It is a well known fact that old basements and mold damage go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, to new home owners it may not be as well known just how these damages are caused. And it may be even lesser well known how to combat the damage. Now, water damage, musty smells, and interior wall damage may be very obvious problems, but not all of the problems are as apparent. But they can indeed be removed.
Now, it is a very popular thing to employ your basement as a laundry room and it is usually a very efficient place to do this. However, you could be making your clothing a target for one of the biggest causes of home water damage: mold. Wet clothing is a veritable breeding ground for mold. If you throw in a basement, which is usually the most humid area you can find in a house, then the results could be disastrous. The reason is that mold likes to grow in places that are wet and humid. And if your basement does not have a good vent system, then humidity will build up from the machines running. This means that if the clothes are unattended for a certain period of time, you may find yourself buying some new clothes soon.
Now, while it can be difficult to prevent mold, it is not impossible. One way that you can prevent this from happening is to keep from blocking vents. This will allow for a better air flow and, as a result, the humidity will drop and keep your clothing safer. You should also make sure that any hot air with nowhere to go must be dealt with immediately. This heat has the potential to cause damage to any wood in the basement, and the damaged wood could create crevices for condensation to build up from humidity. This condensation and heat is almost guaranteed to start a mold colony. Installing an exhaust vent can be very beneficial to the remediation of this problem. It is also important that you keep doors that lead outside of your home closed as often as possible. This will help prevent more moisture from entering your house, and, therefore your basement. You can also invest in a dehumidifier. A dehumidifier and a good ventilation system should be a major help in keeping your basement mold free.
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.localrestoration.com and
http://www.moldrestorationusa.com
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The Affect of Mold on Your Pets
If you have pets, you probably care for them about the same as you would care for the rest of your family. They are a part of most of our lives and have been for thousands of years, but unfortunately, they are not able to communicate to us with words that there is something wrong with them. Sometimes we notice symptoms or signs of disease or of pain, but they cannot really tell us what is wrong or where it hurts.
One example of this unfortunate situation is when mold spores form a yeast infection inside the body of the animal and by the time you notice symptoms, it is too late and it has to be put to sleep. This is a horrible situation for a pet owner to be in, but if you have mold in your home, you may not realize that there is anything wrong with your pet until the outcome is unavoidable. If you are experiencing allergy symptoms when you have no known allergies or suspect that there may be mold in your home, you should have the property inspected as soon as possible.
The symptoms of mold allergies are often the same as normal allergy symptoms, but the presence of mold can aggravate the allergies that you already have. Children, infants, the elderly, and pets are the most susceptible to health complications resulting from mold and if you are experiencing problems, odds are good that your pets are, as well.
Some mold remediation companies have even taken to the inhumane practice of using dogs to detect mold growth in homes. This is cruel and particularly unusual, since we as human beings are told repeatedly to never inhale mold spores, since they can lodge in the lungs and possibly lead to what is called aspergilloma (fungus balls) growing inside the body. There are often no symptoms of this until the infection is very advanced.
Birds are also particularly sensitive to changes in their atmosphere and physical environment. Keeping a bird, especially an expensive and exotic one, in a home that has a significant mold spore count in the air is not advised at all. This is not only for the sake of the animal, but also for the sake of your own investment.
If you believe mold is in your home and your pets are being affected adversely by it, take them to your veterinarian as soon as you can.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
One example of this unfortunate situation is when mold spores form a yeast infection inside the body of the animal and by the time you notice symptoms, it is too late and it has to be put to sleep. This is a horrible situation for a pet owner to be in, but if you have mold in your home, you may not realize that there is anything wrong with your pet until the outcome is unavoidable. If you are experiencing allergy symptoms when you have no known allergies or suspect that there may be mold in your home, you should have the property inspected as soon as possible.
The symptoms of mold allergies are often the same as normal allergy symptoms, but the presence of mold can aggravate the allergies that you already have. Children, infants, the elderly, and pets are the most susceptible to health complications resulting from mold and if you are experiencing problems, odds are good that your pets are, as well.
Some mold remediation companies have even taken to the inhumane practice of using dogs to detect mold growth in homes. This is cruel and particularly unusual, since we as human beings are told repeatedly to never inhale mold spores, since they can lodge in the lungs and possibly lead to what is called aspergilloma (fungus balls) growing inside the body. There are often no symptoms of this until the infection is very advanced.
Birds are also particularly sensitive to changes in their atmosphere and physical environment. Keeping a bird, especially an expensive and exotic one, in a home that has a significant mold spore count in the air is not advised at all. This is not only for the sake of the animal, but also for the sake of your own investment.
If you believe mold is in your home and your pets are being affected adversely by it, take them to your veterinarian as soon as you can.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
Renovating a Home With Mold
The house flipping craze is not all that old and people often jump right into it without doing much research about anything, whether it is the cost of the materials necessary to renovate a property, the building codes for the area that need to be followed, or what it takes to repair certain kinds of damage to a home. If you do your research before deciding to get into the housing market, you should do just fine, but if you do not, you are liable to get burned pretty easily.
One thing that many first time flippers do not think about is the issue of mold growing in the property they are trying to renovate and flip. If you run into mold when trying to renovate a property of any kind, you need to know just what it will take to get rid of that infestation, because no one is going to want to buy it with it as-is. You cannot just cover up the contamination, because you will be liable for it later unless your contract with the buyer specifies that the sale is an “as-is” one.
Mold can be cleaned from these properties often, but sometimes the infestation can be more widespread than you might think that it is, so mold testing is necessary before you decide to put the house on the market. Sometimes entire slabs of drywall or building lumber need to be removed in order to completely get rid of it. Using bleach to rid the property of the contamination can work on hard surfaces like tile, but when it comes to getting it off of drywall, this will not be a great option. If it is embedded into the wall, the whole slab will need to be removed.
Also be aware that you should not touch mold growth with your bare skin. Use latex gloves and respirators when you have to remove drywall and suspect that there is mold behind it.
If you do have to do a lot of new wall construction in the home you are renovating, it is probably a good idea to invest in some paperless drywall. Mold loves to eat the paper on both sides of the drywall that you hang in your home, but if you remove the paper, the chances for mold growth are significantly reduced because they do not have as much material to eat.
Also, invest in some mold and mildew resistant paints when you start re-painting the home. This will help keep the infection either from returning or starting anew.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
One thing that many first time flippers do not think about is the issue of mold growing in the property they are trying to renovate and flip. If you run into mold when trying to renovate a property of any kind, you need to know just what it will take to get rid of that infestation, because no one is going to want to buy it with it as-is. You cannot just cover up the contamination, because you will be liable for it later unless your contract with the buyer specifies that the sale is an “as-is” one.
Mold can be cleaned from these properties often, but sometimes the infestation can be more widespread than you might think that it is, so mold testing is necessary before you decide to put the house on the market. Sometimes entire slabs of drywall or building lumber need to be removed in order to completely get rid of it. Using bleach to rid the property of the contamination can work on hard surfaces like tile, but when it comes to getting it off of drywall, this will not be a great option. If it is embedded into the wall, the whole slab will need to be removed.
Also be aware that you should not touch mold growth with your bare skin. Use latex gloves and respirators when you have to remove drywall and suspect that there is mold behind it.
If you do have to do a lot of new wall construction in the home you are renovating, it is probably a good idea to invest in some paperless drywall. Mold loves to eat the paper on both sides of the drywall that you hang in your home, but if you remove the paper, the chances for mold growth are significantly reduced because they do not have as much material to eat.
Also, invest in some mold and mildew resistant paints when you start re-painting the home. This will help keep the infection either from returning or starting anew.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
Renovating a Home with Mold and Water Damage
House flipping is still pretty popular, but as more and more people discover that the whole flipping enterprise is not as easy as the television shows make it out to be, less are getting brave enough to venture into it. Anyone that does their research and makes informed decisions before trying to flip a property should do just fine in this business, but as some shows will let you know, not everyone falls into this category. If you are seriously thinking about getting into flipping homes for some quick cash, you have got a lot of homework ahead of you.
Take some real estate classes at your local community college if they are available. If they are not, no one says that you have to have a degree in real estate to flip a house. Get online and do your research there, but make sure the sources are credible.
Researching the rules of real estate for your local area is not the only thing you need to do; you will also want to do quite a bit of research into the more handy aspects of the project. Outsourcing all the work that needs to be done to the home will eat up your profit a lot faster than you think it would, so consider trying to do a lot of the simpler things yourself. You may not be able to do the electrical and plumbing work on your own, but painting the interior is something that most people have the physical and mental ability to do.
Some of the more hidden troubles you may run into are mold and water damage, which tend to go hand in hand. Where there is water damage that has been left untended to, there is often mold growth and this will shine a definite negative light on your property when you put it on the market if it is not taken care of. Your property should be virtually unblemished at the time you put it up for sale. Make sure that the property is mold free if you want the highest return on your efforts and be ready to prove it with a certificate from a mold inspector. Most home buyers will not even consider a home contaminated with mold.
If there is water damage to the home, figure out if it was caused by something natural such as a flood or an accident or if it was something to do with the plumbing. If the home is very old, consider updating the plumbing system with a more efficient one to prevent future problems.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Mold Remediation and
water damage restoration companies across the united states.
Take some real estate classes at your local community college if they are available. If they are not, no one says that you have to have a degree in real estate to flip a house. Get online and do your research there, but make sure the sources are credible.
Researching the rules of real estate for your local area is not the only thing you need to do; you will also want to do quite a bit of research into the more handy aspects of the project. Outsourcing all the work that needs to be done to the home will eat up your profit a lot faster than you think it would, so consider trying to do a lot of the simpler things yourself. You may not be able to do the electrical and plumbing work on your own, but painting the interior is something that most people have the physical and mental ability to do.
Some of the more hidden troubles you may run into are mold and water damage, which tend to go hand in hand. Where there is water damage that has been left untended to, there is often mold growth and this will shine a definite negative light on your property when you put it on the market if it is not taken care of. Your property should be virtually unblemished at the time you put it up for sale. Make sure that the property is mold free if you want the highest return on your efforts and be ready to prove it with a certificate from a mold inspector. Most home buyers will not even consider a home contaminated with mold.
If there is water damage to the home, figure out if it was caused by something natural such as a flood or an accident or if it was something to do with the plumbing. If the home is very old, consider updating the plumbing system with a more efficient one to prevent future problems.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Mold Remediation and
water damage restoration companies across the united states.
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