There are a variety of different methods that can be used to clean up mold in a household or a business, but depending on the kind of material that is affected, you might want to use one over the other. Some professional mold removers might use techniques that they have developed on their own and if it is not listed here, it does not mean that it is not an effective technique for mold removal.
Using a wet vacuum is one method that can be used. These are vacuum cleaners that are specially designed to collect liquids from a hardwood floor, concrete, carpet, and etcetera. Any surface where water has started to accumulate and simply stand is where these vacuums can be used. They should not be used on porous materials, however, like gypsum boards. Use them only when the area is still wet, because it might spread mold spores if it is not sufficient. Clean and dry the equipment after each use, since mold and its spores can stick to these surfaces.
Using a damp cloth to wipe mold away from nonporous surfaces such as a countertop or a vinyl floor can be effective in getting rid of mold, but using mold killing chemicals is essential. Dry these surfaces as quickly as you can after you finish so that mold does not re-start growing in the area that you just finished cleaning. The instructions for any mold and fungus killing chemicals should be followed completely and if you have any porous materials that have become contaminated with mold, you will want to throw these away. Mold can usually not be completely removed from these items.
A vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter is something that you should invest in whether you are a homeowner or someone who rents a building. Even if you do not suspect mold contamination, this will help keep the air in your home cleaner. When used after cleaning up mold, it will collect the mold spores and will not redistribute them into the air. After being used to clean up after a mold removal, the filter and the contents of the vacuum need to be disposed of in some well-sealed plastic bags. Always wear a respirator and gloves when handling this material and do not let it get on your skin. Avoid stirring up the contents of the vacuum.
Showing posts with label prevention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prevention. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
Most Are Unaware Of The Dreaded Diseases Caused By Mold
If you hear of an illness that ends in “mycosis”, it was probably caused by a mold. Those who are particularly at risk to contract this class of diseases are those with compromised immune systems and this often occurs in people who have a cancer of the blood, chemotherapy patients, those with HIV or AIDs, anyone with serious blood disorders. Even though these diseases are far more likely to affect those with compromised immune systems, they can develop after a person has surgery or any other invasive procedure. It can also be transmitted by contaminated surgical instruments.
Generally the first symptoms of these mycotic diseases are those that are similar to the flu, such as chills, coughing, pain in the muscles and the joints, and fever. Medications that are antifungal can cause some of these symptoms, as well, even though the fungal infection that it is intended to treat cause these exact same symptoms. These drugs can also cause kidney damage and end up affecting the eyes, skin, or liver and a doctor will probably ask for labwork often in order to catch some of these serious side effects before they become out of control.
Some of the diseases that can be caught from a mold are histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, coccidioidomycosis, candidiasis, blastomycosis, and aspergillosis. These are serious fungal diseases and should be treated as such.
Aspergillosis is caused by molds in the Aspergillus genus and tends to be found in many places including buildings, plants, food, water, and soil.
Blastomycosis is caused by Blastomyces and is found soils that are rich in nutrients and very moist. It has been known to affect both animals and humans.
Candidiasis is caused from the mold Candida and can cause mouth infections or genital yeast infections, but it is even more serious when it ends up invading the bloodstream. Candida is found in the intestines naturally, however.
Coccidioidomycosis is caused by the mold coccidioides and this is found most often in the dry soil in the southwestern United States, and central and South America. It starts as a flu-like disease, but can infect the lungs and infect the other organs in the body, including the brain.
Cryptococcosis is caused by Cryptococcus and associated the most with Eucalyptus trees and bird droppings. It typically begins in the lungs, but has no symptoms until it spreads to the rest of the body.
Histoplasmosis is caused by Histoplasma and tends to infect the lungs. Like other fungal infections, it includes flu-like symptoms and can spread to the rest of the body.
Generally the first symptoms of these mycotic diseases are those that are similar to the flu, such as chills, coughing, pain in the muscles and the joints, and fever. Medications that are antifungal can cause some of these symptoms, as well, even though the fungal infection that it is intended to treat cause these exact same symptoms. These drugs can also cause kidney damage and end up affecting the eyes, skin, or liver and a doctor will probably ask for labwork often in order to catch some of these serious side effects before they become out of control.
Some of the diseases that can be caught from a mold are histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, coccidioidomycosis, candidiasis, blastomycosis, and aspergillosis. These are serious fungal diseases and should be treated as such.
Aspergillosis is caused by molds in the Aspergillus genus and tends to be found in many places including buildings, plants, food, water, and soil.
Blastomycosis is caused by Blastomyces and is found soils that are rich in nutrients and very moist. It has been known to affect both animals and humans.
Candidiasis is caused from the mold Candida and can cause mouth infections or genital yeast infections, but it is even more serious when it ends up invading the bloodstream. Candida is found in the intestines naturally, however.
Coccidioidomycosis is caused by the mold coccidioides and this is found most often in the dry soil in the southwestern United States, and central and South America. It starts as a flu-like disease, but can infect the lungs and infect the other organs in the body, including the brain.
Cryptococcosis is caused by Cryptococcus and associated the most with Eucalyptus trees and bird droppings. It typically begins in the lungs, but has no symptoms until it spreads to the rest of the body.
Histoplasmosis is caused by Histoplasma and tends to infect the lungs. Like other fungal infections, it includes flu-like symptoms and can spread to the rest of the body.
The Best Ways To Protect Your Home From Fires
Protecting your home from wildfires is probably not as difficult as you might think it would be, as long as you have the time and money to put into it. There are a lot of different ways to help protect your home and if you can do all of them, you just might end up saving your house.
The condition of the lawn and other vegetation around the outside of your house is usually the first line of defense, so make sure this is taken care of first. Your lawn should stay mowed and not allowed to become overgrown or dry and grass cuttings need to be raked far away from the house, but preferably taken away from the property. Trees near the home should be cut down.
Fire-resistant materials should be used in new constructions and if possible, the exterior materials of older homes should be replaced. Old homes often have vinyl or wooden siding on them and this is not fire-resistant at all, especially not compared to brick, stone, or metal. The last three materials will protect your home a lot more and you should have these installed if you are in an area that is prone to wildfires. You will thank yourself later.
The roof is perhaps the most important exterior surface of your home, since it has the largest amount of surface area. The wind carries sparks of fire on it when there are wildfires nearby and when these land on your roof, it can catch it on fire. To do away with the majority of this risk, you should have fire-resistant roofing material installed. Asphalt shingles are oil-based and will catch on fire fairly easily and so will wooden shingles. A metal roof can help solve this problem, among a few other materials available on the market today.
When a wildfire is nearby, you would also do well to keep your roof and lawn wet to discourage firebrands floating on the wind to ignite. If you must evacuate your home, you should wet the lawn down as much as possible to slow the fire from getting close to your home.
Small windows in your home instead of large ones can help, since they will radiate a lot less heat inside the house and be less likely to catch drapes and other things near the window on fire.
The condition of the lawn and other vegetation around the outside of your house is usually the first line of defense, so make sure this is taken care of first. Your lawn should stay mowed and not allowed to become overgrown or dry and grass cuttings need to be raked far away from the house, but preferably taken away from the property. Trees near the home should be cut down.
Fire-resistant materials should be used in new constructions and if possible, the exterior materials of older homes should be replaced. Old homes often have vinyl or wooden siding on them and this is not fire-resistant at all, especially not compared to brick, stone, or metal. The last three materials will protect your home a lot more and you should have these installed if you are in an area that is prone to wildfires. You will thank yourself later.
The roof is perhaps the most important exterior surface of your home, since it has the largest amount of surface area. The wind carries sparks of fire on it when there are wildfires nearby and when these land on your roof, it can catch it on fire. To do away with the majority of this risk, you should have fire-resistant roofing material installed. Asphalt shingles are oil-based and will catch on fire fairly easily and so will wooden shingles. A metal roof can help solve this problem, among a few other materials available on the market today.
When a wildfire is nearby, you would also do well to keep your roof and lawn wet to discourage firebrands floating on the wind to ignite. If you must evacuate your home, you should wet the lawn down as much as possible to slow the fire from getting close to your home.
Small windows in your home instead of large ones can help, since they will radiate a lot less heat inside the house and be less likely to catch drapes and other things near the window on fire.
Preventing Mold In Your Home
Having mold in the house is a pretty nasty thought, but there are a lot of people who live with this problem every single day. There are a lot of things that you can do to prevent mold growth in your home and some of the best ones start with removing the mold spores from your indoor air supply.
Removing mold spores from your air supply serves a couple of purposes. The first one is that the spores do not have a chance to land anywhere in your home and start to form a colony, which will produce more spores. If you can stop the spores from producing colonies, then your mold problem is removed before it starts. The second reason you would want to do this is to be able to avoid breathing the spores in, since some species of mold can cause aspergilloma to develop in the body. These are essentially fungus balls that will grow in cavities such as where a person has had cancer or ulcers of some kind and can spread from one part of the body to another.
There are a couple of appliances that you can purchase that will help remove the majority of mold spores in your home’s air. These are a vacuum cleaner and an air purifier and both need to be equipped with HEPA filters.
HEPA filters remove about 99.7% of all particle debris in the air, including mold spores, down to a size of 0.03 microns. This is equal to about one third of the width of a human hair, so only about 0.3% of the air you breathe will have any particle debris in it. All of the things you were breathing previously, smoke particles, mold spores, pet dander, and etcetera are being captured by the filter. As long as you replace it as regularly as you are supposed to, this will work very well, especially for people that have respiratory conditions such as asthma, allergies, or emphysema.
Keep in mind that not all vacuum cleaners and air purification systems have HEPA filters in them, so be sure of what you are purchasing before you hand over the money. Read product reviews and find the best vacuum cleaner and purification system for you, since not all are created equal.
Any pre-existing mold problems in your home need to be taken care of, as well, as soon as possible to make the most out of your prevention methods. As long as mold colonies continue to exist in your home, you will continue to have mold spore problems.
Removing mold spores from your air supply serves a couple of purposes. The first one is that the spores do not have a chance to land anywhere in your home and start to form a colony, which will produce more spores. If you can stop the spores from producing colonies, then your mold problem is removed before it starts. The second reason you would want to do this is to be able to avoid breathing the spores in, since some species of mold can cause aspergilloma to develop in the body. These are essentially fungus balls that will grow in cavities such as where a person has had cancer or ulcers of some kind and can spread from one part of the body to another.
There are a couple of appliances that you can purchase that will help remove the majority of mold spores in your home’s air. These are a vacuum cleaner and an air purifier and both need to be equipped with HEPA filters.
HEPA filters remove about 99.7% of all particle debris in the air, including mold spores, down to a size of 0.03 microns. This is equal to about one third of the width of a human hair, so only about 0.3% of the air you breathe will have any particle debris in it. All of the things you were breathing previously, smoke particles, mold spores, pet dander, and etcetera are being captured by the filter. As long as you replace it as regularly as you are supposed to, this will work very well, especially for people that have respiratory conditions such as asthma, allergies, or emphysema.
Keep in mind that not all vacuum cleaners and air purification systems have HEPA filters in them, so be sure of what you are purchasing before you hand over the money. Read product reviews and find the best vacuum cleaner and purification system for you, since not all are created equal.
Any pre-existing mold problems in your home need to be taken care of, as well, as soon as possible to make the most out of your prevention methods. As long as mold colonies continue to exist in your home, you will continue to have mold spore problems.
How You Can Protect Your Home From Wildfires
If you live in a rural area that is prone to having wildfires, you might feel helpless to them when the season starts. There are things that you can do to protect your home, however, and they might not end up being as difficult as you think.
The protection starts with your lawn and the area surrounding your home. Fire has to get past this area before it gets to your house most of the time, unless the house catches on fire due to a spark floating on the wind, but more on that in a minute. Your lawn should stay cut regularly and not allowed to become dried up, since it will catch on fire much easier when it is dry. Keep grass cuttings away from the house and if possible, try to carry them off somewhere away from residences. The same goes for dead leaves and branches. If these items do collect in your yard and you must evacuate, wet them down as much as possible and leave. This is all you can do, since you will probably not have time to collect them and take them away from the house.
Trees that are close to your home, especially those that have branches hanging over the roof, need to be cut down. It might take away your shade, but when a wildfire comes calling, the tree will probably be the first thing to go.
Try to keep the roof of your home wet when a fire is nearby because of the sparks of fire called firebrands that float on the wind. Changing the material your roof is made of can help with this problem, too, but if you cannot afford a new roof, keep it wet as much as possible.
The exterior that your home is made of can also offer some protection against fire, but only if it is fire resistant. Wooden or vinyl siding do not fit into this category, but stone, brick, and metal do. If you can afford to have the exterior of your home re-done, you should.
If you are forced to evacuate your home due to fires nearby, take as many of your valuables as you can with you and get out as quickly as you can. Even though you have done everything listed, a wildfire can still take your home and all of your belongings from you, not to mention your life.
The protection starts with your lawn and the area surrounding your home. Fire has to get past this area before it gets to your house most of the time, unless the house catches on fire due to a spark floating on the wind, but more on that in a minute. Your lawn should stay cut regularly and not allowed to become dried up, since it will catch on fire much easier when it is dry. Keep grass cuttings away from the house and if possible, try to carry them off somewhere away from residences. The same goes for dead leaves and branches. If these items do collect in your yard and you must evacuate, wet them down as much as possible and leave. This is all you can do, since you will probably not have time to collect them and take them away from the house.
Trees that are close to your home, especially those that have branches hanging over the roof, need to be cut down. It might take away your shade, but when a wildfire comes calling, the tree will probably be the first thing to go.
Try to keep the roof of your home wet when a fire is nearby because of the sparks of fire called firebrands that float on the wind. Changing the material your roof is made of can help with this problem, too, but if you cannot afford a new roof, keep it wet as much as possible.
The exterior that your home is made of can also offer some protection against fire, but only if it is fire resistant. Wooden or vinyl siding do not fit into this category, but stone, brick, and metal do. If you can afford to have the exterior of your home re-done, you should.
If you are forced to evacuate your home due to fires nearby, take as many of your valuables as you can with you and get out as quickly as you can. Even though you have done everything listed, a wildfire can still take your home and all of your belongings from you, not to mention your life.
House Fires And Common Appliances
House fires are often caused by some of the most common appliances imaginable, but this is usually due to the mistakes and clumsiness of the people who are using them. Most appliances are completely safe to use in the home, but it is most often their misuse that causes accidents and fires, since all appliances come with a list of warnings.
The most dangerous appliances, though, in terms of the risk that they post to your safety and the safety of your home are the ones that are designed to emit heat.
Space heaters are very dangerous in the hands of someone who is clumsy or does not follow directions. Perhaps following directions is a little more important here, though. There are a number of things that you should take into account when you are using space heaters to keep your place warm during the winter. Never place space heaters near fabric items or upholstered furniture, if you can help it. If you have to, move these items out of the way and never use common household extension cords with space heaters for any reason. A heavy duty extension cord is the only thing that you can use here and most of us know these by their bright orange color and thick diameter. Small extension cords that you use indoors for small appliances will melt if you try to use them with space heaters.
Another item to be careful with is an electric blanket. Everyone likes to crawl into a toasty bed during the winter, but you should never use an electric blanket to do more than just warm the bed up for you before you get into it. Leaving these on or even plugged up while you are sleeping is a very bad idea, simply because many beds have been caught on fire and houses burned down because of this.
Grease fires are the most common type of house fire, since cooking is something that every household has to do in order to survive. Unfortunately, inexperienced cooks do not know how to handle grease correctly and often make mistakes. You can help prevent these fires by cleaning underneath the burners on your stove as often as necessary, since grease and food particles will build up and catch on fire when you turn the burner on. Keep baking soda around for these small burner fires and a fire extinguisher in case the fire grows in size.
The most dangerous appliances, though, in terms of the risk that they post to your safety and the safety of your home are the ones that are designed to emit heat.
Space heaters are very dangerous in the hands of someone who is clumsy or does not follow directions. Perhaps following directions is a little more important here, though. There are a number of things that you should take into account when you are using space heaters to keep your place warm during the winter. Never place space heaters near fabric items or upholstered furniture, if you can help it. If you have to, move these items out of the way and never use common household extension cords with space heaters for any reason. A heavy duty extension cord is the only thing that you can use here and most of us know these by their bright orange color and thick diameter. Small extension cords that you use indoors for small appliances will melt if you try to use them with space heaters.
Another item to be careful with is an electric blanket. Everyone likes to crawl into a toasty bed during the winter, but you should never use an electric blanket to do more than just warm the bed up for you before you get into it. Leaving these on or even plugged up while you are sleeping is a very bad idea, simply because many beds have been caught on fire and houses burned down because of this.
Grease fires are the most common type of house fire, since cooking is something that every household has to do in order to survive. Unfortunately, inexperienced cooks do not know how to handle grease correctly and often make mistakes. You can help prevent these fires by cleaning underneath the burners on your stove as often as necessary, since grease and food particles will build up and catch on fire when you turn the burner on. Keep baking soda around for these small burner fires and a fire extinguisher in case the fire grows in size.
Here’s How To Stop Water Damage
One of the last things that any homeowner wants to have to do is completely renovate their bathroom or kitchen due to water damage and mold growth, but it happens all the time. It does not have to happen to you, though, as long as you know how to maintain these two rooms properly. They require a lot of daily maintenance to keep in top shape, but it is not the kind of difficult maintenance that you might think. Most of it is just a light cleaning up or casual inspection.
Inspect the floor of the room first. This is what supports everything else, so the integrity of this structure is paramount to the integrity of the entire room. If this goes, so will the rest of it. Try bouncing up and down a little on your toes and see if the room shakes. If it does or if the floor feels weak at all, you may have a water damage problem on your hands. You can also inspect for water damaged floors by looking at the tile and seeing if it is cracked at all. If you have a vinyl floor, looking for cracks in this can also help. Grout or caulking around the room should not be missing or loose at all.
The ceiling in both the kitchen and the bathroom is also at risk, although most kitchens come with a range hood with an exhaust fan built into it that will remove the steam from the room. The bathroom should come with one, as well, but if you live in an older home that has a bathroom in the center of the house, you may not have an exhaust vent already installed. These are installed by standard procedure now, especially in bathrooms that do not have windows, as a part of most building codes.
Make sure that the cabinets underneath the sinks in both of these rooms are covered in a laminate material to keep any dripping pipes from rotting the wood and causing you to have to replace that, too.
Spills of water in the kitchen and bathroom can be somewhat controlled by using rugs to help absorb some of the water. Most homes like to have rugs in these rooms, anyway, but many do not realize that they have a practical application other than just feeling good under bare feet and looking pretty.
Inspect the floor of the room first. This is what supports everything else, so the integrity of this structure is paramount to the integrity of the entire room. If this goes, so will the rest of it. Try bouncing up and down a little on your toes and see if the room shakes. If it does or if the floor feels weak at all, you may have a water damage problem on your hands. You can also inspect for water damaged floors by looking at the tile and seeing if it is cracked at all. If you have a vinyl floor, looking for cracks in this can also help. Grout or caulking around the room should not be missing or loose at all.
The ceiling in both the kitchen and the bathroom is also at risk, although most kitchens come with a range hood with an exhaust fan built into it that will remove the steam from the room. The bathroom should come with one, as well, but if you live in an older home that has a bathroom in the center of the house, you may not have an exhaust vent already installed. These are installed by standard procedure now, especially in bathrooms that do not have windows, as a part of most building codes.
Make sure that the cabinets underneath the sinks in both of these rooms are covered in a laminate material to keep any dripping pipes from rotting the wood and causing you to have to replace that, too.
Spills of water in the kitchen and bathroom can be somewhat controlled by using rugs to help absorb some of the water. Most homes like to have rugs in these rooms, anyway, but many do not realize that they have a practical application other than just feeling good under bare feet and looking pretty.
How To Prevent Water Damage In Your Home
Preventing water damage to the kitchen and bathrooms of your home is fairly easy, although a lot of people tend to think that it is not. It comes from a number of different sources in your home, but the two rooms that usually suffer the most are the bathroom and the kitchen. If they are built properly in the first place and well maintained, you may never have to deal with this problem in either of these rooms, but if you have moved into an older home that already has damage to it, you may want to try and invest the money to have the support structures re-done.
Weak floors are a sign of rotting or termites, so if you can bounce up and down on your toes and the whole room shakes or if objects lean toward the center of the room, you may have weak floor joists. These need to be replaced as soon as you can. Look for missing areas of grout, caulking, or cracked areas of flooring. If you do end up having to replace the floor in the bathroom, you might as well try to renovate the whole thing, if you can.
As long as you are replacing the floor, you may want to consider installing a waterproofing membrane such as a product from Schluter called Ditra. This creates an extra seal between your bathroom’s subfloor and the tile or whatever flooring that you choose to install.
Water damage also occurs to the ceiling just as much as it does to the floor, but most people do not usually think about it. When you renovate your bathroom or are having a new one constructed, you should always have an exhaust vent installed. If you do not have one, you may recognize them either from other homes you have been in or hotel rooms. These are definitely a worth while investment, since steam absorbed by the drywall can cause it to crack and collapse over time. The first sign that you are having a problem is the mesh tape used to hide the drywall seams coming loose from the wall. It will start to become visible, since it is losing its adhesive properties.
Most people have rugs in their bathroom to help soak up some of the water that gets inevitably dripped on the floor and this is a good thing. Try not to let water stand on your bathroom or kitchen floor for long.
Weak floors are a sign of rotting or termites, so if you can bounce up and down on your toes and the whole room shakes or if objects lean toward the center of the room, you may have weak floor joists. These need to be replaced as soon as you can. Look for missing areas of grout, caulking, or cracked areas of flooring. If you do end up having to replace the floor in the bathroom, you might as well try to renovate the whole thing, if you can.
As long as you are replacing the floor, you may want to consider installing a waterproofing membrane such as a product from Schluter called Ditra. This creates an extra seal between your bathroom’s subfloor and the tile or whatever flooring that you choose to install.
Water damage also occurs to the ceiling just as much as it does to the floor, but most people do not usually think about it. When you renovate your bathroom or are having a new one constructed, you should always have an exhaust vent installed. If you do not have one, you may recognize them either from other homes you have been in or hotel rooms. These are definitely a worth while investment, since steam absorbed by the drywall can cause it to crack and collapse over time. The first sign that you are having a problem is the mesh tape used to hide the drywall seams coming loose from the wall. It will start to become visible, since it is losing its adhesive properties.
Most people have rugs in their bathroom to help soak up some of the water that gets inevitably dripped on the floor and this is a good thing. Try not to let water stand on your bathroom or kitchen floor for long.
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