Standing water in the front or the back yard can be an eyesore for both the homeowner and other people in the neighborhood, but it is not typically something that cannot be remedied. Depending on the source of the problem, it can be solved usually by either installing a drainage system or by the addition of a bit of soil in the right areas.
Allowing standing water in your yard, especially around the foundation of your house, can be detrimental both to the value of the property and to the structural integrity of the home. Water collecting in pockets around the base of the house can seep down into the basement or cause the house to slowly sink into the ground due to soil displacement over time. Wet soil does not form a good foundation for a home, so you need to try and fix this problem as soon as you run across it.
Many times simply piling soil in the areas where the water collects will fix the problem, since it is usually a simple issue of elevation. Some areas of your yard may not be the same elevation as other parts and water collects in these spots. Putting soil in these and planting grass over them not only for a pleasing visual effect, but also to keep the soil well in place, is the only real way to deal with elevation issues.
Putting in a drainage system is also a good option and it is not that expensive to install. You need a shovel, some gravel, PVC pipe, and a sink strainer. You should not have to hire anyone to do this for you, since all it takes is a little common sense and a bit of effort. You do, however, need to make sure that you obtain a permit to install the drain system, depending on where you live. Some areas may require that you get a permit to install a drainage system in your yard and want you to ask permission before directing the water into a city sewer or ditch.
Dig the ditch starting at the part of the yard that you want to drain and dig it to the area you want the water to go to. This ditch should slant downhill so that the water does not simply stand inside the drain and go nowhere. To get an adequate amount of water flow, it should decline 6 inches for every 100 feet. Install the PVC pipe inside it and cover with gravel. Cover that with soil and plant grass over it. This should keep the water drained well, but if you need more than one spot in your yard drained, the construction may be a little more complicated.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Water Damage Miami and
water damage restoration in atlanta companies.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Water Damaged Clothing Cleaning Methods
One of the most devastating things that can happen to a home owner is a house fire. And more often than not, you would have to either replace or attempt to restore fire or smoke damaged items. If you choose to simply clean the items, you must make sure that you clean them thoroughly before you make use of them again. While it may be quite a chore to try and restore most fire damaged items in the house, clothing is an almost entirely different story. Cleaning smoke damaged clothing is a very simple thing to do, and is most dependent on when you decide to wash them, and with what cleaning agent you employ to wash them.
While it is very easy to clean to clean the clothing, the task in of itself can be very daunting and, quite frankly, boring. However, one thing that can make the task easier to accomplish in a timely manner is to simply sort out your clothes by fabric types. This will help to determine how to care for each individual fabric type. This helps to ensure that you do not cause more damage than there already was. There are some things that are important to have dry cleaned as opposed to the others that will simply need to placed in a washer in your laundry room.
It is best if you sort out the clothing in accordance to how much soot or ash the clothes have managed to absorb. You should group the lightly soiled items together with other lightly soiled items. And, obviously, you should clean them together as well. However, you should break the lightly soiled items down into other groups based on fabric types, because some fabrics may not need to be as strongly cleaned because it could cause more damage.
However, you should shake out heavily soot soiled clothing before you attempt to wash them. This will help to remove as much of the soot as possible. It is also very important that you break the more heavily soiled clothes up into groups, as you did with the lighter soiled clothes. You should also make sure and wash the items twice at the very least. This is to help make sure that the clothes are completely clean.
It is a good idea to use the full recommended amount of laundry detergent for each wash load. Depending on the clothing’s material, you will have to adjust the water’s temperature
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and
flood and water damage cleanup companies across the united states.
While it is very easy to clean to clean the clothing, the task in of itself can be very daunting and, quite frankly, boring. However, one thing that can make the task easier to accomplish in a timely manner is to simply sort out your clothes by fabric types. This will help to determine how to care for each individual fabric type. This helps to ensure that you do not cause more damage than there already was. There are some things that are important to have dry cleaned as opposed to the others that will simply need to placed in a washer in your laundry room.
It is best if you sort out the clothing in accordance to how much soot or ash the clothes have managed to absorb. You should group the lightly soiled items together with other lightly soiled items. And, obviously, you should clean them together as well. However, you should break the lightly soiled items down into other groups based on fabric types, because some fabrics may not need to be as strongly cleaned because it could cause more damage.
However, you should shake out heavily soot soiled clothing before you attempt to wash them. This will help to remove as much of the soot as possible. It is also very important that you break the more heavily soiled clothes up into groups, as you did with the lighter soiled clothes. You should also make sure and wash the items twice at the very least. This is to help make sure that the clothes are completely clean.
It is a good idea to use the full recommended amount of laundry detergent for each wash load. Depending on the clothing’s material, you will have to adjust the water’s temperature
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and
flood and water damage cleanup companies across the united states.
Venting Is a Good Thing
If you do not have a ceiling exhaust fan installed in your bathrooms, it will not be long before you realize why you need one. There are so many reasons that they are a necessary item. Have you ever tried to blow dry your hair in a steamy bathroom? If you could see yourself in the mirror it might help, but with all that moisture in the air it’s not likely. Then there are also those unspeakable bathroom odors that almost anyone would rather not speak of, but they go along with the natural procession of things and the exhaust fan is a marvelous invention, if only to dispel an unpleasantness that remains even after its last occupant is gone!
A bad hair-do will be the least of your worries if the moisture problem is not corrected.
A consistently steamy bathroom can result in shrinking the edges of wallpaper and peeling paint. These minor complications are bad enough in themselves, but with prolonged exposure, it can actually cause wooden window frames to swell, preventing them from opening easily, or not at all. Other wood, such as door frames, crown molding, and baseboards can swell and be damaged also, and then there is the scary mold that can grow on the ceiling and walls. It can be much cheaper in the long run to install exhaust fans rather than wait around for more costly repairs to show up later. Rest assured, any unresolved water problems in a home will not result in any thing good.
The exhaust fan is something that is rarely overlooked in newer homes, but not so in older ones. If you are a do it yourselfer, this could be a project you can handle. However, it does involve some electrical wiring, cutting holes through your ceiling and possibly through your outer wall in the attic. Home improvement stores have them with or without lights. If there is any existing light fixture in the ceiling of your bathroom, it is an advantage. If not, it will be a little more involved. In any case, if you are not familiar with electrical wiring and reciprocating saws, then hiring someone to install it for you might be the easiest and safest option. Saving money doing it yourself is great if your work is done properly. Just remember it is only home improvement if you are fixing old problems and not creating new ones!
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
damage restoration companies and
mold removal companies across the united states.
A bad hair-do will be the least of your worries if the moisture problem is not corrected.
A consistently steamy bathroom can result in shrinking the edges of wallpaper and peeling paint. These minor complications are bad enough in themselves, but with prolonged exposure, it can actually cause wooden window frames to swell, preventing them from opening easily, or not at all. Other wood, such as door frames, crown molding, and baseboards can swell and be damaged also, and then there is the scary mold that can grow on the ceiling and walls. It can be much cheaper in the long run to install exhaust fans rather than wait around for more costly repairs to show up later. Rest assured, any unresolved water problems in a home will not result in any thing good.
The exhaust fan is something that is rarely overlooked in newer homes, but not so in older ones. If you are a do it yourselfer, this could be a project you can handle. However, it does involve some electrical wiring, cutting holes through your ceiling and possibly through your outer wall in the attic. Home improvement stores have them with or without lights. If there is any existing light fixture in the ceiling of your bathroom, it is an advantage. If not, it will be a little more involved. In any case, if you are not familiar with electrical wiring and reciprocating saws, then hiring someone to install it for you might be the easiest and safest option. Saving money doing it yourself is great if your work is done properly. Just remember it is only home improvement if you are fixing old problems and not creating new ones!
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
damage restoration companies and
mold removal companies across the united states.
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