Removing mold from your house often involves a lot of scrubbing, cleaning, and sometimes replacing entire walls and floors, but there are ways to prevent mold from developing in the house in the first place. One of the easiest ways to prevent mold growth in the home is to make sure the majority of the mold spores in the area are collected and done away with.
HEPA filters are built into vacuum cleaners and air purification systems to remove as much particle debris as possible and it is effective up to about 99.7% of removing almost anything from the air you could want removed. Smoke particles, pet dander, hair, pollen, dust mites, mold spores, and etcetera are all removed from the air that you breathe and this not only stops mold spores from being able to grow in your home, but also from forming an infection in your body. You should note that not all particles in the air are removed, but since only about 0.3% remain, this last bit that remains is negligible in comparison.
Air purification systems are becoming popular in families that have a history of breathing problems such as asthma and allergies. Since people are spending more and more time indoors these days, especially in work environments, the air that we breathe indoors is becoming much more important. The indoor environments that we work in typically allow the air to become stale. Fans do not really solve this problem very well, since all they do is cause the dust and other debris to be stirred up into the air instead of removed. When purchasing an air purification system for your home, you should make sure that you buy one that can handle the square footage of your home so it does the best job it can.
Vacuum cleaners should also have HEPA filters in them, since their purpose is to pull soil and particle debris out of your carpet. If it does not have a filter on it, then all of the dust and particles that the vacuum collected will be spilled back into the air that you breathe and you might as well not have vacuumed at all.
Remember when you vacuum a carpet, you should vacuum all of it and not just part of it. When you get your HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner, go over the carpet at least twice to get it as clean as you can. If members of your family have allergies, it is probably a good idea to do away with as much of the carpet in your home as possible, since pollen, dust mites, mold spores, and the like will have less places to live if you do.
Showing posts with label restoration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restoration. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
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.
A Few Guaranteed Ways To Prevent Water Damage
Water damage occurs to your home in a number of different ways and the truth is, most of them are entirely preventable. The only cases that water damage is unpreventable are when it is caused by a natural disaster such as a flood or a hurricane or when a water leak is hidden inside a wall.
There are two rooms in your home that are particularly at risk for water damage and these are the kitchen and the bathroom, since there is a large amount of water that passes through these rooms every day, especially if you have a number of family members living with you. The bathroom is the most at risk of these two rooms, though, and you should make taking care of it a priority.
The grout and caulking around your bathroom floor should be completely sealed. This means it should not be loose or have any parts missing at all if you are going to have a waterproof bathroom floor. If you can jump in the center of your bathroom and the whole room shakes or the floor feels weak, then you might want to consider taking a look at the joists underneath the house in this area to see if they are weak. If they are, then replacing them is the only real option that you have if you do not want the whole room to fall through the floor.
Another problem with water damage concerns the ceiling. Steam from your bath or shower floats upward and has nowhere to go, so it becomes absorbed by the drywall. Eventually, the tape that hides the seams of the drywall will start to loose its adhesive properties and start to detach itself from the walls. The drywall starts to crack after this happens, sometimes toward the edges and sometimes in the middle. This can happen in the kitchen or bathroom, but especially the bathroom, since kitchens usually have exhaust fans installed to help with this problem. Have an exhaust vent installed in your bathroom, since this is usually required by most building codes, especially if the room does not have a window. It is not very expensive and it might take you half a day to install by yourself.
Try to keep spills of water in the kitchen and bathroom cleaned up as much as possible and keep the plumbing underneath the sinks inspected regularly for drips. The bottom of the cabinet under the sink should be covered in a plastic material to keep any dripping water from rotting the wood.
There are two rooms in your home that are particularly at risk for water damage and these are the kitchen and the bathroom, since there is a large amount of water that passes through these rooms every day, especially if you have a number of family members living with you. The bathroom is the most at risk of these two rooms, though, and you should make taking care of it a priority.
The grout and caulking around your bathroom floor should be completely sealed. This means it should not be loose or have any parts missing at all if you are going to have a waterproof bathroom floor. If you can jump in the center of your bathroom and the whole room shakes or the floor feels weak, then you might want to consider taking a look at the joists underneath the house in this area to see if they are weak. If they are, then replacing them is the only real option that you have if you do not want the whole room to fall through the floor.
Another problem with water damage concerns the ceiling. Steam from your bath or shower floats upward and has nowhere to go, so it becomes absorbed by the drywall. Eventually, the tape that hides the seams of the drywall will start to loose its adhesive properties and start to detach itself from the walls. The drywall starts to crack after this happens, sometimes toward the edges and sometimes in the middle. This can happen in the kitchen or bathroom, but especially the bathroom, since kitchens usually have exhaust fans installed to help with this problem. Have an exhaust vent installed in your bathroom, since this is usually required by most building codes, especially if the room does not have a window. It is not very expensive and it might take you half a day to install by yourself.
Try to keep spills of water in the kitchen and bathroom cleaned up as much as possible and keep the plumbing underneath the sinks inspected regularly for drips. The bottom of the cabinet under the sink should be covered in a plastic material to keep any dripping water from rotting the wood.
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