into the fibers. Steam cleaning the carpet may remove the smoky smell and it may not, so you may end up having to replace the carpet.

Appliances are also going to have to be checked out and cleaned thoroughly before they can be used again. Basically every surface in your house is going to have to be cleaned spotless.

Towels, curtains, bed linens, and all other fabric items in your home will need to be washed and dried. When you dry them, try to dry them outside, if possible, since using an electric dryer to do this can set the smell of smoke further into the fabric and make it harder to get out.

No matter what, you should hold your ground against your insurance company, because if they can convince you that they do not have to pay for something (even though your contract says that they do), they will not pay for it. Make sure you know exactly what your contract covers and you should make sure that you prepare for an event like this by having at least a few months’ worth of salary saved up, since most insurance companies expect you to pay for things and then, they will reimburse you.

Great Tips For Water Safety

2008-01-26T15:57:00.000-08:00

Summertime is the perfect time of year to go swimming, but no matter whether you swim in the ocean, creek, river, or in a city or backyard pool, you should never neglect to consider water safety. A large number of children and inexperienced swimmers die every year because they do not follow a few guidelines that could keep them safe from it.

The most important thing for you to do is learn how to swim. This can be one of the most useful skills you can ever learn and once you learn, you are not likely to ever regret it.

An area supervised by a lifeguard is the best place for you to swim, since the lifeguard is trained in CPR and first aid.

If you have children, they should always wear a floatation device and be supervised by you. There are likely a lot of other people and children where you are and you cannot rely on the lifeguard to be able to pay attention to everyone at the same time.

When you go to a swimming area of a beach or to a city pool, you need to read all the signs and make sure you understand what they mean. This is especially true of beaches, since certain areas of the world may be subject to different kinds of seasonal wildlife that can pose a great amount of danger. A good example is the box jellyfish that swims off the coast of Australia and can kill you. They inhabit the waters off the coast of northern Australia between November to April or May, so swimming in this area during this time is not recommended at all. You should be careful at other beaches around the world, though, even if there are no signs posted concerning dangerous wildlife.

Safety rules should be set for your entire family based on the level of swimming experience that each person has. Children and other inexperienced swimmers should not enter water that is higher than chest level.

If you have alcohol to drink, you should not go swimming, diving, boating, or driving. Alcohol impairs a lot of basic human necessities like coordination, judgment, and balance and your body will not stay as warm.

The only time you should dive into a pool of water is when the area is posted as being safe to dive into.

The local weather report can also be important to you and you should get out of the water at the first sign of a storm.

Tips On Water Safety

2008-01-26T15:56:00.002-08:00

Swimming can be one of the most important and life saving skills that you can ever learn, but learning about safety while you are in or near the water can be just as crucial. There are a lot of things that you should take into consideration before going swimming, whether it is in your own pool, a community pool, or another location such as a river or ocean.

Locations with wildlife can be dangerous to swim in, especially beaches, since there are sharks, jellyfish, and other things that can either attack you or make you extremely sick. This is why you should pay attention to any signs that are posted near beaches, since these will usually give you information about any wildlife you need to pay attention to that are in the area during the summer. Box jellyfish off the coast of northern Australia are particularly dangerous to swimmers and it is best not to swim in this region between the beginning of November and May.

If you can swim in an area with a lifeguard, you should do so, since the lifeguard is supposed to be trained in both first aid and CPR. This ensures that you and the rest of your family have a good time and are relatively safe, although everyone should take an opportunity to learn CPR and other first aid skills.

Never dive into an area of a pool unless you know that it is safe to dive in due to signs posted or by physically judging the depth of the water yourself. Never jump into a body of water unless you know for sure how deep it is and you can never tell this just by looking at it.

Children that you take swimming with you should be wearing floatation devices at all times and be supervised. Even if there is a lifeguard on duty, they can still drown or become injured, since there are probably a lot of other people that the lifeguard has to supervise.

Another good rule to live by is if you drink, there are quite a few activities that you should not be doing. Swimming is included among driving, boating, or diving. Drinking alcohol is known to impair a number of different senses necessary to conduct these activities responsibly and has caused a massive number of deaths in the past and continues to in the present. Please drink responsibly and not while swimming.

How To Be Safe In The Water

2008-01-26T15:56:00.001-08:00

There are a few different reasons that you should learn how to swim and one of them is that it can end up being a skill that can save either your life or the life of someone else. Even if you do not think that this will end up being a skill that you can really use in this manner, it can still be used as an aerobic exercise and used to lose weight. If you do decide to learn how to swim or to teach your children, you should realize that the act of swimming is not all that you need to teach them. Teaching them about safety around bodies of water such as the ocean, river, creek, and pool is just as important, perhaps even more so. All of the members of your household should know the rules about water safety, especially if you have a pool.

If you have a pool in your backyard or if you go to a community pool, you should never run around it. Whether the surface is concrete, natural stone, or anything else, slipping and falling into the pool and hitting your head on the side or the bottom is always a possibility. This can cause a great amount of injury and children young enough to walk should be taught to walk around the pool and not run for this exact reason. Make sure the adults in your house lead by example, though, since sometimes adults can act like kids, too.

If you go to a community pool or an area where there is a lifeguard, do not let yourself succumb to a false sense of security just because there is a lifeguard on duty. They are trained in CPR and first aid, but there are so many other people that they have to pay attention to, they may not see a problem happen immediately. Keep a watch on your children and make sure they have on the proper safety devices for their age and level of swimming experience. Small children should be confined to the shallow end of the pool and infants should be in a kiddie pool, if there is one.

Do not continue to swim in the pool if there are signs that a storm will start soon. As soon as the sky starts to turn dark, get out. Do not wait until you see lightning.

Why Should You Switch To A Tankless Water Heater?

2008-01-26T15:55:00.001-08:00

Helping the environment, saving on your utility bill, and never running out of hot water no matter how many appliances are using it sounds like a dream, but the reality is that tankless water heaters can give you exactly that.

These have been extremely popular and even mandatory in some areas of Europe and Japan for the past quarter of a century, but the trend is just now hitting the United States and Canada, because we have been shown the benefits of having them.

One thing that makes these little gems so great is that you never have to worry about running out of hot water for your appliances. You can take a shower, run the dishwasher, and the washing machine all at the same time and the hot water just keeps on coming.

Since the water is being heated only when you are using it, you save on your electricity bill at the end of the month. Normal tank water heaters will keep a tank full of water heated whether we are using it or not (even when we are asleep). Homes that have a substantial demand for hot water may save around 15 to 25 percent, but homes that have smaller needs can see savings of possibly up to around 50 percent.

Take advantage of the Energy Tax Incentives Act and you can get a $300 rebate from the Federal government by replacing your old hot water heater with a tankless model.

Using a tankless water heater will also reduce the amount of fossil fuels that you use every day (actually, the electric company uses it) to heat your home’s water supply. Tankless water heaters also last about 2 or 3 times longer than their traditional counterparts and are generally much smaller and less conspicuous. You can have a tankless water heater installed in a large number of places in your home.

So, think about it. You pay less for an endless supply of hot water than you would for a limited supply and you help the environment in a number of different ways. What do you have to lose? Switch to a tankless hot water heater today and take advantage of the government’s rebate before it is gone and they mandate these all across the country. A free $300 from the government is pretty hard to come by and they have been popular in Europe and Japan for the last 25 years, so why not keep up with the times?

The Best Ways To Shop For Windows

2008-01-26T15:54:00.001-08:00

New windows can help not only with your utility bill at the end of the month, but they also look better and will add a significant amount of value to your home if they are installed correctly. Shopping for windows does not have to be a difficult process as long as you know what you need to do when you go.

The first thing that you need to decide is just where you will get the new windows that you want. You can either go shopping online for the windows that you need and trust your own instincts as to what style will go perfectly with your home or you can shop around in the physical world and talk to a designer to see what they think. No matter which option you choose, you will want to do a little shopping around first and see who will offer you the best price. Make sure you know what size windows you need and how many before ordering online, so you will save on shipping.

The next thing to consider is who you are going to have install the windows for you. If you shop in the physical world at a store, they will likely have an installation service that they will try to sell you, but if you order online and they are shipped to you, you will have to either find someone to install them for you or you will have to do it yourself. If you shop at a store in the real world, find out if the price of the installation is included in the final price of the windows, since in most cases, it is not and will cost you extra.

There should be a warranty on the windows that you purchase and when you hire someone to install them for you, you should ask about a warranty on the labor. Be extremely skeptical of hiring anyone who will not give you a warranty in writing on the labor he or she performs while installing the windows. Try to deal with only reputable companies.

Depending on whether you life in an area prone to wildfires or not, you may want to purchase multi-pane windows instead of large single pane windows, since they will radiate a lot less heat into the house and will be less likely to cause drapery to set on fire.

Are You Ready To Prevent A House Fire?

2008-01-26T15:53:00.000-08:00

Preventing your house from catching on fire is probably not as difficult as you think it is, even though there are a large number of house fires all around the world every year. These cause an extensive loss of life and loss of property, but knowing a few simple rules and guidelines can save you from most of the risk of this happening to you. After you read this, make sure the rest of your family knows your house fire safety rules and that you are serious about enforcing them.

The first thing that you need is a fire extinguisher on each level of your home and the knowledge of how to use it correctly. It should be at least 5 pounds and there should be one in the kitchen, since this is the main area of the home where fires start. Know that a fire does not always have to be put out with a fire extinguisher, so if you can put out a small fire on the stove that started under the burner with a handful or two of baking soda, go for it. But, do not hesitate to use your fire extinguisher if you think for a minute it is getting out of hand.

All combustible materials need to be kept away from heat sources like furnaces, water heaters, and space heaters.

Space heaters are a problem all to themselves, since their specific purpose is to put out heat and since you have the option of placing them wherever you want them, their level of risk is increased. Never place these items on carpet if you can help it, especially those space heaters that sit low to the floor with short legs. Do not use these to dry any fabric and never use them with extension cords unless the cord is heavy duty. Small extension cords coupled with appliances that use a lot of electricity, especially to produce heat, will melt.

Flammable chemicals need to be kept outside of the house and away from it in a shed, if possible. If you do not have a shed or storage area to put these in, have a neighbor or a friend who does store them for you.

Cleaning items with turpentine or gas should be done outside. The fumes from these chemicals should not be allowed to build up inside the house, since they are heavier than air and will settle on the floor.

Tips To Prevent Wildfire Damage

2008-01-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

Even though wildfires are a part of the natural process of creation and destruction in the environment, the bad thing for people is that sometimes their homes are located directly in the path. A large number of people have to worry every year whether a wildfire will affect their area, but if you own your home and you know what to do, there are things that can protect your home from them. Depending on the circumstances and where your home is located, it may not be enough, but it certainly cannot hurt to try and you may actually end up saving your home.

Using fire-resistant materials on the exterior of your house is essential. The roofing material is the most important, since this has the largest amount of surface area and sparks of fire called firebrands will be picked up by the wind and possibly carried over your house. Having the fire-resistant roofing material such as metal, fiberglass, or tile will slow down the spread of the fire from the roof and it may not even catch on fire at all from one of these small sparks. You do not want to use oil-based roofing materials on a home that is located in a place at risk of wildfires.

Fire-resistant materials on the outer walls of your home will also slow down the spread of the fire, such as stone, metal, or brick, so if you are considering having a home built for you, these are materials you really want to consider. You should also have smaller windows on the exterior of your home, since large windows are more likely to break and allow the hot air and fire sparks from the outside of the house inside, where it will catch curtains and everything else. If you have to have large windows, have multi-pane ones instead of single-pane.

If there is a wildfire close to where you live, wet down the exterior of the house, especially your roof. This will give a little extra protection against firebrands floating by on the wind. Wetting down the yard and vegetation will also help, but you should do this just before you decide to leave the house.

Get rid of any dead vegetation in the yard and do not allow things like dead leaves to build up, since these are easy targets. If you do have a pile of leaves in your yard, the best thing that you can do before you evacuate is soak them down with water.

Easy Ways To Maintain A Smoke Free Fireplace

2008-01-26T15:51:00.000-08:00

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.

Cell Phones and Water Trouble

2008-01-26T15:50:00.001-08:00

Dropping a cell phone or other electronic device into a body of water is the worst nightmare of those people who must constantly be connected, like people who work in changing markets like real estate or finance, but it does happen. There are a number of things that you can do to both prevent this and have the appropriate response once it does eventually happen.

The first thing you should to is purchase a holster for your phone that you can attach to your pants or your purse, so you do not accidentally drop it. This along with purchasing a headset for it will give you a hands-free option when you are doing the dishes or are by the pool. It means that you will no longer have to rely on your hands to hold onto the phone, since the holster is probably going to be much more reliable.

If you do happen to drop your phone into water, the first thing you need to do is unplug it from the wall, if it is connected to its A/C adapter. This will prevent you from being electrocuted. If you can get the phone out of the water in under 20 seconds, this is best, since most phones are waterproofed just enough to keep water from getting inside it for that length of time. As soon as you get it out, dry off the exterior quickly and remove the battery pack and SIM card (if you have one). The SIM card contains all the contacts and other information on the phone and some people would consider this card more valuable than the actual phone itself.

After you have all the components of the phone dried off, place the phone itself into a bowl of uncooked rice. Leave this overnight at least or longer, if you can do without your phone. Just make sure that you have no doubt whether there is moisture still in the phone, since trying to turn it on while it is still wet inside can do the damage that you were trying to prevent all along.

Most cell phones these days are also equipped with stickers that change color when they are exposed to water or even just high humidity. This works for the manufacturer, since there are a number of people making false warranty claims and stating that something is wrong with the phone, when actually, the phone was water damaged. Most warranties do not cover water damage, so this sticker gives a technician a heads up that there might be water involved with the problem.

Cell Phones and Water Trouble

2008-01-26T15:50:00.000-08:00

Mold Health Issues with your sinuses, vomiting, and sometimes even cancer

2008-01-26T15:47:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows that mold is unsightly and can cause health problems, but exactly what kinds of health problems are we talking about here? We shouldn’t just be concerned with the respiratory or skin effects of mold, because these are not even close to being the only things that mold can cause in a person.

Mold can produce allergic reactions in people by producing allergens, irritants, and toxic substances called mycotoxins. No matter what kind of mold you’re dealing with, it’s a bad idea to touch it or inhale any of its spores. Some molds can cause cold or flu-like symptoms or in infants, even bleeding of the lungs. Incessant coughing, asthma, allergy symptoms, and vision can occur and even problems with a person’s central nervous system can arise. Abnormal amounts of fatique, headaches, problems with your sinuses, vomiting, and sometimes even cancer can be caused by mold infestations in the home or the workplace. Where mold is concerned, you’re basically playing roulette: you don’t know which number is going to come up or for who.

Air conditioners are one of the worst culprits of spreading mold infestations from one area of the building to the other. They thrust the mold spores up into the air and you inhale them, drawing them into your lungs, and this can be dangerous, especially if you’re one of the people who are particularly at risk for sickness. This includes infants, pets, the elderly, and anyone who has a weakened immune system. People with weakened immune systems are those who are pregnant, people who have just had surgery, or those with HIV, AIDs, or other immunodeficiency conditions.

Most people don’t realize that there are so many health complications that can be caused by mold and since this is true, they don’t understand how big of a problem mold can be in the home. They think that they will be alright if they put off removing the mold until they can afford it, but it’s not a good idea.

People with good constitutions and are generally healthy can survive in a home that has a mild amount of mold for a while without any adverse health effects, but staying there without any attempts to treat the home and remove the mold can be a costly mistake. If you discover mold where you live, you should do what you have to in order to get the mold removed or find another place to live.

HEPA Filter Items Reduce Mold in Your Air

2007-09-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

Whether you are attempting a large scale mold remediation in your home or you just want to keep the mold spore level in the air of your home down on a daily basis, items that have HEPA filters in them will go a long way to assisting you in this.

“HEPA” is an acronym standing for “High Efficiency Particulate Air” and it does exactly what the name suggests: it removes 99.9% of particles out of the air in your home, including mold spores, dust, gas, smoke, allergens, and etcetera. You may not realize it, but the air inside your house may be what is making you sick, since breathing air of poor quality can cause all kinds of health problems such as headaches, dizziness, red eye, congestion, fatigue, and can aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions.

The HEPA filter technology was first developed by the United States Atomic Energy Commission to get rid of radioactive particles in the air. To quality as a real HEPA filter, it must be able to remove 99.97% of any particles that are as small as 0.3 microns. This is equal to about 1/300 of the diameter of one of the hairs on your head. These are usually used in hospitals and in clean rooms of laboratories or anywhere that clean air is important.

There are a few different products that you can purchase to help you breathe better air in your home. These are a HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner and an air purifying system equipped with a HEPA filter. Dyson is one of the most popular brands, but it is also one of the most expensive.

HEPA filtered air purifiers are also quite expensive and most of them cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. They can also be purchased by how large of an air space that you need to have cleaned. Ionic air purifiers have been competing with these, however, because the ionic purifiers make no noise.

Almost anything with a HEPA filter in it is going to be expensive, but in the end it will probably be worth it, especially if you have small children or elderly people in the house. It will be even more beneficial if you or a member of your house has a respiratory condition like emphysema or asthma. If you are about to take on a large mold remediation project, purchasing a respirator equipped with a HEPA filter may be something that you want to consider, since opening up walls and removing contaminated material will stir up all kinds of particles.

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.

Controlling Humidity to Prevent Mold

2007-09-28T06:45:00.002-07:00

There are a number of ways to keep the humidity in your home from building up to a level that it allows mold to grow inside the house. The air in your home should not be made completely dry, however, because both airs that are too dry or too wet can cause you and the other members of your household significant discomfort. Having air that is too dry in your home can cause nosebleeds, but having air that is too wet will allow mold to grow, which in turn can cause some serious health problems.

One thing that you should seriously consider is installing a dehumidifier in your basement, if you have one. This is one of the most difficult areas of your home to keep the humidity down in, so sometimes purchasing a piece of equipment to help is necessary. Other ways to keep the humidity in your basement down are pretty cheap, though, in comparison. If the concrete walls in your basement are leaking, you can usually fix this with an injection of concrete using a caulking gun. Something else that you can do is to install an exhaust fan in the basement to alleviate some of the moisture. If you use the basement to do laundry, one of the worst things that you can do is hang clothes up to dry there, since as the clothes dry out, the moisture evaporates and saturates the air around them.

To keep your house as dry as possible, you need to clean up spills of water as soon as they happen and these spills are most likely to happen in the kitchen or the bathroom. Both of these rooms should have tile installed on the floor that is water tight, so any spills that do occur do not leak water into the sub-flooring. Sub-flooring that keeps getting wet will eventually crumble, leaving your toilet, bathtub, or sink on the ground under the house. Most people have not had to deal with a floor collapse in their home, but water damage or termites are the usual culprits.

Replacing the plumbing in your home can also help with preventing water damage (and thus, excess humidity) in the house. Older homes may have plumbing that needs to be replaced, since these can not only become inefficient due to mineral buildup inside them, but are also more likely to leak. If you notice any discoloration of the drywall in your house near the bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room, you might have a leak behind the wall that needs to be dealt with.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.

Why You Need a Waterproof Safe

2007-09-28T06:45:00.001-07:00

Our lives are often contained in our legal papers and other documents that are important to us, so taking good care of them and keeping track of where they are at all times is pretty important for most people. If it is not important to you, it should be, since losing these items can cause you problems later on. These documents can include anything from a birth certificate to a death certificate and from divorce papers to marriage papers and everything in between. Insurance documents, contracts, bank statements, tax records, and anything else that you can think of that you might need in the legal arena is something that you need to take care of and while this may seem like a daunting task for most people, it really is necessary in order to retain a somewhat organized life.

But, what do you do when a flood strikes your home? The documents that you have done so much to take care of are often flooded along with the rest of your home and depending on the amount of time they stayed in the water, they may not be salvageable. One thing that you can do to protect your most important documents is to purchase a waterproof safe. These can protect your papers in some of the most dilapidated watery conditions in a way that other plastic containers and drawers cannot.

When sewage, chemicals, bacteria, and other things contaminate your home and everything in it, you will want to know that the copy of your homeowner’s insurance policy is safe. Floods are not covered by most insurance policies, but if you have purchased it, you will want to find your copy of the policy as soon as possible after the event occurs. If it is lost in the sea of contaminated items in your home and damaged beyond repair, you may be in trouble. Water damaged papers are difficult to salvage sometimes, but you will not have to worry about this if you have a waterproof safe in your home to hold your most valuable possessions and documents.

Purchasing a safe that is both waterproof and fireproof can be an even better investment. Unlike water damaged documents, fire damaged documents are usually not salvageable, since there is often only a scrap or two of it left after the fire is over.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Orlando water damage restoration companies and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.

When Remodeling Your Home Kitchen

2007-09-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Even though the kitchen is one of the only rooms in the house that gets cleaned every day or even two or three times a day, depending on how many meals you fix, it is also one of the rooms that is the most neglected as far as long term care. This is one of the two most important rooms in your house and will often be a selling factor of the home. You need to take care of this room’s structure and appearance, especially if you plan on selling your home any time soon. Do what you can to take care of the water damaged parts of your kitchen and learn how to prevent water damage from occurring in the future.

One thing to be sure of is that the flooring in your kitchen is waterproof and completely sealed. You can have a hardwood floor in your kitchen or even in your bathroom, but reviews on the subject by most people are mixed. Some say that they have had a hardwood floor in these areas for a long time and they have been no worse for the wear, but others have had problems. It is really up to you, but you should consider going with a laminate that looks similar to real wood, since this will resist absorbing water much better and it will look almost the same.

If the dishwasher in the house is old and malfunctions often, you should really consider replacing it, whether you have hardwood, laminate, linoleum, tile, or vinyl floors. It really does not matter. Too much water spilled on the floor will eventually damage it and the cabinets that it comes into contact with. If the dishwasher is malfunctioning, wash the dishes by hand until the problem is solved.

Your plumbing under the sink should also be checked on a regular basis. If you find that it is leaking, even only a few drips, you should put a bucket or a large bowl underneath it until you get a chance to fix it. It is important not to let this leak into your cabinets for very long, because it can cause the bottom to rot out.

If the power goes out and all the food in your freezer melts, you’ll have a fair sized water leak on the floor. Get this cleaned up as soon as possible, even if your floor is waterproofed.

Lastly, make sure you have a mop in your kitchen that really absorbs water well. Some cheaper mops simply will not do the job if you spill a large amount of water onto the floor. If you can afford one, you might even want to purchase a wet vacuum.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami water damage restoration companies and
mold remediation companies across the united states.

Which Flooded Items Can I Save?

2007-09-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

You may not be very sure what you can save after a flood wreaks havoc on the interior and exterior of your home, but there are some definite things that you can save and things that you will have to throw away.

Certain items that have been soaked in dirty flood water for many hours will probably not be salvageable. Wooden shutters, aluminum, wooden blinds, things made of vinyl, and etcetera can usually not be saved. Metal items will corrode and wooden items tend to warp over time, since it is porous and soaks up water easily.

Any pillows that were in the flood water need to be thrown out, since it will be hard to get rid of all the dirt from the material. It will also be difficult to completely disinfect them.

When you purchase a disinfectant, you should make sure that it is approved by the EPA and that it has a registration number somewhere on the label. This will assure you that the cleaner meets the EPA’s requirements. Having the correct disinfectant for the task at hand is also important. Some disinfectants are only effective on hard surfaces.

Before you begin washing your clothing and other fabrics, you should make sure that the water is safe to use and it not contaminated. If the tap water is safe to drink, it is safe to wash your clothes in. You also might want to make an effort to sanitize your washing machine before you use it. You can do this by running some detergent and bleach through the washer using the most water it can handle.

You can use a water hose to get rid of mud and dirt that is still on the floors of your home and on the furniture. Dried mud and dirt can be scraped and shaken off of most textiles.

When you are dealing with water damaged furniture, you have only a few options. If flood water reached the fabric, it may be stained and if they were in the water for more than a few hours, the silt and dirt that was in the water probably got through both the fabric and the padding. Unfortunately, padding will retain water and allow mold to grow. The majority of the time, your best bet will be to simply discard the upholstered furniture altogether. Restoring this furniture will mean stripping everything down to the frame.

If water gets through the finish on some wood items, it will mildew and the joints in the wooden frame of the item may also become loose.

Mattresses or box springs can be saved if they have come into contact with only a minimum of clean flood water (such as broken water pipes), but mattresses that have been come into contact with dirty flood waters cannot be due to the biological and chemical hazards that exist in them. You should not use a mattress that has a musty odor after it dries, since this means that mold is present. Have this item sanitized by a professional.

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 contractor.

Water Sanitation Using Heat and Bleach

2007-09-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

When you are having to sit a hurricane out in your home or other building, the most important thing that you need to have plenty of is clean water. Hurricanes are often something that we can prepare for in the United States, since we can typically see them coming, but failing to pay attention to the weather reports during hurricane season does happen to some of us.

You should have on hand about a gallon of clean water for every person staying with you. This will be used up in a day’s time, so having one gallon for every person for every day you expect the storm to last plus a few is a good idea.

Having a gas powered electricity generator is something else that you might want to have on hand, especially if you might not have enough water. If the electricity goes out and you run out of water, you will not be able to boil any water to make sure that it is sanitary before you drink it. During storms like this you should never assume that the tap water is alright to drink. Local water treatment plants could be contaminated with all kinds of things during this inclement weather and you should never drink it until the storm clears and your local government okays it.

Boiling water is the best way to sanitize it if you have no other means of doing so, such as a high quality water filter. Bring the water to a boil and keep it like this for about 5 to 10 minutes. Covering the boiling pot of water should shorten the time necessary to get the water boiling and will help you save fuel.

Liquid Clorox bleach can also be used to sanitize water. It can be used to purity tap water and make it safe for you to drink. This will kill any bacteria and microorganisms living in it and the process is fairly simple.

Any water should be let to stand in a container until any debris or sediment settles to the bottom. The clear water should be poured into another container, leaving the water still containing sediment in the bottom of the first one. You only need to use a couple of drops of bleach per quart of water.

As a backup for boiling and bleach, you can also purchase water purification tablets at most outdoor supply stores. People who go camping or hiking often take these with them in case they need them, but you can also benefit from keeping a few on hand.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.

Water Sanitation Options

2007-09-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

The most important thing that you need to have plenty of on hand during a hurricane or tropical storm is simply clean water. Clean water may be more difficult to obtain during these times than you might think, so you need to try and have plenty of it stocked up beforehand if you live in an area that is prone to having these serious storms. If you happen to run out before the storm is completely over, though, there are a few things that you can do to make sure that you have enough to last you.

For every person that will be with you during the storm, you should be saving at least one gallon for them per day for use.

An electricity generator that is powered by gas might be a good thing to have around, as well, since electricity tends to go out during hurricanes and tropical storms, affecting your ability to boil water for drinking. You can boil water on your stove for about 10 minutes or so and make it safe to drink as long as you filter out any sediment that might be in it first. Do not drink flood water, since this will likely have more in it than you can get rid of by simply boiling it.

If you do not have electricity, using chlorinated bleach to sanitize water is also a good idea. You only have to use a couple of drops for each gallon of water you want to sanitize. Be aware that you should only use regular chlorinated bleach for this process. Do not use lemon or any other scented bleach.

When you filter water out of your tap for boiling, you should pour this through a clean (white, if possible) cloth and let the water set until it is no longer cloudy. Do not under any circumstances drink water straight out of the tap after the storm has hit, since your water treatment plant could be contaminated. Do not drink water out of the tap that has not been boiled until your local government says that your tap water is safe to drink.

If you do not have electricity or bleach, then using some water purification tablets to sanitize your water is also an option. Purchase some of these at an outdoor supply store where hiking and camping supplies are.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.

Water Damage Risk Areas

2007-09-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

Correcting the water damage in your bathroom is usually a time consuming task depending on the severity of it, but the prevention of such damage is usually within the reach of most homeowners. The fact is that preventing this damage is usually much, much easier than the act of having to actually repair it after it has already occurred. Steam from showers and baths can discolor ceilings and cause mold growth, overflowing toilets onto cracked tile can lead to rotting of the floor underneath it, and there is always the possibility of mold growth. You should do what you can to protect this room in your home, since it is one of the most important rooms along with the kitchen.

There are a few different areas of your bathroom that you need to keep an eye on and look for any sign of abnormalities in on a regular basis. These areas that are the most at risk are the toilet, shower, bath tub, and the sink.

The bath tub and shower usually require some special attention, since these are the largest sources of water in the room and present the most risk. Over time, the tiles around the tub and shower can become cracked and if it is allowed to overflow, the floor underneath can become so damaged that the whole floor will need to be taken up and redone. Missing grout can also cause this. Repair the tile floor as soon as you notice cracks in it. Also make sure that the caulking around the tub is not loose or missing and if it is, you should re-caulk this yourself or have a professional do it for you.

Check the plumbing underneath the sink and make sure that there are no leaks. Loose seals in this plumbing should be replaced as soon as possible, as well.

The toilet can also overflow and the tile around this area can also be breached if it is cracked, so in the same manner as the area around the tub, the cracked tile needs to be dealt with. Keep your toilet from overflowing by not putting more paper in the toilet than it can handle. A lid lock can be purchased and put on toilets in homes that have small children that are prone to putting things in the toilet that do not belong there.

If you can see signs of moisture on the drywall, then you might also have a problem in the plumbing running through the walls. You need to call in a professional to deal with this problem.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.

Restoring Smoke Damaged Clothes

2007-09-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has been the victim of a house fire will tell you that the cleanup that you have to do afterward is a huge chore and that a lot of things in your house will either have to be cleaned thoroughly or have to be replaced. Unfortunately, this includes something that everyone has to use on a daily basis: clothing. The vast majority of us have to wear clothing every day of our lives and if a fire were to affect our whole wardrobe, a lot of us would be in some trouble.

Fortunately for us, though, cleaning smoke damaged clothing is not always as difficult as some might make it out to be. You will need to sort your clothing fairly heavily, though, since there are so many factors involved. How soiled the clothing is, what it is made out of, and what color it is. This will be the most time consuming part of the whole task.

Some things will need to be dry cleaned, but you do not want to take these to a normal dry cleaning service. Make sure that the dry cleaning service that you are dealing with has experience in dealing with smoke damaged clothing items.

Sort your clothes. Lightly soiled clothing should be put into one group and heavily soiled items into another. Sort them further by dividing them into kinds of fabric. Put synthetic fabrics into one pile and organics such as wool and cotton in another. Further sort them by color type. Bright warm colors, cool colors, dark colors, and reds should be given their own group. Do not be concerned over whether there is enough in each pile to constitute a full load. Washing them separately like this is necessary.

Before you wash the heavily soiled clothing, take them outside and shake them out. The excess soot and ash need to be removed so that the water in the washing machine does not become too saturated with dirt to be of any real use. Heavily soiled clothes should be washed twice or more.

Use as much detergent as the washer requires and add about a cup of water conditioner to the mix. Some all-fabric bleach can also be used. Use as much water as your machine can handle for each load.

Synthetic items should be washed in warm water so that they do not start to wrinkle during the washer’s spin cycle. Wrinkles can be difficult to remove from synthetic fabrics.

Hang the clothes out to dry instead of using the dryer, but do not do this in your basement or a confined area. Clothes should never be hung to dry inside the house; only do this outside. After they dry, smell them and see if the smoke odor is still there. If it is, wash them again and repeat the drying process.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Orlando water damage restoration companies and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.