Everyone who owns or rents a home should know what to do to prevent water damage. Even if you rent the property that you’re on, it’s in your best interest to take some responsibility for your living space and do what you can do stop water damage, especially if you plan on renting there for a long time.
If you have a washing machine in your home or apartment, it’s a good idea to make sure that the hose doesn’t have any cracks in it. If the hose ruptures and begins to spew water, it won’t be long before your entire laundry room floor is covered in water and starts leaking into the next room. Hoses that connect to your washer should be replaced as many times and as frequently as you need to, but under normal conditions, every three to five years is sufficient.
A leaky water heater is also a cause of water damage in the home and one of the best ways to determine if you have a leaky one is to look for rust or signs that it has leaked in the past. If a water heater is located on a 2nd or higher floor of the home or apartment building, it needs to be installed inside a pan that has a drain connected to a drain in the floor to make sure the water goes into the plumbing system.
Making sure that water is escaping from your roof the way it should be one of the first things on your mind if you want to prevent water damage to your attic and the rest of your house. If you’re just renting an apartment, then this part is mostly up to your landlord or the property manager. If you’re renting a home, then part of this is probably up to you. Cleaning out the gutters and the general maintenance of the property is up to you unless it’s something serious. Making sure the downspouts that are attached to the corners of the house are free of leaves and other debris will drain water away from the foundation of the house and keep it from sinking into the ground. Keeping water draining away from the house and making sure the cracks around your doors and windows are thoroughly caulked and sealed is another step that you can take to keep water from leaking into your home.
Showing posts with label black mold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black mold. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
Preventing Mold From Invading Your Home’s Construction
One of the worst things that can happen to someone who’s building a brand new home is discovering after the construction is completed that mold has been growing within his new haven. It is indeed a problem and it might be more common than you would think.
Mold can and does get built into new homes and a lot of the time, it’s the fault of the contractor for not properly inspecting or storing his building materials and by allowing the site to get wet from rain before the roof and walls are completed. Sometimes what is supposed to be the interior of the home is left uncovered and when it rains, the building materials get soaked and are allowed to dry this way. In warm, humid weather, this can allow mold to get a grip on the structure and begin to grow. You’ll not only have the possibility of mold, but you’ll also put your home at risk of water damage. Covering the building site with tarps or plastic sheeting should keep the rain, snow, (and the mold) out.
You should make sure that the contractor and his/her workers are using good quality materials to build your new home with. Testing the building materials for mold is one thing that you can do to make certain that it stays out of your home’s foundation. If you go to the building site and you see building materials like wood and sheetrock being stored directly on the ground, tell your contractor that they need to be raised up to aid in the prevention of mold growth. Your contractor should already know this, but irresponsible ones or those that are trying to make the process as easy as possible are the ones that you should worry about. Check your contractor’s references and make sure they’ve done a good job for others in the past.
The home should also be periodically checked for mold as it’s being built and after the building is completed. No one wants to go to the trouble of building a home that will be worth quite a lot of money if it’s only going to have to be gutted to remove mold a few months later, right?
If you’re careful and you keep an eye on your home’s construction, you can prevent most kinds of mold and water damage. If you’re not, you’re asking for quite a headache and the loss of a lot of funds.
Mold can and does get built into new homes and a lot of the time, it’s the fault of the contractor for not properly inspecting or storing his building materials and by allowing the site to get wet from rain before the roof and walls are completed. Sometimes what is supposed to be the interior of the home is left uncovered and when it rains, the building materials get soaked and are allowed to dry this way. In warm, humid weather, this can allow mold to get a grip on the structure and begin to grow. You’ll not only have the possibility of mold, but you’ll also put your home at risk of water damage. Covering the building site with tarps or plastic sheeting should keep the rain, snow, (and the mold) out.
You should make sure that the contractor and his/her workers are using good quality materials to build your new home with. Testing the building materials for mold is one thing that you can do to make certain that it stays out of your home’s foundation. If you go to the building site and you see building materials like wood and sheetrock being stored directly on the ground, tell your contractor that they need to be raised up to aid in the prevention of mold growth. Your contractor should already know this, but irresponsible ones or those that are trying to make the process as easy as possible are the ones that you should worry about. Check your contractor’s references and make sure they’ve done a good job for others in the past.
The home should also be periodically checked for mold as it’s being built and after the building is completed. No one wants to go to the trouble of building a home that will be worth quite a lot of money if it’s only going to have to be gutted to remove mold a few months later, right?
If you’re careful and you keep an eye on your home’s construction, you can prevent most kinds of mold and water damage. If you’re not, you’re asking for quite a headache and the loss of a lot of funds.
Mold Health Issues including black toxic mold
Everybody knows that mold is unsightly and can cause health problems, but exactly what kinds of health problems are we talking about here? We shouldn’t just be concerned with the respiratory or skin effects of mold, because these are not even close to being the only things that mold can cause in a person.
Mold can produce allergic reactions in people by producing allergens, irritants, and toxic substances called mycotoxins. No matter what kind of mold you’re dealing with, it’s a bad idea to touch it or inhale any of its spores. Some molds can cause cold or flu-like symptoms or in infants, even bleeding of the lungs. Incessant coughing, asthma, allergy symptoms, and vision can occur and even problems with a person’s central nervous system can arise. Abnormal amounts of fatique, headaches, problems with your sinuses, vomiting, and sometimes even cancer can be caused by mold infestations in the home or the workplace. Where mold is concerned, you’re basically playing roulette: you don’t know which number is going to come up or for who.
Air conditioners are one of the worst culprits of spreading mold infestations from one area of the building to the other. They thrust the mold spores up into the air and you inhale them, drawing them into your lungs, and this can be dangerous, especially if you’re one of the people who are particularly at risk for sickness. This includes infants, pets, the elderly, and anyone who has a weakened immune system. People with weakened immune systems are those who are pregnant, people who have just had surgery, or those with HIV, AIDs, or other immunodeficiency conditions.
Most people don’t realize that there are so many health complications that can be caused by mold and since this is true, they don’t understand how big of a problem mold can be in the home. They think that they will be alright if they put off removing the mold until they can afford it, but it’s not a good idea.
People with good constitutions and are generally healthy can survive in a home that has a mild amount of mold for a while without any adverse health effects, but staying there without any attempts to treat the home and remove the mold can be a costly mistake. If you discover mold where you live, you should do what you have to in order to get the mold removed or find another place to live.
Mold can produce allergic reactions in people by producing allergens, irritants, and toxic substances called mycotoxins. No matter what kind of mold you’re dealing with, it’s a bad idea to touch it or inhale any of its spores. Some molds can cause cold or flu-like symptoms or in infants, even bleeding of the lungs. Incessant coughing, asthma, allergy symptoms, and vision can occur and even problems with a person’s central nervous system can arise. Abnormal amounts of fatique, headaches, problems with your sinuses, vomiting, and sometimes even cancer can be caused by mold infestations in the home or the workplace. Where mold is concerned, you’re basically playing roulette: you don’t know which number is going to come up or for who.
Air conditioners are one of the worst culprits of spreading mold infestations from one area of the building to the other. They thrust the mold spores up into the air and you inhale them, drawing them into your lungs, and this can be dangerous, especially if you’re one of the people who are particularly at risk for sickness. This includes infants, pets, the elderly, and anyone who has a weakened immune system. People with weakened immune systems are those who are pregnant, people who have just had surgery, or those with HIV, AIDs, or other immunodeficiency conditions.
Most people don’t realize that there are so many health complications that can be caused by mold and since this is true, they don’t understand how big of a problem mold can be in the home. They think that they will be alright if they put off removing the mold until they can afford it, but it’s not a good idea.
People with good constitutions and are generally healthy can survive in a home that has a mild amount of mold for a while without any adverse health effects, but staying there without any attempts to treat the home and remove the mold can be a costly mistake. If you discover mold where you live, you should do what you have to in order to get the mold removed or find another place to live.
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