It does not matter if you are single, married, divorced, with children or without, you have documents in your home that carry your legal life on their pages. We all have a number of different legal and binding documents that we need to keep safe, but most of us simply put these in a drawer or in a plastic bin of some kind or perhaps even a simple manila folder. No matter which of these that you choose, your documents are not really safe from anything. Bank statements, binding contracts, past tax records, homeowner’s insurance policies, life insurance, health insurance, and many, many other documents that you may have in that area are not protected from natural disasters such as fires or floods. Think of what would happen if you were to lose these. What kind of legal trouble could you be in if you could not find some of these?
The answer to this is a waterproof and fireproof safe. No matter what disaster strikes your home, you will need to have a copy of your homeowner’s insurance and you will want to be sure that it is safe. The only real way to do this is to have a safe that is capable of withstanding these kinds of events. Even though most water damaged papers can be saved, most fire damaged papers cannot be, simply because there is often not enough of them left to save. Unless the fire is a light one and you are able to get to the items before they catch it, odds are good that they will be lost.
All kinds of nasty things lurk in flood waters and you really do not want to have to handle these papers when they are possibly contaminated with all kinds of bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and even sewage. You will have to throw away most items that become contaminated with these things, since they will be very difficult to clean.
Having a fireproof and waterproof safe will not only protect your papers from fire and floods, but also from mold growth. Mold often starts to grow on papers that have been moist for over 48 hours or even less and this growth will eat them.
You may not be able to prevent water or fire damage in the majority of the rest of your home, but your documents will be kept safe. Consider purchasing a safe to hold your documents in, just in case the unthinkable happens.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Water Damage Restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Killing Mold is Not the True Answer
When most homeowners find mold in their homes, the first question that they typically ask themselves is “how do I kill it?”. This is not exactly the correct question that you should be asking yourself if you find the same problem in your home, because mold is literally everywhere. We will never be able to totally get rid of the mold in our homes or our air, but what we can do is reduce the amount that we breathe in to the point that it has no affect on our health.
The question that you need to be asking yourself is how to clean up the infestation that exists in your home to the point where it will not cause you any problems. Even dead mold and dead mold spores can cause allergic reactions, even though they are not able to grow anymore. Touching it can still give you rashes, because the body still recognizes it as something that it is allergic to, whether it is alive or dead.
What does not work is bleach. This will work on hard surfaces like tile or linoleum, but when it comes to porous surfaces such as drywall, it is not generally effective. It will not always be able to reach the whole infection in the drywall and if the mold has infected the whole depth of the board, no amount of bleach is going to get deep enough into the drywall to get rid of it. Many times you have to physically remove the infection by getting rid of the building materials that have it on them. This can be drywall, wooden beams, clothes, or anything else organic in your home.
Hire a mold inspector to come to your house if you suspect that there might be mold on your property. If it is visible to you, then you can go to the next step and hire someone to remove it for you or if you know anything about construction and interior remodeling, you can probably do it on your own. Make sure you have the proper equipment, though, so you can do it safely. Respirators with HEPA filters attached to them are best and having disposable coveralls made of plastic will also help. Latex gloves, shoe covers, and some duct tape to seal up the gaps in your suit are necessary, as well.
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.floodingct.info
http://www.floodedbasementnj.info
The question that you need to be asking yourself is how to clean up the infestation that exists in your home to the point where it will not cause you any problems. Even dead mold and dead mold spores can cause allergic reactions, even though they are not able to grow anymore. Touching it can still give you rashes, because the body still recognizes it as something that it is allergic to, whether it is alive or dead.
What does not work is bleach. This will work on hard surfaces like tile or linoleum, but when it comes to porous surfaces such as drywall, it is not generally effective. It will not always be able to reach the whole infection in the drywall and if the mold has infected the whole depth of the board, no amount of bleach is going to get deep enough into the drywall to get rid of it. Many times you have to physically remove the infection by getting rid of the building materials that have it on them. This can be drywall, wooden beams, clothes, or anything else organic in your home.
Hire a mold inspector to come to your house if you suspect that there might be mold on your property. If it is visible to you, then you can go to the next step and hire someone to remove it for you or if you know anything about construction and interior remodeling, you can probably do it on your own. Make sure you have the proper equipment, though, so you can do it safely. Respirators with HEPA filters attached to them are best and having disposable coveralls made of plastic will also help. Latex gloves, shoe covers, and some duct tape to seal up the gaps in your suit are necessary, as well.
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.floodingct.info
http://www.floodedbasementnj.info
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