Mold has been around since before us and has been having an effect on us since the time of Moses, yet we have only recently begun to see the true effects of mold on the human body. Mold not only affects the human body, but also the bodies of animals, such as our dogs, cats, and even our birds. We have become aware that mold is not something that we want living where we do, but a lot of us do not feel that there is much that we can do about it. Most molds fit into three different categories and are classified according to what kind of effect they have on us and our health.
Molds that are considered toxic produce what are called mycotoxins and even though these molds rarely occur where we live, they can cause all kinds of health complications and some of these can lead to death in the most serious of circumstances. Penicilliosis is native to the region of Southeast Asia and has a fairly high mortality rate without treatment, but even with treatment the number of deaths total about one in five. Another serious occurrence associated with mold is called aspergilloma and it happens when fungus begins to grow in balls inside any cavities existing in the body, particularly the lungs. Stachybotrys mold produces mycotoxins and is the most famous of the different black molds that exist and has been referenced by the media as “toxic black mold”.
Allergenic molds seem to affect people the most often and as their name implies, they usually cause some common allergy symptoms, but can be quite a nuisance. They can aggravate existing allergies or asthma, making the symptoms that a person already has become worse over time. Anti-histamines may help a small amount, but getting rid of the contamination is usually the only way to keep the symptoms from returning.
Pathogenic molds are less rare than toxic molds or allergenic molds, but they can be just as dangerous in people that have compromised immune systems such as those who are HIV-positive or has AIDS, cancer, or is recovering from surgery of any kind. The elderly, pets, and small children are also more at risk than a normal healthy adult person would be.
If you believe that mold exists in your home, you should perform some do-it-yourself mold tests and when you get the results back, hire a professional to get rid of the infestation as soon as possible.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut water damage restoration contractors and other states such as
North Carolina mold remediation contractor companies across the united states.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
The Dangers of Mold
A lot of people, including insurance companies, would like you to think that mold isn’t as dangerous to your health as all the media hype would have you believe, but actually mold is just as harmful as people say that it is. Mold has been around longer than human beings have, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t cause us problems both medically and financially. If anyone tries to tell you that mold isn’t going to cause any damage to your health, you might want to tell them some of the things that mold has been known to do.
Mold has been known to cause an excess amount of fatigue, sinusitis, allergy symptoms, and damaged vision. The allergy symptoms are one of the most common results and it can occur either in the form of a runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, or even skin rashes that are unsightly and tend to be very itchy. If you do not experience any of these symptoms while you are outside of your home, it might be mold or something else in your living environment that is causing you to have these reactions. Either way, you should probably see a doctor as soon as you are able to determine that something in your home is causing you to have these symptoms.
It has been known to kill our pets and cause lung bleeding, especially in infants. Elderly people, particularly those in poor health or with any respiratory problems, are at risk for the health effects of mold. Anyone who is HIV-positive, have AIDS, or those who are in the process of recovering from surgery are also at a high risk for mold-related infections and health complications.
Some of the most dangerous infections in the world are caused by mold and in the region of Southeast Asia, this includes a condition that affects mostly HIV-positive and AIDS patients called penicilliosis. It is caused by a mold in the genus penicillium, a genus which is most famous for including the species of mold responsible for the “miracle drug” penicillin that was invented back in the 1940’s.
There are actually a lot of things that you can do to make your home and workplace mold-free. Taping a do-it-yourself home mold test to the grill of one of your air conditioning vents is a good idea; it will test to see if your air conditioner is responsible for spreading the mold around your house. Putting tests in other rooms after you’ve stirred up the air for a few minutes with a house fan is also a good way to test for mold. If you see mold growing visibly on your wall, use rubber gloves and scrape a small bit off onto the test and send it to a mold laboratory.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Mold Remediation and other states such as
New Jersey Sewage Damage Cleanup companies across the united states.
Mold has been known to cause an excess amount of fatigue, sinusitis, allergy symptoms, and damaged vision. The allergy symptoms are one of the most common results and it can occur either in the form of a runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, or even skin rashes that are unsightly and tend to be very itchy. If you do not experience any of these symptoms while you are outside of your home, it might be mold or something else in your living environment that is causing you to have these reactions. Either way, you should probably see a doctor as soon as you are able to determine that something in your home is causing you to have these symptoms.
It has been known to kill our pets and cause lung bleeding, especially in infants. Elderly people, particularly those in poor health or with any respiratory problems, are at risk for the health effects of mold. Anyone who is HIV-positive, have AIDS, or those who are in the process of recovering from surgery are also at a high risk for mold-related infections and health complications.
Some of the most dangerous infections in the world are caused by mold and in the region of Southeast Asia, this includes a condition that affects mostly HIV-positive and AIDS patients called penicilliosis. It is caused by a mold in the genus penicillium, a genus which is most famous for including the species of mold responsible for the “miracle drug” penicillin that was invented back in the 1940’s.
There are actually a lot of things that you can do to make your home and workplace mold-free. Taping a do-it-yourself home mold test to the grill of one of your air conditioning vents is a good idea; it will test to see if your air conditioner is responsible for spreading the mold around your house. Putting tests in other rooms after you’ve stirred up the air for a few minutes with a house fan is also a good way to test for mold. If you see mold growing visibly on your wall, use rubber gloves and scrape a small bit off onto the test and send it to a mold laboratory.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Mold Remediation and other states such as
New Jersey Sewage Damage Cleanup companies across the united states.
Mold In Your Refrigerator And What To Do About It
If there is one thing that most people cannot stand, it is when you open the refrigerator and find that a jar of something you need at that moment such as mayonnaise or jelly has become contaminated with mold. Sometimes it is green or white and it grows either on the food itself or on the inside of the jar’s lid and you do not notice it is there until you are already scooping it out and putting it onto your bread. Yuck! A whole jar has just been wasted because of mold.
What about the other food near that jar? You should check to see if any other food in your refrigerator is contaminated with mold and throw it away immediately, especially if it is something that does not come in a jar. Leftovers, fruit, or vegetables that we often end up shoving into the back of the fridge and forgetting about are common mold hotspots in our refrigerators. Maybe you made too much food one night and you just have not had a taste for the leftovers or maybe you just have not gotten around to throwing it away.
Cleaning out your refrigerator of old and outdated items is one of the best ways to prevent mold from starting to grow inside your refrigerator. Wasting food is a bad thing to do no matter where you are and if you have any leftovers that have not been eaten up to around 48 hours after you originally prepared it, it is probably a good idea to get some Ziploc bags or Tupperware dishes and put this excess food in the freezer to eat at a later date.
Do not leave the vegetables or fruit in the plastic bags that you put them in when you pick them up from the produce section at your grocery store. This traps moisture inside the bag and it will cause your food to rot and eventually become moldy.
Any cracked eggs in the carton need to be removed. You should not buy a carton of eggs if any of the eggs appear to be cracked open; bacteria on the outside of the egg can get inside and begin to multiply.
Cheese is also a favorite food of mold in the refrigerator and if you see mold growing on a block of cheese (do not try to save individually wrapped slices), take a knife and cut an inch around the moldy spot and throw it away. Do not touch the mold with the knife and wash it immediately after.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut water damage restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
What about the other food near that jar? You should check to see if any other food in your refrigerator is contaminated with mold and throw it away immediately, especially if it is something that does not come in a jar. Leftovers, fruit, or vegetables that we often end up shoving into the back of the fridge and forgetting about are common mold hotspots in our refrigerators. Maybe you made too much food one night and you just have not had a taste for the leftovers or maybe you just have not gotten around to throwing it away.
Cleaning out your refrigerator of old and outdated items is one of the best ways to prevent mold from starting to grow inside your refrigerator. Wasting food is a bad thing to do no matter where you are and if you have any leftovers that have not been eaten up to around 48 hours after you originally prepared it, it is probably a good idea to get some Ziploc bags or Tupperware dishes and put this excess food in the freezer to eat at a later date.
Do not leave the vegetables or fruit in the plastic bags that you put them in when you pick them up from the produce section at your grocery store. This traps moisture inside the bag and it will cause your food to rot and eventually become moldy.
Any cracked eggs in the carton need to be removed. You should not buy a carton of eggs if any of the eggs appear to be cracked open; bacteria on the outside of the egg can get inside and begin to multiply.
Cheese is also a favorite food of mold in the refrigerator and if you see mold growing on a block of cheese (do not try to save individually wrapped slices), take a knife and cut an inch around the moldy spot and throw it away. Do not touch the mold with the knife and wash it immediately after.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut water damage restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
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
South Carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
Connecticut water damage restoration companies across the united states.
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
South Carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
Connecticut water damage restoration companies across the united states.
Prevention of Mold on Your Belongings
All kinds of things in your home can be affected by mold, but you can do quite a few things to protect them and restore them if you do a little research. A lot of molded items can be cleaned and saved, but there are a few that just have to be thrown away.
If mold gets on anything made of real leather it cannot be restored. Leather is a piece of porous organic material and mold decomposes items like this pretty quickly. It will discolor the leather and this discoloration cannot be repaired in 99 percent of cases.
Baby bottles come in strange shapes these days and are very often difficult to get completely dry. Water bottles and other beverage containers that we may have in our cabinets come in shapes just as strange and if you do not have a dishwasher with a dry cycle, it can be pretty hard to get these dry without a good amount of effort. The solution to this problem is to place these bottles in the freezer until you are ready to use them again. This prevents mold from growing on it, since mold does not grow in freezing temperatures.
Something else that causes mold to grow on your belongings, especially clothes, is the simple act of throwing wet clothing on the floor or into the back of the closet and forgetting about them. Most people do not wash wet clothes immediately; we tend to just throw them on the floor and then throw dry clothes on top of them. This usually causes the dry clothes to become moldy if we leave them there more than a day or two. Not only does it cause the clothes on top of them to become moldy, but if the wet items were thrown directly onto carpet, the carpet can become just as moldy. Once carpet is molded, it usually needs to be taken up and replaced, but the padding underneath always needs to be removed because it cannot be cleaned.
If you have a lot of clothes in your closet, maybe you need to make sure that you do not pack them into the closet so tight that the air cannot circulate. The clothes insulate each other and create warmth in the closet where mold can start growing after just a few days. Some closets come with vents installed to prevent this problem, but if yours does not, you should probably find another way to store your clothes or get rid of the ones that you do not use.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
South Carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
Connecticut water damage restoration companies across the united states.
If mold gets on anything made of real leather it cannot be restored. Leather is a piece of porous organic material and mold decomposes items like this pretty quickly. It will discolor the leather and this discoloration cannot be repaired in 99 percent of cases.
Baby bottles come in strange shapes these days and are very often difficult to get completely dry. Water bottles and other beverage containers that we may have in our cabinets come in shapes just as strange and if you do not have a dishwasher with a dry cycle, it can be pretty hard to get these dry without a good amount of effort. The solution to this problem is to place these bottles in the freezer until you are ready to use them again. This prevents mold from growing on it, since mold does not grow in freezing temperatures.
Something else that causes mold to grow on your belongings, especially clothes, is the simple act of throwing wet clothing on the floor or into the back of the closet and forgetting about them. Most people do not wash wet clothes immediately; we tend to just throw them on the floor and then throw dry clothes on top of them. This usually causes the dry clothes to become moldy if we leave them there more than a day or two. Not only does it cause the clothes on top of them to become moldy, but if the wet items were thrown directly onto carpet, the carpet can become just as moldy. Once carpet is molded, it usually needs to be taken up and replaced, but the padding underneath always needs to be removed because it cannot be cleaned.
If you have a lot of clothes in your closet, maybe you need to make sure that you do not pack them into the closet so tight that the air cannot circulate. The clothes insulate each other and create warmth in the closet where mold can start growing after just a few days. Some closets come with vents installed to prevent this problem, but if yours does not, you should probably find another way to store your clothes or get rid of the ones that you do not use.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
South Carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
Connecticut water damage restoration companies across the united states.
Hurricane, Flood, and Water Damage Tips
Mandatory evacuations during hurricanes and floods are not always fun to have to deal with and even during hurricane Katrina, some people did not wish to evacuate their homes and did not believe that they should be made to leave their property if they did not want to. If you cannot evacuate from your home for one reason or another or wish not to, then you really need to be prepared to stay there for a long period of time until the flood waters recede and the area is cleaned back up.
This means that you need to be stocked up with plenty of food and even more bottled water than you think you might need for a week or two’s time. Depending on the number of people in the home, you will want to have more food and water saved up. Having one gallon of water put up for each person for every day you expect to be staying in the home and even more than that, since you never know exactly when you will be able to leave.
If you need to leave the home for any reason and the waters have receded, something you need to be aware of is downed power lines. These are extremely dangerous and you can never tell if the downed line is electrified or not. Never attempt to cross one of these, not even in a vehicle.
Whatever water damage was inflicted on your home needs to be recorded with a camcorder, if you can get your hands on one. You can show this to your insurance claims adjuster so that he or she knows just how much damage was done to your home and can give you a good idea of how much compensation you can expect from your insurance company.
After you have made a video of the damage, drying out your home is the next thing that you need to start doing. Wet items should be taken outside and left to dry, unless more rain is expected.
Open the doors and windows all around the home so that air from outside can blow through out the structure and start drying things out naturally. A wet vacuum can be used to help extract some of the water from under hardwood floors, but a regular vacuum cleaner should never be used to do this due to the risk of electrocution.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
north carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation companies across the united states. (1)
This means that you need to be stocked up with plenty of food and even more bottled water than you think you might need for a week or two’s time. Depending on the number of people in the home, you will want to have more food and water saved up. Having one gallon of water put up for each person for every day you expect to be staying in the home and even more than that, since you never know exactly when you will be able to leave.
If you need to leave the home for any reason and the waters have receded, something you need to be aware of is downed power lines. These are extremely dangerous and you can never tell if the downed line is electrified or not. Never attempt to cross one of these, not even in a vehicle.
Whatever water damage was inflicted on your home needs to be recorded with a camcorder, if you can get your hands on one. You can show this to your insurance claims adjuster so that he or she knows just how much damage was done to your home and can give you a good idea of how much compensation you can expect from your insurance company.
After you have made a video of the damage, drying out your home is the next thing that you need to start doing. Wet items should be taken outside and left to dry, unless more rain is expected.
Open the doors and windows all around the home so that air from outside can blow through out the structure and start drying things out naturally. A wet vacuum can be used to help extract some of the water from under hardwood floors, but a regular vacuum cleaner should never be used to do this due to the risk of electrocution.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
north carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation companies across the united states. (1)
How Water Affects Documents
Water damaged documents and books can be a pain for homeowners and especially libraries to have to deal with. If you are planning on salvaging papers or books, there are a few things that you need to know, especially if some of the things you may have to restore are very old or rare.
Most people are not aware of the fact that depending on the condition, composition of the paper, and the age of it, it will absorb more or less water than you would expect. If you have a large collection of old texts and you live in an area where water damage due to floods or hurricanes, knowing about how much water your collection will absorb will help you select a drying method that is appropriate. Information you also might want to have is just how long your particular collection can stay under water before some serious deterioration of the material occurs.
Some papers may absorb up to 200 percent of their original weight. Materials that are older than around the year 1840 can absorb up to around 80 percent of their weight and these old materials are particularly sensitive to mold when they have been immersed in water.
Most of the damage that occurs to books that is caused by the swelling of the materials will happen within around the first four hours after they have been submerged. The papers of the text block and the cardboard that the book binding may contain will soak up quite a lot of water and this will eventually cause the block of text to become either partially or completely detached from the binding and this is most noted when the material starts to dry out on its own and the humidity in the area falls below around 70 percent.
Most leather and vellum books can be saved if they are dried using some very carefully controlled measures. If the leather or vellum book that you are trying to salvage is from the 15th, 16th, or 17th century, you are probably already aware of the rarity of it, so these should not be mixed together with other materials for salvation, stabilization, or drying.
The most important thing to do before you start treating your papers is to stabilize the environment they are in. Lower the humidity to around 65 percent and get rid of any standing water that still exists. If you have a large amount of books that are packed onto bookshelves very tightly, they should not be removed and fanned out because this will help stop mold from growing on them, at least on the insides.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and other states such as
north carolina mold remediation companies across the united states. (1)
Most people are not aware of the fact that depending on the condition, composition of the paper, and the age of it, it will absorb more or less water than you would expect. If you have a large collection of old texts and you live in an area where water damage due to floods or hurricanes, knowing about how much water your collection will absorb will help you select a drying method that is appropriate. Information you also might want to have is just how long your particular collection can stay under water before some serious deterioration of the material occurs.
Some papers may absorb up to 200 percent of their original weight. Materials that are older than around the year 1840 can absorb up to around 80 percent of their weight and these old materials are particularly sensitive to mold when they have been immersed in water.
Most of the damage that occurs to books that is caused by the swelling of the materials will happen within around the first four hours after they have been submerged. The papers of the text block and the cardboard that the book binding may contain will soak up quite a lot of water and this will eventually cause the block of text to become either partially or completely detached from the binding and this is most noted when the material starts to dry out on its own and the humidity in the area falls below around 70 percent.
Most leather and vellum books can be saved if they are dried using some very carefully controlled measures. If the leather or vellum book that you are trying to salvage is from the 15th, 16th, or 17th century, you are probably already aware of the rarity of it, so these should not be mixed together with other materials for salvation, stabilization, or drying.
The most important thing to do before you start treating your papers is to stabilize the environment they are in. Lower the humidity to around 65 percent and get rid of any standing water that still exists. If you have a large amount of books that are packed onto bookshelves very tightly, they should not be removed and fanned out because this will help stop mold from growing on them, at least on the insides.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and other states such as
north carolina mold remediation companies across the united states. (1)
Water Safety and Sanitation During Hurricanes
When you are preparing for a hurricane to hit your home and you plan on staying there instead of evacuating, the most important thing that you need to worry about is your water supply. Even though water damage to your home after the storm is over can be a real headache to have to deal with, the water damage that contaminated sea and sewer water can do to you and your family is even more dangerous. You might be able to repair the water damage to your home with money, but drinking or coming into contact with contaminated water can lead to serious illness and even death in some cases.
You should have a large amount of bottled water on hand at any given time if you live in a flood or hurricane prone area. The number of gallons that you have on hand should be enough for every person with you to have one gallon of water a day for at least a week or two. Keeping water purification tablets on hand is one very important thing that will help you if you happen to run out of bottled water for any reason. Chlorinated bleach can also be used to purify any of the contaminated water that you come across. If the water is cloudy, you can filter it through cloth until it is mostly clear. After that, you can use about 1/8 of a teaspoon of chlorinated bleach to treat a gallon of water. Leave this for at least 30 minutes before you attempt to drink it. This will make sure that all the bacteria and viruses in the water have been killed.
Unfortunately, you cannot trust that the water that comes out of your faucet during a hurricane is safe to drink. Flood waters from the sea and from the sewers can contaminate your local water treatment plants and cause the water in them to become undrinkable. You should never drink tap water until your local government assures you that it is safe to drink.
If you have children in your home, do not let them play outside in flood waters. Even if it gets up into the 80’s and 90’s in temperature, the worst thing that you could do is let the kids play in the water, especially young ones that do not know any better than to drink it. Toys that come into contact with the water need to be disinfected with bleach or other chemicals, but this is only for non-porous toys. Stuffed animals and other items like this must be thrown away immediately.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
You should have a large amount of bottled water on hand at any given time if you live in a flood or hurricane prone area. The number of gallons that you have on hand should be enough for every person with you to have one gallon of water a day for at least a week or two. Keeping water purification tablets on hand is one very important thing that will help you if you happen to run out of bottled water for any reason. Chlorinated bleach can also be used to purify any of the contaminated water that you come across. If the water is cloudy, you can filter it through cloth until it is mostly clear. After that, you can use about 1/8 of a teaspoon of chlorinated bleach to treat a gallon of water. Leave this for at least 30 minutes before you attempt to drink it. This will make sure that all the bacteria and viruses in the water have been killed.
Unfortunately, you cannot trust that the water that comes out of your faucet during a hurricane is safe to drink. Flood waters from the sea and from the sewers can contaminate your local water treatment plants and cause the water in them to become undrinkable. You should never drink tap water until your local government assures you that it is safe to drink.
If you have children in your home, do not let them play outside in flood waters. Even if it gets up into the 80’s and 90’s in temperature, the worst thing that you could do is let the kids play in the water, especially young ones that do not know any better than to drink it. Toys that come into contact with the water need to be disinfected with bleach or other chemicals, but this is only for non-porous toys. Stuffed animals and other items like this must be thrown away immediately.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
When you are preparing for a hurricane to hit your home and you plan on staying there instead of evacuating, the most important thing that you need to worry about is your water supply. Even though water damage to your home after the storm is over can be a real headache to have to deal with, the water damage that contaminated sea and sewer water can do to you and your family is even more dangerous. You might be able to repair the water damage to your home with money, but drinking or coming into contact with contaminated water can lead to serious illness and even death in some cases.
You should have a large amount of bottled water on hand at any given time if you live in a flood or hurricane prone area. The number of gallons that you have on hand should be enough for every person with you to have one gallon of water a day for at least a week or two. Keeping water purification tablets on hand is one very important thing that will help you if you happen to run out of bottled water for any reason. Chlorinated bleach can also be used to purify any of the contaminated water that you come across. If the water is cloudy, you can filter it through cloth until it is mostly clear. After that, you can use about 1/8 of a teaspoon of chlorinated bleach to treat a gallon of water. Leave this for at least 30 minutes before you attempt to drink it. This will make sure that all the bacteria and viruses in the water have been killed.
Unfortunately, you cannot trust that the water that comes out of your faucet during a hurricane is safe to drink. Flood waters from the sea and from the sewers can contaminate your local water treatment plants and cause the water in them to become undrinkable. You should never drink tap water until your local government assures you that it is safe to drink.
If you have children in your home, do not let them play outside in flood waters. Even if it gets up into the 80’s and 90’s in temperature, the worst thing that you could do is let the kids play in the water, especially young ones that do not know any better than to drink it. Toys that come into contact with the water need to be disinfected with bleach or other chemicals, but this is only for non-porous toys. Stuffed animals and other items like this must be thrown away immediately.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
You should have a large amount of bottled water on hand at any given time if you live in a flood or hurricane prone area. The number of gallons that you have on hand should be enough for every person with you to have one gallon of water a day for at least a week or two. Keeping water purification tablets on hand is one very important thing that will help you if you happen to run out of bottled water for any reason. Chlorinated bleach can also be used to purify any of the contaminated water that you come across. If the water is cloudy, you can filter it through cloth until it is mostly clear. After that, you can use about 1/8 of a teaspoon of chlorinated bleach to treat a gallon of water. Leave this for at least 30 minutes before you attempt to drink it. This will make sure that all the bacteria and viruses in the water have been killed.
Unfortunately, you cannot trust that the water that comes out of your faucet during a hurricane is safe to drink. Flood waters from the sea and from the sewers can contaminate your local water treatment plants and cause the water in them to become undrinkable. You should never drink tap water until your local government assures you that it is safe to drink.
If you have children in your home, do not let them play outside in flood waters. Even if it gets up into the 80’s and 90’s in temperature, the worst thing that you could do is let the kids play in the water, especially young ones that do not know any better than to drink it. Toys that come into contact with the water need to be disinfected with bleach or other chemicals, but this is only for non-porous toys. Stuffed animals and other items like this must be thrown away immediately.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
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