Looking around for mold growth in your home is a burden that no one wants to have to take on, but sometimes not looking for it can cost you thousands of dollars in renovations later on after the growth has gotten so bad that the affected areas have to be completely gutted. Knowing how to spot mold early on is the key to saving all of this time and money, but it is not always as visible as some pictures on the internet and the news may have you believe. While mold does come in a variety of colorful species, it is not always as colorful as most of the images you come across.
Some molds are nigh invisible and grow on a few different surfaces mostly undetected unless you know how you need to look for them. Wood paneling, for example, can have mold growing on it and you not even realize it without the use of a simple bright flashlight. To be able to see the mold, however, you will need to know how to use the flashlight correctly. Instead of shining the light directly toward the paneling, you need to shine it along the surface of the paneling at an angle, so as to give the possible mold growth some depth. Only in this way will you be able to detect the extremely light colored molds growing on the different surfaces of your home. These molds tend to be a species in the Aspergillus or Penicillium genus.
Wood paneling is common in older homes and in homes that have been flood damaged, since replacing the affected drywall is a lot more expensive than simply installing paneling in its place. This is one reason mold likes to grow on this paneling: it is typically old and should be replaced.
You can miss these molds easily when you do a casual inspection of your home, but just taking a flashlight with you and knowing how to use it can save you a lot of money in the end. Molds that are not visible to you readily are not necessarily harmless; they can be just as detrimental to the building structure and your health as the molds that you do have the ability to see with the naked eye. Mold is not always an invisible threat, but it certainly can be, even if you think you know how to look for it.
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
Friday, September 28, 2007
Most homeowners do not consider the basement a very important part of the house, but since the rest of your home’s structure is on top of this, you might want to rethink just how valuable of a room this is. Whether you use it for storage, a guest bedroom, laundry room, or anything else you can think of, it is important to make sure that this room of the house remains structurally sound.
While it is a common problem, wet basements are something that most homeowners do not have to deal with if they take some precautions and the time to make some adjustments on their own. Many wet basement issues can be fixed by the homeowner without having to hire any outside help.
You can fix any cracks in the concrete walls of your basement where water is leaking in by using a simple injection of concrete. Doing this used to require expensive and heavy equipment, but the size and expense of this has gone down so significantly that you can now do it with a normal caulking gun. Do not try do this with the silicone caulking that you would use in a bathroom or kitchen or attempt to fix it with cement, either. These two items will only become loose and fall out, no longer forming the water barrier that you need to have in place.
If water is forming in puddles around the foundation of your house, then you probably need to pile some more soil around the house so the water runs away from the house instead of leaking down into the basement. Installing a drainage system can also help with this. Making sure your rain gutters stay cleaned out is also another thing that you can do to try and keep water out of your basement. While they seem unrelated, gutters that are clogged let water merely fall off the roof and down to the base of the house.
You can also choose to install a dehumidifier and some energy efficient windows. You will know that you have a humidity problem in the room if condensation builds up on the window panes. Putting in an exhaust vent down there can also help reduce the humidity, especially if you use the area as a laundry room or an extra bathroom. This helps prevent the steam from being absorbed by the rafters or the drywall ceiling.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
While it is a common problem, wet basements are something that most homeowners do not have to deal with if they take some precautions and the time to make some adjustments on their own. Many wet basement issues can be fixed by the homeowner without having to hire any outside help.
You can fix any cracks in the concrete walls of your basement where water is leaking in by using a simple injection of concrete. Doing this used to require expensive and heavy equipment, but the size and expense of this has gone down so significantly that you can now do it with a normal caulking gun. Do not try do this with the silicone caulking that you would use in a bathroom or kitchen or attempt to fix it with cement, either. These two items will only become loose and fall out, no longer forming the water barrier that you need to have in place.
If water is forming in puddles around the foundation of your house, then you probably need to pile some more soil around the house so the water runs away from the house instead of leaking down into the basement. Installing a drainage system can also help with this. Making sure your rain gutters stay cleaned out is also another thing that you can do to try and keep water out of your basement. While they seem unrelated, gutters that are clogged let water merely fall off the roof and down to the base of the house.
You can also choose to install a dehumidifier and some energy efficient windows. You will know that you have a humidity problem in the room if condensation builds up on the window panes. Putting in an exhaust vent down there can also help reduce the humidity, especially if you use the area as a laundry room or an extra bathroom. This helps prevent the steam from being absorbed by the rafters or the drywall ceiling.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
How to Deal With Sewage Damage
There are only a few things that bring a more unpleasant image to the mind of a person than the idea of sewage and coming into contact with it. If the area where you live has been flooded recently, you may need to deal with that very thing as you are allowed to go back to your home after the waters have receded, since it is often the case that these very waters are contaminated with it, among other unpleasant items. Sewage, chemicals, decaying bodies, and other things may be lurking in the flood water that has overrun your home, so cleaning it out of the nooks and crannies of your home is going to be quite the task. If you are prepared, however, you can save a lot of money by doing most of the cleanup yourself.
Everything in the house needs to be taken outside, especially wet furniture. Unfortunately, your upholstered furniture will not be salvageable unless there is little padding, such as the upholstery on some dining chairs. Large items like couches and recliners will need to be thrown away 95% of the time because the padding will soak up sewage, soil, and chemicals, causing it to become a biological hazard. These items are very difficult to completely disinfect and you will waste much time and money trying to do so. Replacing them is your best bet.
Cloth items in the tops of closets that did not come into contact with the water can become molded simply because of the humidity in the house. This typically starts after about 3 or 4 days, since they were not actually soaked by the flood. Get these items out and wash them as soon as you can, but not in your home’s washer, since it was probably flooded, too. Do not use your household appliances until they have been checked for electrical damage. Take anything you need to wash to a Laundromat.
Mold can start growing on textiles and other materials within about 48 hours after they have gotten wet. You can save these items most of the time, but they may be stained. Cleaning molded items made of real leather, however, is not possible.
Scrubbing your floors can be done by taking a couple of buckets, one with cleaning water and the other with rinsing water, and being sure not to contaminate the clean water with sewage. Do not put the sponge or mop back into the clean water without rinsing it first. Replace the rinsing water as often as you need to.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
mold removal in Atlanta Georgia and
Water Damage Restoration companies.
Everything in the house needs to be taken outside, especially wet furniture. Unfortunately, your upholstered furniture will not be salvageable unless there is little padding, such as the upholstery on some dining chairs. Large items like couches and recliners will need to be thrown away 95% of the time because the padding will soak up sewage, soil, and chemicals, causing it to become a biological hazard. These items are very difficult to completely disinfect and you will waste much time and money trying to do so. Replacing them is your best bet.
Cloth items in the tops of closets that did not come into contact with the water can become molded simply because of the humidity in the house. This typically starts after about 3 or 4 days, since they were not actually soaked by the flood. Get these items out and wash them as soon as you can, but not in your home’s washer, since it was probably flooded, too. Do not use your household appliances until they have been checked for electrical damage. Take anything you need to wash to a Laundromat.
Mold can start growing on textiles and other materials within about 48 hours after they have gotten wet. You can save these items most of the time, but they may be stained. Cleaning molded items made of real leather, however, is not possible.
Scrubbing your floors can be done by taking a couple of buckets, one with cleaning water and the other with rinsing water, and being sure not to contaminate the clean water with sewage. Do not put the sponge or mop back into the clean water without rinsing it first. Replace the rinsing water as often as you need to.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
mold removal in Atlanta Georgia and
Water Damage Restoration companies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
