Mold likes food just as much as we do, but we do not usually like to find it sharing the same space as the food that we stock our refrigerators with every week or two. While we all lead busy lives and are usually too occupied to remember to clean out our refrigerator, what we do not realize is that mold is also leading a busy life consuming and contaminating our food. It can contaminate almost anything that you put in your refrigerator and most of the time if it does contaminate something, you just have to throw it away. There are some things that you can do to prevent mold from growing in your refrigerator and there are a few items that you can save even if they do get a little moldy.
Keep track of what you have in your refrigerator and how long you have had that same item in there. Make a note of expiration dates. Things like sour cream, jellies, jams, marmalades, and anything else that has high moisture content can become moldy faster than you think and if they do, unfortunately, there is not much that you can do to save these items. Throwing them away and replacing them is about the only thing that you can do.
Those little plastic bags in the produce section of the grocery store sure can be convenient, but once you get your produce back home, you should remove it from these bags. Condensation gets trapped inside the bags and this will cause your fresh fruit and vegetables to rot faster than they normally would if you just put them in the crisper by themselves.
To clean out your refrigerator as regularly as you can remember to is also some good advice. Keeping bacteria and mold spores from building up in the fridge is one of the best ways to prevent mold from growing there. You can use bleach to kill the mold inside your refrigerator, since there is no surface inside that is porous. Bleach will not kill mold growing on porous surfaces. If you have to use bleach, do not mix it with any other chemicals you might have in your kitchen cabinet, especially ammonia. This is dangerous and can produce hazardous fumes.
If a dense item in your refrigerator develops spots of mold on it, such as hard salami or a block of cheese, take a clean knife and cut both around and underneath the moldy spot one inch. Do not touch the knife to other areas of the product and discard the chunk you cut out.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
Friday, September 28, 2007
First Steps To Take If Your Home Is Water Damaged
Having a home that is located close to the ocean or close to a fresh water source can be a nice and aesthetically pleasing experience, but what do you do if it happens to flood? A flood can be a nightmare for any homeowner, whether the home is newly built or 30 years old and a lot of people do not know how to deal with this situation, simply because most have not ever had to.
If your home does become a victim of flooding and water damage either due to rain, a levy breaking, or hurricane, there are a few things that you can do to help minimize the damage once the water has receded. It is best to tend to the home as soon as possible after the waters have receded back away from your home.
When you do finally get the opportunity to re-enter your home, you must be absolutely certain that the electricity to your entire home is cut off. There is a serious risk of electrocution if you step into your home without making sure of this first and foremost. There are also some serious biological risks that you will be taking when you re-enter a home that has been flooded simply because of all the different chemicals, trash, sewage, and even dead bodies that could be floating around in it.
If you can afford to purchase some protective gear before trying to dry out your home, please do so. Wash your hands extremely well before you eat anything to avoid infecting yourself with anything that may be in the water.
Before you do anything at all to try and repair the damage to your home, you need to use a video camera to record the damage. Tape every section of your home that has suffered significant damage and point out everything that you notice that will have to be repaired. This will offer you irreplaceable help when you try to file an insurance claim on the home.
Remove any insulation in the attic that has gotten wet. It is no longer effective and has become very heavy. It will weigh your ceiling down and eventually cause it to collapse in sections.
You should also remove anything else that is wet and set it outside to dry in the sun, although some items should be let to dry in the shade to keep the sun from bleaching them.
Do not use artificial heat sources to dry hardwood floors. This will cause what is called cupping or can cause the floor to buckle. Open the windows and let air circulate through the home.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
If your home does become a victim of flooding and water damage either due to rain, a levy breaking, or hurricane, there are a few things that you can do to help minimize the damage once the water has receded. It is best to tend to the home as soon as possible after the waters have receded back away from your home.
When you do finally get the opportunity to re-enter your home, you must be absolutely certain that the electricity to your entire home is cut off. There is a serious risk of electrocution if you step into your home without making sure of this first and foremost. There are also some serious biological risks that you will be taking when you re-enter a home that has been flooded simply because of all the different chemicals, trash, sewage, and even dead bodies that could be floating around in it.
If you can afford to purchase some protective gear before trying to dry out your home, please do so. Wash your hands extremely well before you eat anything to avoid infecting yourself with anything that may be in the water.
Before you do anything at all to try and repair the damage to your home, you need to use a video camera to record the damage. Tape every section of your home that has suffered significant damage and point out everything that you notice that will have to be repaired. This will offer you irreplaceable help when you try to file an insurance claim on the home.
Remove any insulation in the attic that has gotten wet. It is no longer effective and has become very heavy. It will weigh your ceiling down and eventually cause it to collapse in sections.
You should also remove anything else that is wet and set it outside to dry in the sun, although some items should be let to dry in the shade to keep the sun from bleaching them.
Do not use artificial heat sources to dry hardwood floors. This will cause what is called cupping or can cause the floor to buckle. Open the windows and let air circulate through the home.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
How To Know When To Check For Mold In Your Home Or Business
With all the new concern about mold growing in our homes in our businesses, you may be wondering just what you can do to determine whether mold exists on your property or not. There are a few different ways to know if mold exists on your property and one of the best ones is to purchase a mold testing kit that you can perform by yourself, but how do you know if you need to test for it?
Do you throw wet clothing and towels on the floor and leave them there? Or even worse, throw dry clothing on top of them and forget the wet clothes are underneath? If this is a habit for you or the rest of your family, especially if the floor you are putting these on is carpeted, then you are inviting mold to start growing in your house. Wash wet clothing as soon as possible or put them in a sink or other container by themselves and never put dry clothing on top of wet.
Has your home suffered water damage due to floods or heavy rain? Mold likes to grow on items that have been wet and forgotten about or just never repaired. It will grow anywhere that there is moisture or high amounts of humidity. Stachybotrys mold in particular likes to grow where there is standing water, such as in a leaky area of your basement. Try to keep the humidity level in your house down and if you see condensation on your windows or on exposed pipes, you are not succeeding in this. Try a de-humidifier.
Any part of your home that has been water damaged, especially floors and walls, could be hiding a mold infestation. To detect mold that you cannot see or smell, purchase a mold testing kit and follow the directions for it exactly as they appear or the test will be useless.
Mold will also grow in closets that have too many clothes packed in them. Air simply cannot circulate in a closet packed too tight and the clothing provides all the food that the mold needs to survive. A solution to this problem is to just give or throw away clothing that you do not need and if there is not much clothing that you do not use, find another way to store it.
Leaking water pipes or even a waterline for the icemaker on your fridge can be hidden causes for this terrible menace. Check the basics and you can help to eliminate the problem before it starts.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Orlando water damage restoration companies and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Do you throw wet clothing and towels on the floor and leave them there? Or even worse, throw dry clothing on top of them and forget the wet clothes are underneath? If this is a habit for you or the rest of your family, especially if the floor you are putting these on is carpeted, then you are inviting mold to start growing in your house. Wash wet clothing as soon as possible or put them in a sink or other container by themselves and never put dry clothing on top of wet.
Has your home suffered water damage due to floods or heavy rain? Mold likes to grow on items that have been wet and forgotten about or just never repaired. It will grow anywhere that there is moisture or high amounts of humidity. Stachybotrys mold in particular likes to grow where there is standing water, such as in a leaky area of your basement. Try to keep the humidity level in your house down and if you see condensation on your windows or on exposed pipes, you are not succeeding in this. Try a de-humidifier.
Any part of your home that has been water damaged, especially floors and walls, could be hiding a mold infestation. To detect mold that you cannot see or smell, purchase a mold testing kit and follow the directions for it exactly as they appear or the test will be useless.
Mold will also grow in closets that have too many clothes packed in them. Air simply cannot circulate in a closet packed too tight and the clothing provides all the food that the mold needs to survive. A solution to this problem is to just give or throw away clothing that you do not need and if there is not much clothing that you do not use, find another way to store it.
Leaking water pipes or even a waterline for the icemaker on your fridge can be hidden causes for this terrible menace. Check the basics and you can help to eliminate the problem before it starts.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Orlando water damage restoration companies and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
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