A lot of people dream of purchasing a home that is a “fixer-upper”, but many are wary about purchasing homes that are contaminated with mold in different areas. Depending on how old the home is, what condition it is in structurally, and where it is located, it may be feasible to attempt to remediate the home yourself on top of the normal remodeling that you are going to have to do. When you have to remodel a home due to cosmetic issues, a lot of the time you have to remove building materials, anyway, so why not go the extra mile and remove the mold from the home?
Professional remediation can be expensive, but if you know what you are doing and know what equipment you will need to take up the job and complete it successfully, you could have a gem of a house in not a large amount of time.
If you do choose to remediate the home yourself instead of hiring a professional, you might want to know what you will need to do it. Hiring someone to at least assess the remediation needs of the home is advised. Some heavy duty chemicals that will kill the mold will be necessary if it is growing on non-porous surfaces like tile. Almost anything else that is contaminated by mold, such as drywall, will have to be removed and replaced. Remove any and everything from the home with mold on it; do not let it come into contact with new building materials that you have purchased.
Heavy duty trash bags and a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter system on it are recommended. The vacuum will remove any mold spores from the floor after the remediation job is done with.
Respirators are a must when taking on a mold remediation job. Even if the infection is not that severe, breathing mold spores is still a hazard to your health and many problems can arise. You may be allergic and not even know it. Purchase a good quality respirator if you plan on taking out any drywall or old wood. Protective clothing so the spores do not get on your skin is also a good idea. Purchase a roll of duct tape to seal the gaps between your protective suit and your shoes. Disposable protective clothing for mold remediation is available and it not very expensive. The most expensive piece of equipment you will need is the respirator and there is no reason to skimp on that part.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
If your home has been submerged in water, you are going to want to get it dried out as soon as possible, but there are a few things that you need to be made aware of before you attempt to do this. Floods are often unexpected events and preparing for them physically is usually not possible unless the flood comes as a result of a hurricane and even then, protecting the belongings that you have to leave in the house after you evacuate isn’t very easy to do. You can stop most rain from getting into the house, but not flood waters.
Before you go back into the house after the majority of the water has receded, you need to make sure that going into the house will not expose you to the risk of being electrocuted. You should not rely on the condition of your neighborhood’s electricity and assume that just because the rest of the neighborhood is without power, you are, too. Cut the electricity to the house completely off so that you can go back inside safely.
Get a video, digital, or traditional film camera and begin making a record of just how much damage was done to the home. Include just how long the house was under water, what was damaged, and approximately how much it will cost to repair or replace it. This will help a lot when you have to file a claim with your insurance company.
Help ventilate the house and start drying it out by opening all windows and doors, as long as it is not raining outside. The breeze blowing through the house should help dry things out a little faster, but do not use an artificial heat source to do this task. Drying out hardwood floors and some other items too quickly this way can do more damage to them than good, so using a space heater or a hot air blower is not advised.
Any electronic devices in the house should be let to dry out completely before you attempt to use them again. It is the electricity flowing through an electronic device that damages it to the point of being irreparable, not the water itself. The combination of the two is what does the damage.
Take wet furniture outside and allow them to dry out; put them in the shade, if possible. This is because direct sunlight can bleach fabrics and you do not want to do more damage to your furniture than has already been done.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Chicago Water and Sewage Extraction and other states and cities such as
North Carolina Water and Sewage Extraction companies across the united states.
Before you go back into the house after the majority of the water has receded, you need to make sure that going into the house will not expose you to the risk of being electrocuted. You should not rely on the condition of your neighborhood’s electricity and assume that just because the rest of the neighborhood is without power, you are, too. Cut the electricity to the house completely off so that you can go back inside safely.
Get a video, digital, or traditional film camera and begin making a record of just how much damage was done to the home. Include just how long the house was under water, what was damaged, and approximately how much it will cost to repair or replace it. This will help a lot when you have to file a claim with your insurance company.
Help ventilate the house and start drying it out by opening all windows and doors, as long as it is not raining outside. The breeze blowing through the house should help dry things out a little faster, but do not use an artificial heat source to do this task. Drying out hardwood floors and some other items too quickly this way can do more damage to them than good, so using a space heater or a hot air blower is not advised.
Any electronic devices in the house should be let to dry out completely before you attempt to use them again. It is the electricity flowing through an electronic device that damages it to the point of being irreparable, not the water itself. The combination of the two is what does the damage.
Take wet furniture outside and allow them to dry out; put them in the shade, if possible. This is because direct sunlight can bleach fabrics and you do not want to do more damage to your furniture than has already been done.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Chicago Water and Sewage Extraction and other states and cities such as
North Carolina Water and Sewage Extraction companies across the united states.
Bursting Water Pipe Prevention
If you have just moved into a home for the first time on your own or perhaps into a climate that gets very cold during the winter, you might not think about this water damage prevention technique, but in the winter time it is a very important thing to remember. This is the fact that water pipes can freeze, burst, and spill gallons upon gallons of water into or underneath your house. This typically happens when the temperature gets under about 20 degrees.
The water pipes that you can get access to fairly easily should be insulated with something to keep them warm and you need to realize that your pipes need to be exposed to as much warm air as possible during the winter to keep them from freezing up and bursting. If the area of concern is the kitchen or the bathroom, then you can open the cabinets so that the pipes underneath are exposed to the warm air of the household. Leave them this way as long as the temperature is under freezing outside and the pipes should have quite a bit of protection from bursting.
Make sure you know where your stop tap is in case the pipes do happen to burst. Knowing where this is located will make sure that you can turn the water off as quickly as possible should there be an incident. Labeling it is also a good idea.
If you are spending the winter in a warmer climate, you should have a relative or a friend check on your house and make sure that the pipes have not burst or frozen up.
Sometimes leaving a little bit of water running during the coldest parts of the winter is something that you can do to help prevent the pipes from freezing. Flowing water through the pipes is more difficult to freeze than standing water. They are less likely to freeze as quickly as pipes that have standing water inside them.
Your insurance policy will probably cover a burst pipe, since water damage is generally covered under these conditions. The only time that water damage is not covered is when it is caused by a hurricane or a flood and you do not have insurance for these events. Taking care of water spills like a burst pipe quickly is also very important to prevent the growth of mold in your home. This can be a serious health risk to your family and pets if it is allowed to start growing and it usually does after about 48 hours.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York Sewage Damage Clean-up and other states and cities such as
North Carolina Water and Sewage Extraction companies across the united states.
The water pipes that you can get access to fairly easily should be insulated with something to keep them warm and you need to realize that your pipes need to be exposed to as much warm air as possible during the winter to keep them from freezing up and bursting. If the area of concern is the kitchen or the bathroom, then you can open the cabinets so that the pipes underneath are exposed to the warm air of the household. Leave them this way as long as the temperature is under freezing outside and the pipes should have quite a bit of protection from bursting.
Make sure you know where your stop tap is in case the pipes do happen to burst. Knowing where this is located will make sure that you can turn the water off as quickly as possible should there be an incident. Labeling it is also a good idea.
If you are spending the winter in a warmer climate, you should have a relative or a friend check on your house and make sure that the pipes have not burst or frozen up.
Sometimes leaving a little bit of water running during the coldest parts of the winter is something that you can do to help prevent the pipes from freezing. Flowing water through the pipes is more difficult to freeze than standing water. They are less likely to freeze as quickly as pipes that have standing water inside them.
Your insurance policy will probably cover a burst pipe, since water damage is generally covered under these conditions. The only time that water damage is not covered is when it is caused by a hurricane or a flood and you do not have insurance for these events. Taking care of water spills like a burst pipe quickly is also very important to prevent the growth of mold in your home. This can be a serious health risk to your family and pets if it is allowed to start growing and it usually does after about 48 hours.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York Sewage Damage Clean-up and other states and cities such as
North Carolina Water and Sewage Extraction companies across the united states.
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