When home buyers finally decide to purchase a new home, one of the first things they consider remodeling tends to be the bathroom. Bathroom remodeling isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially if you are so unlucky as to find a colony of mold living in what is supposed to be one of the most comforting and relaxing areas of your home. Most people, however, wouldn’t know what to do if they found a mold colony in any part of their home, much less their beloved bathroom, even though this is one of the more likely places to find it.
The reason that the bathroom is one of the most common places to find infestations of mold is because there is a constant pattern of heat and humidity in this space. While some kinds of mold pose no threat to human beings, other kinds of mold can be hazardous to our health and can even render our homes uninhabitable. Black mold is found in many bathrooms and basements and it is very toxic. It has been known to cause rashes, fevers, flu-like symptoms and other health complications. If you discover what you think is black mold (and it truly does appear to be black), it’s best to call in a professional to get rid of it.
While it’s expensive to have the mold in your home removed, you will definitely want to put this on your to-do list. It can and will move to other parts of your home if it’s left unchecked. After the mold is removed successfully and you continue with your bathroom remodeling project, you’ll want to take steps to prevent the re-growth of mold in the future.
Install a bathroom fan while you’re remodeling if you don’t already have one. This is one of the best things that you can do to prevent mold from sneaking back into your quiet space. Bathroom fans get rid of the majority of the moisture that mold needs to grow and survive. Even if you’re not remodeling right now and your bathroom has no visible signs of mold, don’t bet on mold not invading there in the future, if you don’t have a fan in the bathroom, you should get one.
After showering or bathing, the shower curtain should be shaken off in the tub to direct as much water as possible toward the drain. Water that collects on the walls surrounding the tub should also be wiped either dry or down toward the drain with a squeegee. You want all the surfaces in your bathroom to dry out as quickly as possible.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
damage restoration companies and
mold removal companies across the united states.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Dealing With Water Damaged Documents
Marriage, birth, and death certificates are only a few of the hundreds of different important documents and items that we have in our homes that can become damaged by flood waters or other kinds of leaks and most of us don’t know how to safely deal with these items once the damage is already done.
The first thing that you should know is that there isn’t any reason to panic, unless you’ve been away from your home for more than two days. It takes two days for mold to begin to grow on these items, so one of the first things that you should do is make the environment unfriendly to mold. Keep the house around 65 degrees Fahrenheit if you can and reduce the humidity. If there is any standing water still in the house, remove it as quickly as possible. Be careful, however, of any electrical hazards that might still exist and make sure the electricity to the house is off before you go rushing into any soaked areas. The possibility of electrocution is very real if the power isn’t off.
Air circulation in the house should be increased with fans if the air outside isn’t warmer or more humid than the air inside. If there are any emergency repairs that need to be made inside the house to ensure your safety, do them immediately.
The next thing you should do is figure out what documents in your home are going to need to be salvaged. This will include the documents listed above, marriage, birth, and death certificates, along with any insurance papers, divorce papers, and almost any other legal documents you have on hand. If the materials are not completely soaked in water, it’s possible to just air dry them and they will be fine. If they’ve been submerged for long, the best bet is to have them frozen and freeze-dried by a local facility.
Buy some freezer wrap from your local grocery store if they have it and use it to separate documents and books from each other when you pack them into boxes. Remove the most important items (i.e. legal documents, antique books of any value) first and if there are any less important items that you want to save (high school diplomas, anything that’s “one-of-a-kind”, books), remove those second. Don’t pack anything tightly in the freezer paper, just tight enough to keep the items from sticking to each other or to the inside of the box. Label each box with its contents and your contact information and have them transferred to the nearest freeze dry facility.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
The first thing that you should know is that there isn’t any reason to panic, unless you’ve been away from your home for more than two days. It takes two days for mold to begin to grow on these items, so one of the first things that you should do is make the environment unfriendly to mold. Keep the house around 65 degrees Fahrenheit if you can and reduce the humidity. If there is any standing water still in the house, remove it as quickly as possible. Be careful, however, of any electrical hazards that might still exist and make sure the electricity to the house is off before you go rushing into any soaked areas. The possibility of electrocution is very real if the power isn’t off.
Air circulation in the house should be increased with fans if the air outside isn’t warmer or more humid than the air inside. If there are any emergency repairs that need to be made inside the house to ensure your safety, do them immediately.
The next thing you should do is figure out what documents in your home are going to need to be salvaged. This will include the documents listed above, marriage, birth, and death certificates, along with any insurance papers, divorce papers, and almost any other legal documents you have on hand. If the materials are not completely soaked in water, it’s possible to just air dry them and they will be fine. If they’ve been submerged for long, the best bet is to have them frozen and freeze-dried by a local facility.
Buy some freezer wrap from your local grocery store if they have it and use it to separate documents and books from each other when you pack them into boxes. Remove the most important items (i.e. legal documents, antique books of any value) first and if there are any less important items that you want to save (high school diplomas, anything that’s “one-of-a-kind”, books), remove those second. Don’t pack anything tightly in the freezer paper, just tight enough to keep the items from sticking to each other or to the inside of the box. Label each box with its contents and your contact information and have them transferred to the nearest freeze dry facility.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
Easy Ways to Stop the Mold Invasion
One of the most damaging things to a building, especially a residential one, is mold. While there are many kinds of mold and some are good and even used to make certain foods, when it grows inside your home it tends to lead to not only structural damage, but damage to the health of the people living in it as well. Home buyers are becoming more and more aware of the mold problem and wondering what they can do about it not only because of the health consequences of mold, but also of the damage it can do to the value of their home. Here are a few things you can do to help prevent mold from growing in your home.
Ventilating your household properly and in the right places is essential. Mold grows in warm, humid areas of your home that are not properly ventilated. It doesn’t need standing water to grow, only a humidity of over around 65% and if the humidity in the house is kept low enough, mold cannot grow. If you see condensation start to build up on a windowpane inside your house, this can be a sign that the humidity in your home is too high. Keep these areas wiped dry as much as possible until you can determine the best way to keep this from happening. Try a de-humidifier to help solve this problem.
Something else that helps with mold growth prevention is paperless sheetrock. This might be only feasible if you’re planning on building a completely new home, but if you’re doing any heavy remodeling or adding on any new space, paperless sheetrock is best because mold loves to feed on paper.
If you store papers and other items in your basement like cardboard boxes, don’t store them directly in contact with the floor, especially if there’s a chance that they could come into contact with moisture such as leaks around the indoor foundation or a leaky water heater. As stated before, mold eats paper and needs moisture to survive.
Clean up spills and any leaks you find in your home as quickly as possible and if you have a fan in your bathroom that can be used to let heat and steam outside the house, use it while showering. If you can vent the heat from items like clothes dryers and stoves to the outside of the house, do this while they are in use, as well.
Cold surfaces in the home such as pipes, especially in basements, should be insulated so condensation does not form. This not only prevents mold, but also helps to prevent the pipes from rusting.
With some smart actions, preventing mold from growing in your home isn’t just beneficial, it’s easy. The benefits of a mold free home definitely outweigh the cost of going to the small bit of trouble to keep it that way.
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.waterbasementct.info and
http://www.moldrestorationusa.com
Ventilating your household properly and in the right places is essential. Mold grows in warm, humid areas of your home that are not properly ventilated. It doesn’t need standing water to grow, only a humidity of over around 65% and if the humidity in the house is kept low enough, mold cannot grow. If you see condensation start to build up on a windowpane inside your house, this can be a sign that the humidity in your home is too high. Keep these areas wiped dry as much as possible until you can determine the best way to keep this from happening. Try a de-humidifier to help solve this problem.
Something else that helps with mold growth prevention is paperless sheetrock. This might be only feasible if you’re planning on building a completely new home, but if you’re doing any heavy remodeling or adding on any new space, paperless sheetrock is best because mold loves to feed on paper.
If you store papers and other items in your basement like cardboard boxes, don’t store them directly in contact with the floor, especially if there’s a chance that they could come into contact with moisture such as leaks around the indoor foundation or a leaky water heater. As stated before, mold eats paper and needs moisture to survive.
Clean up spills and any leaks you find in your home as quickly as possible and if you have a fan in your bathroom that can be used to let heat and steam outside the house, use it while showering. If you can vent the heat from items like clothes dryers and stoves to the outside of the house, do this while they are in use, as well.
Cold surfaces in the home such as pipes, especially in basements, should be insulated so condensation does not form. This not only prevents mold, but also helps to prevent the pipes from rusting.
With some smart actions, preventing mold from growing in your home isn’t just beneficial, it’s easy. The benefits of a mold free home definitely outweigh the cost of going to the small bit of trouble to keep it that way.
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.waterbasementct.info and
http://www.moldrestorationusa.com
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