No matter what you use the basement of your home for, odds are pretty good that a leak would be a sizeable issue for you. You might have old furniture or other belongings down there or you might use it as a guest bedroom or just a playroom for the kids. Getting rid of the leak should be the first thing on your mind, but preventing future leaks should be a close second and there are a few different ways that you can do this.
Leaking plumbing needs to be replaced as soon as possible and the pipes need to be insulated to prevent condensation from building up on them and dripping onto the floor.
Wet basements are usually caused by water leaking in around the corners. This happens mostly after there has been a heavy rain or a heavy snowfall that starts to melt. This water will collect around the foundation of the home and causes pressure on the walls and as the walls give, the water is forced through that joint.
Finding out if the problem comes from the outside or the inside is not difficult to do. To determine which it is, you need to duct tape a piece of aluminum foil to the wall in your basement that is most prone to being wet and you should make sure that this is as airtight as possible. Wait a few days and check which side of the foil is wet. If it is the inside, then the problem is coming from the outside and if it is the outside, then your problem lies with condensation. Check out getting a dehumidifier to help fix this problem and do your best to lower the humidity in your basement. Install a vent so steam from a dryer or a shower that you may have down there will have a place to go. You should also never hang clothes up to dry in your basement.
Something else that you can do is install downspout extensions to help the water flow away from your home instead of settling down around the foundation in a pocket that will cause the aforementioned seepage.
Waterproofing paint or other compounds can be applied to areas of the home where occasional seepage occurs and it will be enough to keep the area dry. Determine the limitations of the waterproofing product that you choose and know just what you can expect from it.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and
flood and water damage cleanup companies across the united states.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Taking Care of Water Damaged Documents
After you find that it is safe to return to your home after a hurricane or a flood, one of the first things you are going to want to do is find all the legal papers and other important paper items in your home that you need to salvage. This can include all kinds of things that might be valuable to you, such as an only copy of a writer’s manuscript or anything else that may hold monetary or sentimental value.
As soon as you get back to the home, you need to be careful about the electrical hazards that may exist since there is probably still standing water somewhere in the home. The carpet is probably soaked and hardwood floors are likely to be, as well, so you need to make sure that the electricity to your home is completely off before you re-enter. After you do that, find whatever documents you need to find and lift them very carefully out of any water they may be in. The documents that are the highest priority to you should be removed and taken care of first. Put them onto a flat surface of some kind for drying and hope that you got to them before the mold did. As long as you remove your papers from water within 48 hours, they should be safe from mold contamination. Once mold starts to grow on papers like these, they usually cannot be saved.
The standing water in the house needs to be removed as soon as possible and in different seasons, the humidity needs to be adjusted a certain way. In the winter, the heat should be turned off to reduce indoor humidity and in the summer the air conditioning needs to be turned down to around 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Some documents that have been in the water for a long time will need to be freeze dried in order to save them. If you have some money on your hands, this is not usually a big problem. Purchasing some freezer paper and finding a strong cardboard box to put them in is the first step to this. Wrap your documents in the freezer paper to stop them from sticking together and put them in the box. One of the most important things is to try and keep like-sized items packed together. Books on books and single papers on single papers should work just fine. Label the outside of it with your contact information and a list of the contents.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
damage restoration companies and
mold removal companies across the united states.
As soon as you get back to the home, you need to be careful about the electrical hazards that may exist since there is probably still standing water somewhere in the home. The carpet is probably soaked and hardwood floors are likely to be, as well, so you need to make sure that the electricity to your home is completely off before you re-enter. After you do that, find whatever documents you need to find and lift them very carefully out of any water they may be in. The documents that are the highest priority to you should be removed and taken care of first. Put them onto a flat surface of some kind for drying and hope that you got to them before the mold did. As long as you remove your papers from water within 48 hours, they should be safe from mold contamination. Once mold starts to grow on papers like these, they usually cannot be saved.
The standing water in the house needs to be removed as soon as possible and in different seasons, the humidity needs to be adjusted a certain way. In the winter, the heat should be turned off to reduce indoor humidity and in the summer the air conditioning needs to be turned down to around 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Some documents that have been in the water for a long time will need to be freeze dried in order to save them. If you have some money on your hands, this is not usually a big problem. Purchasing some freezer paper and finding a strong cardboard box to put them in is the first step to this. Wrap your documents in the freezer paper to stop them from sticking together and put them in the box. One of the most important things is to try and keep like-sized items packed together. Books on books and single papers on single papers should work just fine. Label the outside of it with your contact information and a list of the contents.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
damage restoration companies and
mold removal companies across the united states.
Refrigerator Cleanliness and Mold
Keeping a healthy and happy home is hard enough without having to deal with mold in your home and around your food. Most of us have enough problems with our kids and spouses eating healthy and having healthy lifestyles without having to worry about the mold that grows in our refrigerators. We are typically too busy to think about cleaning out our refrigerators most of the time, but this really needs to be done at least once every few months to discourage mold and mildew from residing in one of the most important appliances that we own.
Make sure that you know what things in your refrigerator need to be replaced. This includes items that are outdated or are obviously contaminated with mold. Depending on the item, it may or may not be able to be saved after mold starts to grow on it. In fact, most items in the refrigerator cannot be saved after mold begins to grow. This is usually because most items in our refrigerators are very moist and porous, which allows the mold to infect the entire container of food.
Very moist items are things like mayonnaise, sour cream, jellies, jams, and anything else that you can scoop out with a spoon. Unfortunately, not only moist items are affected heavily by mold. Porous items (items that are not very dense) are also heavily affected, such as meats and dairy products, such as individually sliced cheese or shredded cheese.
Any eggs in the refrigerator that are cracked before we intend to use them should be thrown away, since the shell is what protects the inside of the egg from bacteria.
Fruits and vegetables need to be checked for mold regularly and anything that has mold on it should be thrown away immediately before it has a chance to infect everything else around it. Clean out your fruit and vegetable drawers as often as you need to in order to keep the free of decaying matter like stray lettuce scraps.
Actually cleaning out the refrigerator is a time consuming task and can take a few hours. Begin by taking everything out of the refrigerator and setting it aside. Remove everything in the refrigerator that can be removed, such as shelves, drawers, and racks. Wash these in the sink with warm, soapy water if you can fit them there and allow them to dry. Wash every surface that cannot be removed and rinse it thoroughly. Replace all the items from the sink and go through all the food you took out to clear out the outdated items. Wash the bottoms of jars that have become sticky before putting them back.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
Make sure that you know what things in your refrigerator need to be replaced. This includes items that are outdated or are obviously contaminated with mold. Depending on the item, it may or may not be able to be saved after mold starts to grow on it. In fact, most items in the refrigerator cannot be saved after mold begins to grow. This is usually because most items in our refrigerators are very moist and porous, which allows the mold to infect the entire container of food.
Very moist items are things like mayonnaise, sour cream, jellies, jams, and anything else that you can scoop out with a spoon. Unfortunately, not only moist items are affected heavily by mold. Porous items (items that are not very dense) are also heavily affected, such as meats and dairy products, such as individually sliced cheese or shredded cheese.
Any eggs in the refrigerator that are cracked before we intend to use them should be thrown away, since the shell is what protects the inside of the egg from bacteria.
Fruits and vegetables need to be checked for mold regularly and anything that has mold on it should be thrown away immediately before it has a chance to infect everything else around it. Clean out your fruit and vegetable drawers as often as you need to in order to keep the free of decaying matter like stray lettuce scraps.
Actually cleaning out the refrigerator is a time consuming task and can take a few hours. Begin by taking everything out of the refrigerator and setting it aside. Remove everything in the refrigerator that can be removed, such as shelves, drawers, and racks. Wash these in the sink with warm, soapy water if you can fit them there and allow them to dry. Wash every surface that cannot be removed and rinse it thoroughly. Replace all the items from the sink and go through all the food you took out to clear out the outdated items. Wash the bottoms of jars that have become sticky before putting them back.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
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