Allergies plague millions of people the world over, whether the kind of allergy is related to food, pet dander, grasses, mold, or certain chemicals. The symptoms are usually the most prevalent during the spring, summer, and early fall and are caused by seasonal molds and plants. Molds simply lie dormant during the winter time and are unable to continue growing if they are exposed to freezing temperatures. Once spring comes back, mold spore levels in the outdoors skyrocket, wreaking havoc on those of us who happen to be allergic to certain varieties.
The allergy symptoms associated with mold are typically about the same as the allergy symptoms that are caused by almost anything else. Depending upon the severity of the allergy of the person affected, the symptoms can range from a simple runny nose all the way to a serious reaction requiring hospitalization. Children, the elderly, and anyone with a weakened immune system needs to be careful when it comes to just how much of their allergen that they come into contact with. Allergy symptoms related to mold can also seemingly be made worse by eating foods that have been processed containing mold. This can include cheeses made with mold like gorgonzola or blue cheese or just simple funguses like mushrooms. Beer and bread have also been known to worsen these reactions, since they are made with yeast, which is a fungus.
While the majority of molds in the world do not cause allergic reactions, there are a few genii that do. Most allergic reactions are caused by molds in Penicillium, Cladosporium, and Alternaria. Even though Penicillin is named after the genus Penicillium, there are molds in this genus that can cause allergic reactions just like the others.
Try to keep an eye on the mold spore reports that occur on your local news stations regularly, usually every morning, noon, and every evening. If you have children or elderly members of your family that are allergic to mold spores or have any other kind of allergy, you need to be careful about taking them out of the home during times of high spore or pollen counts. A mistake can be deadly if they are exposed to their allergen for a long period of time. If you have any doubts as to whether you should take them outside during these times, the best bet is to have them stay home.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood and water damage cleanup and
water damage restoration> companies across the united states.
Friday, September 28, 2007
How to Sanitize Your Water
Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink” is a saying that most of us are familiar with and unfortunately for those of us who live in hurricane and tropical storm prone areas, there may be some real truth to it. The amount of water that is clean and sanitary to drink during these storms is very limited if you do not have enough water saved up in advance.
You need to keep plenty of clean bottled water on hand during hurricane season and doing this is not very difficult. Save milk jugs and store tap water in them. Try to keep them in an area of your home that is high up, so you are sure that flood waters will not contaminate them. Keep around at least one gallon of water for each person staying with you during the storm for every day you expect the storm to last and then some. Running out of clean water is not something you want to do.
Boiling tap water is an option if you have electricity. If not, a small gas powered generator can do the trick if you are without power for a significant period and can really be a life saver. Filter the water first through a cloth to get any sediment that may have gotten into the local water supply out before you let it set for a while. Put the clear water into a pot and boil for about ten minutes or so. This should give you clean water to drink or bathe in. You should never drink water from your faucet during a hurricane or flood, because of the risk of the local water supply being contaminated with sea water or sewage. Flood water or sea water also cannot be boiled to the point of being safe to drink, since it may be contaminated with more biohazards and chemicals than boiling can get rid of.
A couple of drops of bleach in a gallon of water can also sanitize it, but you should not use scented bleach for this. Allow the water to set for about 30 minutes or longer before drinking it. Do not be alarmed about this idea, since bleach has been used in water supplies for years to sanitize the water that we drink.
Water purification tablets are also available for purchase at most outdoor or camping supply stores. These can be used in the place of heat or bleach in sanitizing water.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood and water damage cleanup and
water damage restoration> companies across the united states.
You need to keep plenty of clean bottled water on hand during hurricane season and doing this is not very difficult. Save milk jugs and store tap water in them. Try to keep them in an area of your home that is high up, so you are sure that flood waters will not contaminate them. Keep around at least one gallon of water for each person staying with you during the storm for every day you expect the storm to last and then some. Running out of clean water is not something you want to do.
Boiling tap water is an option if you have electricity. If not, a small gas powered generator can do the trick if you are without power for a significant period and can really be a life saver. Filter the water first through a cloth to get any sediment that may have gotten into the local water supply out before you let it set for a while. Put the clear water into a pot and boil for about ten minutes or so. This should give you clean water to drink or bathe in. You should never drink water from your faucet during a hurricane or flood, because of the risk of the local water supply being contaminated with sea water or sewage. Flood water or sea water also cannot be boiled to the point of being safe to drink, since it may be contaminated with more biohazards and chemicals than boiling can get rid of.
A couple of drops of bleach in a gallon of water can also sanitize it, but you should not use scented bleach for this. Allow the water to set for about 30 minutes or longer before drinking it. Do not be alarmed about this idea, since bleach has been used in water supplies for years to sanitize the water that we drink.
Water purification tablets are also available for purchase at most outdoor or camping supply stores. These can be used in the place of heat or bleach in sanitizing water.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood and water damage cleanup and
water damage restoration> companies across the united states.
Draining Water From Your Yard
Standing water in the yard is a very unattractive feature of a person’s property not only due to its aesthetically displeasing characteristic, but also because of the potential water damage that it can cause to the property if there is enough of it in the right area. The owner’s first instinct to fix this problem is to try and plant things in the area where the water tends to build up, but this will not typically work. Any plants that are put in an area that floods from time to time will drown and die. Getting rid of the standing water on your property is not too difficult most of the time, since the problem usually lies simply with the elevation of the part of the yard that is affected the most.
If it is a problem with the elevation of the flooded area, then all you really need to do is add soil to that area and make it level with the rest of your yard. This will keep the flooding at bay as long as the water builds up as a result of heavy rain. Plant some grass over it both to hide the soil and to keep it in place.
Installing a drainage system is also an option, but you need to contact your local building commission and be certain that you will be allowed to build a drainage system. Building permits can be tricky and you need to make sure that your building project is on the up and up before you start working on anything.
Digging a French drain is not very difficult to do. Dig a little ditch in your yard and lay a piece of PVC pipe down inside it. Cover it up with gravel and this will direct the water anywhere you want it to, like a city sewer or ditch. When you dig it, you need to be sure that the highest point of the pipe is in the area that you want to drain and that the lowest point is where you want the water to drain to. You need to make the pipe slant downhill 6 inches for every 100 feet. To keep soil from getting in the pipe, you should install a strainer over the end. A simple sink strainer capped over the end could work for this or a piece of wire mesh. A strainer at the lower end is not needed.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York flood water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
South Carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.
If it is a problem with the elevation of the flooded area, then all you really need to do is add soil to that area and make it level with the rest of your yard. This will keep the flooding at bay as long as the water builds up as a result of heavy rain. Plant some grass over it both to hide the soil and to keep it in place.
Installing a drainage system is also an option, but you need to contact your local building commission and be certain that you will be allowed to build a drainage system. Building permits can be tricky and you need to make sure that your building project is on the up and up before you start working on anything.
Digging a French drain is not very difficult to do. Dig a little ditch in your yard and lay a piece of PVC pipe down inside it. Cover it up with gravel and this will direct the water anywhere you want it to, like a city sewer or ditch. When you dig it, you need to be sure that the highest point of the pipe is in the area that you want to drain and that the lowest point is where you want the water to drain to. You need to make the pipe slant downhill 6 inches for every 100 feet. To keep soil from getting in the pipe, you should install a strainer over the end. A simple sink strainer capped over the end could work for this or a piece of wire mesh. A strainer at the lower end is not needed.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York flood water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
South Carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.
Bathroom Humidity and Mold Problems
A relaxing bath or shower can be just what you need after a long day at work, but when you look up and around you and you see mold starting to grow on the walls, the relaxation usually gets ruined by the worry about that mold problem. It shows itself as a splotchy growth on the drywall and it usually moves slowly from one end of the room to the other. If left untreated, it will eventually cover the rest of your bathroom and then you really will not have much of a good time bathing.
Most of the time drywall that becomes contaminated needs to be taken out and thrown away, unless the growth is very new and superficial. If it is old growth and is found to be embedded into the wall, then the drywall cannot be cleaned, since it is such a porous surface. This is unfortunate, because tearing out drywall and replacing it can cost quite a bit, especially if you have to hire someone else to do it for you.
A lot of people seem to like installing carpet in their bathrooms, but what they may not realize is just what a very bad idea this is. Water and mold go hand in hand and once carpet gets wet and is allowed to stay that way on a continuing basis as it will be in a bathroom, it eventually begins to mold. When carpet gets moldy, the unfortunate fact about this, as with drywall, is that it usually has to be thrown out. Carpet can be cleaned, but the padding underneath it cannot and if mold continues to grow on the padding, any new carpet that you put over it will also be contaminated and so will the old carpet if you attempted to clean it.
Try to keep the humidity in the bathroom down by installing an exhaust vent to let steam and moisture out of the house. Also keep wet items of clothing and towels washed as often as possible and avoid letting them stay on the floor, especially a carpeted one.
Keep an eye on your toilet and make sure that it is flushing properly and that the members of your house are not putting too much toilet paper in it. Feminine napkins can sometimes be put into toilets, but this is usually only recommended for homes that are connected to city sewer systems. Homes with septic tanks tend to have a harder time with feminine napkins being put in the toilet and can stop up the whole system, particularly if the pipes are old and corroded.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New Jersey mold damage restoration and other states and cities such as
Connecticut mold remediation companies across the united states.
Most of the time drywall that becomes contaminated needs to be taken out and thrown away, unless the growth is very new and superficial. If it is old growth and is found to be embedded into the wall, then the drywall cannot be cleaned, since it is such a porous surface. This is unfortunate, because tearing out drywall and replacing it can cost quite a bit, especially if you have to hire someone else to do it for you.
A lot of people seem to like installing carpet in their bathrooms, but what they may not realize is just what a very bad idea this is. Water and mold go hand in hand and once carpet gets wet and is allowed to stay that way on a continuing basis as it will be in a bathroom, it eventually begins to mold. When carpet gets moldy, the unfortunate fact about this, as with drywall, is that it usually has to be thrown out. Carpet can be cleaned, but the padding underneath it cannot and if mold continues to grow on the padding, any new carpet that you put over it will also be contaminated and so will the old carpet if you attempted to clean it.
Try to keep the humidity in the bathroom down by installing an exhaust vent to let steam and moisture out of the house. Also keep wet items of clothing and towels washed as often as possible and avoid letting them stay on the floor, especially a carpeted one.
Keep an eye on your toilet and make sure that it is flushing properly and that the members of your house are not putting too much toilet paper in it. Feminine napkins can sometimes be put into toilets, but this is usually only recommended for homes that are connected to city sewer systems. Homes with septic tanks tend to have a harder time with feminine napkins being put in the toilet and can stop up the whole system, particularly if the pipes are old and corroded.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New Jersey mold damage restoration and other states and cities such as
Connecticut mold remediation companies across the united states.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Taking Care of Mold in Your Kitchen
The kitchen is often the heart of the household and since we have to eat to survive, this is one of the most important rooms in your home to keep clean. This means not only the countertops, dishes, and table where we eat, but also the inside of the refrigerator where we keep our food. We should pay special attention to what we take into our bodies, since foods that have become contaminated can make the strongest of us deathly ill.
So, just exactly what foods do we need to throw away? Well, not all foods that are outdated need to be thrown out. Most of the time the expiration date refers to the date that the grocery store has to sell the item by, not necessarily the date that it needs to be consumed by. Many items will remain safe to eat for months after their expiration dates, as long as the seal on them has not been broken. Once the seal has been broken, though, these items will go bad just like anything else.
Once an item has had its seal broken, it is exposed to mold spores, bacteria, viruses, and other hazards in the household. Keeping the inside of your refrigerator cleaned out can help reduce this, but the threat will always be there. Almost anything that you find in the refrigerator that has become molded needs to be thrown away, but a couple of things are fine as long as you cut off the molded parts and a generous portion around them. This includes dense items that do not contain a high moisture content, like hard salami and blocks of cheese. Items that have a lot of moisture, like jams, jellies, sour cream, mayonnaise, and etcetera cannot be saved. Do not consume these items under any circumstances.
Fruits and vegetables that become molded usually need to be thrown away, as well. Keep a check on your produce supply to make sure that one bad item does not contaminate the rest. Mold spreads fairly quickly over these and it needs to remain monitored or you will have wasted a good sum of money on fresh produce for nothing. Never buy more than you will consume within the next few days.
Cleaning out your refrigerator at least once every few months is advised to keep bacteria from building up inside it. This can be a chore that your kids can do, but only if you show them how to do is properly first. If not done correctly, it might as well not have been done at all.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Water Damage Restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
So, just exactly what foods do we need to throw away? Well, not all foods that are outdated need to be thrown out. Most of the time the expiration date refers to the date that the grocery store has to sell the item by, not necessarily the date that it needs to be consumed by. Many items will remain safe to eat for months after their expiration dates, as long as the seal on them has not been broken. Once the seal has been broken, though, these items will go bad just like anything else.
Once an item has had its seal broken, it is exposed to mold spores, bacteria, viruses, and other hazards in the household. Keeping the inside of your refrigerator cleaned out can help reduce this, but the threat will always be there. Almost anything that you find in the refrigerator that has become molded needs to be thrown away, but a couple of things are fine as long as you cut off the molded parts and a generous portion around them. This includes dense items that do not contain a high moisture content, like hard salami and blocks of cheese. Items that have a lot of moisture, like jams, jellies, sour cream, mayonnaise, and etcetera cannot be saved. Do not consume these items under any circumstances.
Fruits and vegetables that become molded usually need to be thrown away, as well. Keep a check on your produce supply to make sure that one bad item does not contaminate the rest. Mold spreads fairly quickly over these and it needs to remain monitored or you will have wasted a good sum of money on fresh produce for nothing. Never buy more than you will consume within the next few days.
Cleaning out your refrigerator at least once every few months is advised to keep bacteria from building up inside it. This can be a chore that your kids can do, but only if you show them how to do is properly first. If not done correctly, it might as well not have been done at all.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Water Damage Restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Plumbing and Mold Issues for New Home Builders
When you are having a contractor build your home, there are a few things that you need to do before they begin the project.
The first thing on the list is to find a contractor that you think that you can trust. Finding one through the phone book is not an entirely bad idea, but asking around can be more beneficial. You can use the phone book to do this or ask friends for the name of a good contractor, you will still want to get at least three different contractors on a list of those that you are considering. Make sure they all three get the same set of building plans so they are all bidding on the same project.
When looking at the bids that you have received, be wary of a bid that is significantly lower than the others. This may be a sign of inexperience or desperation. While desperation is not necessarily a bad thing, inexperience is your enemy and you need to avoid hiring an inexperienced contractor. Consider the lowest offer, but do a good amount of research on the contractor first. Get more references from him than for the higher offers to ensure that he is experienced and will do a good job.
No matter which contractor that you choose from your list, you need to visit the job site as often as possible to ensure that your new home is being built correctly and is completely up to your local building codes. Building codes vary from state to state and even city to city, so be aware that a building inspector may come by to make sure it is done correctly. You should also pay good attention to how your contractor is taking care of your building materials. Nothing should ever be stored on the ground, especially wood and drywall. These will mold fairly quickly and the last thing you want is mold built into your brand new home. For best results, have a mold inspector come out to look at the property a few times before the project is completed.
Having an experienced plumber on the job is also very necessary. Bad plumbing in your home can cause water damage that is often very expensive to repair and you never know when a leak will spring up. If a building inspector has not come out to check the property, make sure he or she does to inspect this.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingct.info
http://www.floodedbasementnj.info
The first thing on the list is to find a contractor that you think that you can trust. Finding one through the phone book is not an entirely bad idea, but asking around can be more beneficial. You can use the phone book to do this or ask friends for the name of a good contractor, you will still want to get at least three different contractors on a list of those that you are considering. Make sure they all three get the same set of building plans so they are all bidding on the same project.
When looking at the bids that you have received, be wary of a bid that is significantly lower than the others. This may be a sign of inexperience or desperation. While desperation is not necessarily a bad thing, inexperience is your enemy and you need to avoid hiring an inexperienced contractor. Consider the lowest offer, but do a good amount of research on the contractor first. Get more references from him than for the higher offers to ensure that he is experienced and will do a good job.
No matter which contractor that you choose from your list, you need to visit the job site as often as possible to ensure that your new home is being built correctly and is completely up to your local building codes. Building codes vary from state to state and even city to city, so be aware that a building inspector may come by to make sure it is done correctly. You should also pay good attention to how your contractor is taking care of your building materials. Nothing should ever be stored on the ground, especially wood and drywall. These will mold fairly quickly and the last thing you want is mold built into your brand new home. For best results, have a mold inspector come out to look at the property a few times before the project is completed.
Having an experienced plumber on the job is also very necessary. Bad plumbing in your home can cause water damage that is often very expensive to repair and you never know when a leak will spring up. If a building inspector has not come out to check the property, make sure he or she does to inspect this.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingct.info
http://www.floodedbasementnj.info
Mold Threatens Home Canned Food
If you have a fair sized garden, odds are pretty good that you know how to can a lot of the things that come out of it. This can include tomatoes, cucumbers, and just about anything you can think of. When you can your food at home out of your own garden, you know exactly what is going into it without having to look on the back of the package. Unfortunately, though, some of the people who can their own vegetables at home are making some mistakes that completely void the benefits of doing this themselves.
Mold likes to grow on anything that is organic and of course, this includes anything that you are canning in your own kitchen. But, canning your own food is completely safe and you will not run into any mold contamination issues after the jars are sealed, right..? Wrong!
Before beginning the canning process, you need to make sure that you are using only the best samples from your garden. If there are any fruits or vegetables that you are unsure about, do not use them. One bad vegetable or fruit will cause the whole batch to be bad.
Sterilize everything. This includes the jars and everything the food is going to come into contact with. You can sterilize the jars by filling them and the pot they are in with hot water and heating it to boiling. Bring the temperature of the water up gradually and do not insert a jar into water that is already boiling. They should stand upright with water inside them.
You should also not pack things too tightly inside the jars. This can keep the food in the middle from reaching a sterilizing temperature and can leave microorganisms such as bacteria and mold spores alive. After you pack the jars full of whatever you want to can, you need to begin the processing immediately. Do not use old jars and lids for this, because they may not seal entirely.
Any jars that are found to have mold growing in them need to be thrown out. This food is no longer safe to eat, even if you take what appears to be the only molded part out.
After the processing bit is over with, you should store these in an area away from heat and sunlight. They should be let to cool naturally.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration New Jersey and and other states such as
Connecticut Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Mold likes to grow on anything that is organic and of course, this includes anything that you are canning in your own kitchen. But, canning your own food is completely safe and you will not run into any mold contamination issues after the jars are sealed, right..? Wrong!
Before beginning the canning process, you need to make sure that you are using only the best samples from your garden. If there are any fruits or vegetables that you are unsure about, do not use them. One bad vegetable or fruit will cause the whole batch to be bad.
Sterilize everything. This includes the jars and everything the food is going to come into contact with. You can sterilize the jars by filling them and the pot they are in with hot water and heating it to boiling. Bring the temperature of the water up gradually and do not insert a jar into water that is already boiling. They should stand upright with water inside them.
You should also not pack things too tightly inside the jars. This can keep the food in the middle from reaching a sterilizing temperature and can leave microorganisms such as bacteria and mold spores alive. After you pack the jars full of whatever you want to can, you need to begin the processing immediately. Do not use old jars and lids for this, because they may not seal entirely.
Any jars that are found to have mold growing in them need to be thrown out. This food is no longer safe to eat, even if you take what appears to be the only molded part out.
After the processing bit is over with, you should store these in an area away from heat and sunlight. They should be let to cool naturally.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration New Jersey and and other states such as
Connecticut Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Mold and Plumbing Considerations When Hiring a Contractor
When building a new home or remodeling your old one, the most important decision that you need to make is who will do the job. The contractor that you hire to do this project is obviously going to influence how it turns out, not the budget or what type of materials you plan on using. You could do some of the remodeling work on your own and get away with it if you do your research ahead of time, but if you are planning on building a house and have no prior experience, then the best thing to do is to leave it to the professionals.
Finding a contractor in the phone book might not seem like a great idea, but for those of us moving to new areas and wanting to build a new home there, we may not have the advantage of talking to friends and neighbors in the area and getting references. No matter which method you use, you will want to get at least three different bids using the same exact building plans. Ask for references and do not be afraid to check up on them. Ask any of the references if they have had problems with mold or water damage in their constructions since they were first built. This should give you a decent idea whether the contractor can do the job you want.
You should visit the job site often and pay attention to how the contractor and his people are treating the building materials that you had them purchase for the job. None of these things should be stored directly on the ground, especially drywall and lumber, since these are porous surfaces. Mold will start to grow on these items and it will become built into the foundation of your home from the very start and even though your contractor will be liable should you have a problem later, it will be a huge inconvenience to deal with. It is better to monitor the care of your home’s building materials from the beginning. Have a mold inspector come at different intervals during the construction.
Make sure that your contractor has a plumber that knows what he or she is doing on the job to install the plumbing system. You want to make sure that the plumbing system is installed on your property correctly and that it is up to code. If you are having new plumbing installed in your home as a part of a remodeling or renovation project, you will want to have it inspected to be sure that it is up to code, especially if you live in an area with strict building codes.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodchicago.info
http://www.damagewatersc.info
Finding a contractor in the phone book might not seem like a great idea, but for those of us moving to new areas and wanting to build a new home there, we may not have the advantage of talking to friends and neighbors in the area and getting references. No matter which method you use, you will want to get at least three different bids using the same exact building plans. Ask for references and do not be afraid to check up on them. Ask any of the references if they have had problems with mold or water damage in their constructions since they were first built. This should give you a decent idea whether the contractor can do the job you want.
You should visit the job site often and pay attention to how the contractor and his people are treating the building materials that you had them purchase for the job. None of these things should be stored directly on the ground, especially drywall and lumber, since these are porous surfaces. Mold will start to grow on these items and it will become built into the foundation of your home from the very start and even though your contractor will be liable should you have a problem later, it will be a huge inconvenience to deal with. It is better to monitor the care of your home’s building materials from the beginning. Have a mold inspector come at different intervals during the construction.
Make sure that your contractor has a plumber that knows what he or she is doing on the job to install the plumbing system. You want to make sure that the plumbing system is installed on your property correctly and that it is up to code. If you are having new plumbing installed in your home as a part of a remodeling or renovation project, you will want to have it inspected to be sure that it is up to code, especially if you live in an area with strict building codes.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodchicago.info
http://www.damagewatersc.info
Mold And Humidity Problems
Mold will grow just about anywhere, but it really becomes a problem for human beings when the mold spores found in your home land on a surface that is wet and is allowed to stay that way for more than about 48 hours. Mold spores are always present in the home in some capacity, no matter what kind of air purification you use, but there are a few things that you can do inside your home to stop them from forming colonies.
One thing that you need to understand is that mold cannot grow without moisture or in some cases, standing water. The areas of your home that have the highest humidity are the places where mold is the most likely to start growing. Laundry rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and basements are notorious for mold growth, so these are the rooms that you need to focus on.
Kitchens and bathrooms should have tile installed on the floors and never carpet. Tile will keep any spilled water from being absorbed by the sub-flooring and will allow you to clean up the moisture pretty quickly, whereas with carpet, it will not be as easy to soak up the spill. Something else to be aware of is that the carpet padding underneath it will need to be taken up and thrown away if it becomes moldy. So, even if you can clean the mold off of the carpet that you have installed, you will still have to remove it to install new padding. The best thing to do is not have carpet in these moist areas of your home.
Having exhaust fans installed in your home to help control the humidity is something else that you should consider. These will help remove not only moist air from the rooms they are installed in, but also help reduce irritants like pet dander and smoke. It might cost you a few hundred dollars to install these in the most humid rooms of the house, but it will be worth it in the end.
Something else you can do to control humidity is to keep wet items outside. This means you should not hang clothes up to dry in the laundry room or the basement and any wet clothing should be washed and dried as soon as possible.
Where there is mold, there is usually a water leak issue. This can be a leak in the basement or a household appliance or it can even be a plumbing leak inside the wall that you are not aware of. Getting rid of the mold problem in your home is directly related to how well you can manage the water problems in your house, so getting any leaks fixed as soon as possible is in your favor.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
South Carolina Water Damage Restoration and and other states such as
Chicago Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
One thing that you need to understand is that mold cannot grow without moisture or in some cases, standing water. The areas of your home that have the highest humidity are the places where mold is the most likely to start growing. Laundry rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and basements are notorious for mold growth, so these are the rooms that you need to focus on.
Kitchens and bathrooms should have tile installed on the floors and never carpet. Tile will keep any spilled water from being absorbed by the sub-flooring and will allow you to clean up the moisture pretty quickly, whereas with carpet, it will not be as easy to soak up the spill. Something else to be aware of is that the carpet padding underneath it will need to be taken up and thrown away if it becomes moldy. So, even if you can clean the mold off of the carpet that you have installed, you will still have to remove it to install new padding. The best thing to do is not have carpet in these moist areas of your home.
Having exhaust fans installed in your home to help control the humidity is something else that you should consider. These will help remove not only moist air from the rooms they are installed in, but also help reduce irritants like pet dander and smoke. It might cost you a few hundred dollars to install these in the most humid rooms of the house, but it will be worth it in the end.
Something else you can do to control humidity is to keep wet items outside. This means you should not hang clothes up to dry in the laundry room or the basement and any wet clothing should be washed and dried as soon as possible.
Where there is mold, there is usually a water leak issue. This can be a leak in the basement or a household appliance or it can even be a plumbing leak inside the wall that you are not aware of. Getting rid of the mold problem in your home is directly related to how well you can manage the water problems in your house, so getting any leaks fixed as soon as possible is in your favor.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
South Carolina Water Damage Restoration and and other states such as
Chicago Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
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