Whether you rent an apartment or own your own home, mold can be a huge problem to have to deal with. Insurance claims adjusters will usually deny your claim simply because the vast majority of homeowner’s insurance policies simply do not cover the cost to remove mold from the home. Landlords presented with a mold problem in one of their units or in the home that they are renting out are sometimes quick to blame the problem on the tenant rather than admit that the problem is structural or was there before the tenant moved in.
There are a few insurance adjusters that will try to trick you into saying that mold has been around for millennia and that it is not the health threat that people are saying that it is or that the mold contamination in the home is somehow your own fault. If the infestation is obviously not your fault, do not say anything that suggests that it might be. If he/she claims that mold is not a problem like people say, point at the Bible. The scriptures in Leviticus 14:39-49 clearly tell how dangerous mold was considered to be in the time of ancient Judaism and tell how the homes were considered to be “diseased” or “plagued” by mold. It also tells just how these contaminated homes and belongings were dealt with. The rabbi inspected these buildings and determined what was to happen to them and the basic procedure was to remove all belongings from the home and take them far away from the village and people, to shut up the house for a week, and to examine the home again. If it was still not free of contamination, it was torn down and a new one built.
Landlords should be told the same thing if they tell you that mold is not a health threat. You need to provide the landlord proof that there is a problem via mold testing. The burden of proof is on you, not them. Test the home yourself and send a copy of the test results to the landlord via certified mail. If he/she does not respond, send another letter saying you are withholding your rent until the problem is fixed. Lastly, if that was ignored, send yet another letter via certified mail stating that you are re-locating and seeking legal action.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Your Cell Phone, Water, and a Sticker
Water is a part of our everyday lives, but most of us who own electronic devices can readily admit that it is not only the source of live, but also the source of some pretty pricey problems. It is every cell phone or blackberry owner’s nightmare: dropping that $400 device into the bathtub or into the pool. What do you do with it after you drop it into water? How late is too late to save it? And if it can be saved, how do you do it?
Well, if you have a newer cell phone, odds are that if you drop it in water, you will not be able to get the phone’s warranty to cover the water damage. It is not covered under most cell phone warranties and this is one reason that you should be especially careful if you plan on getting your phone anywhere near water. The new phones have been equipped with small white stickers both inside the battery compartments and on the circuit board deeper inside the phone. When the phone gets wet (or when it is simply exposed to humidity that is just too high), the sticker changes color due to a powdered dye underneath it. When you take your phone to the manufacturer to try and file a claim, they tell you that they cannot give you any compensation because the phone has been water damaged, even if you have not actually dropped the phone in water. If humidity is too high, the sticker trips and you are out of luck.
What can you do to try and remedy this problem? If you live in an area that is subject to pretty high humidity, you can take a piece of satin finished scotch tape and place a piece over the sticker on the battery compartment. The problem is getting to the other sticker that is usually on the phone’s circuit board. If you can manage that, then hat’s off to you. If your phone stops working and you need to file a claim, remove the tape.
If you do happen to drop your phone in the water, get it out in under 20 seconds and remove the power supply completely. Submerge it in a bowl of uncooked rice at least overnight and do NOT try to power on the phone until you are completely certain it is dry. If you put the battery back in and it works, congratulations. If not, try using it with your AC adapter. If this works, all you need is a new phone battery.
Well, if you have a newer cell phone, odds are that if you drop it in water, you will not be able to get the phone’s warranty to cover the water damage. It is not covered under most cell phone warranties and this is one reason that you should be especially careful if you plan on getting your phone anywhere near water. The new phones have been equipped with small white stickers both inside the battery compartments and on the circuit board deeper inside the phone. When the phone gets wet (or when it is simply exposed to humidity that is just too high), the sticker changes color due to a powdered dye underneath it. When you take your phone to the manufacturer to try and file a claim, they tell you that they cannot give you any compensation because the phone has been water damaged, even if you have not actually dropped the phone in water. If humidity is too high, the sticker trips and you are out of luck.
What can you do to try and remedy this problem? If you live in an area that is subject to pretty high humidity, you can take a piece of satin finished scotch tape and place a piece over the sticker on the battery compartment. The problem is getting to the other sticker that is usually on the phone’s circuit board. If you can manage that, then hat’s off to you. If your phone stops working and you need to file a claim, remove the tape.
If you do happen to drop your phone in the water, get it out in under 20 seconds and remove the power supply completely. Submerge it in a bowl of uncooked rice at least overnight and do NOT try to power on the phone until you are completely certain it is dry. If you put the battery back in and it works, congratulations. If not, try using it with your AC adapter. If this works, all you need is a new phone battery.
Testing Your Home For Mold
Testing for mold in your home is not really a complicated process, but if you should know that if you do not follow the instructions that come on the package to the letter, the test will be almost completely useless both to you and to the mold laboratory that you send the test kit samples to. Most test kits are fairly straight forward, but this is a rundown of what you are going to have to do, even if you do not use just the test kits.
Sometimes knowing where you need to test for mold contamination is pretty easily simply because of the fact that the mold is either completely visible on the walls, ceiling, or other belongings, but also due to the fact that many kinds of mold have a significant musty odor to them. You can take a sample of the mold that you can see on the walls by taking a knife (a clean one) and scraping some of it off into the test kit. Be careful here and do not inhale the mold spores. Wear rubber gloves and a respirator while doing this, if you can. Whether you are wearing gloves or not, though, you should wash your hands afterward before going to test another site and especially before you eat anything.
If you want to, you can also take a piece of scotch tape and lift some of the mold off the wall. Some people may prefer this over the knife method, but it is a matter of personal preference. The knife method is more likely to stir up the spores than the tape method.
Set a test kit out in every room of your home after you have run the air conditioner or fans in every room for about ten to fifteen minutes to get the spores stirred up. Tape at least one kit to the grill of an air conditioning vent so you will know if there is any mold growing inside the duct itself. If the air conditioner continues to blow mold spores out into the house after it has been run for about 15 minutes, you know you have a problem in your ventilation system.
After you collect the test kits from around your house, you need to label them all with your name, address, where each test kit was used in the home, and any other pertinent information. This should also include how long you left the test kit setting out in your home, whether it was 30 minutes or a day.
Sometimes knowing where you need to test for mold contamination is pretty easily simply because of the fact that the mold is either completely visible on the walls, ceiling, or other belongings, but also due to the fact that many kinds of mold have a significant musty odor to them. You can take a sample of the mold that you can see on the walls by taking a knife (a clean one) and scraping some of it off into the test kit. Be careful here and do not inhale the mold spores. Wear rubber gloves and a respirator while doing this, if you can. Whether you are wearing gloves or not, though, you should wash your hands afterward before going to test another site and especially before you eat anything.
If you want to, you can also take a piece of scotch tape and lift some of the mold off the wall. Some people may prefer this over the knife method, but it is a matter of personal preference. The knife method is more likely to stir up the spores than the tape method.
Set a test kit out in every room of your home after you have run the air conditioner or fans in every room for about ten to fifteen minutes to get the spores stirred up. Tape at least one kit to the grill of an air conditioning vent so you will know if there is any mold growing inside the duct itself. If the air conditioner continues to blow mold spores out into the house after it has been run for about 15 minutes, you know you have a problem in your ventilation system.
After you collect the test kits from around your house, you need to label them all with your name, address, where each test kit was used in the home, and any other pertinent information. This should also include how long you left the test kit setting out in your home, whether it was 30 minutes or a day.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How to Effectively Clean Out Your Fridge
The refrigerator is an important center of the household and as such, you would think that people would remember to keep these food centers cleaned more often than they tend to. Even though it is fairly cool inside, mold can still grow very well in these cool temperatures, as anyone who has opened a jar of spoiled grape jelly can surely tell you. Whether it is a jar of grape jelly or a casserole left in the fridge for a bit too long, mold can grow on anything in your refrigerator that it can get onto. This includes, well… just about everything that is not completely sealed up, such as home-canned goods that have not had their seals broken. Mold spores are everywhere and in the air we breathe, unless the air is purified, such as in a hospital or laboratory clean room, so it is fairly hard to keep mold completely off of something we do not want it on, but it can be done. It just takes a little effort. Cleaning out your refrigerator and knowing what to do with moldy food (some of it can be saved, believe it or not) is essential to keeping a healthy kitchen.
Take everything out of your refrigerator and put it either on your kitchen table or on the counters for you to deal with later. You will go through these items after you are finished cleaning out the inside of your refrigerator.
Remove all drawers, shelves, and racks so that you can wash them in the sink in whatever household chemical you have chosen for this task. Whether it is anti-bacterial soap, bleach, or even better, a chemical made specifically to kill mold, use plenty of it, but do not mix chemicals, especially bleach. If you do use bleach, do your best not to get it on your hands. Wear rubber gloves.
Wash the inside of the refrigerator with a sponge or a rag thoroughly. To get some things that might be stuck to the wall of the fridge or stuck to a shelf off, let some warm water and some of the chemical you have chosen soak on it a few minutes. After you are done with the inside of the refrigerator, wash the parts that you removed, dry them, and replace them.
As for the food you took out, put back everything that is not contaminated with mold. Anything with a high moisture content that is contaminated like sour cream or jelly must be thrown away. Blocks of cheese or dense items like hard salami can have the molded parts cut out and thrown away. Cut 1 inch around and one inch under the molded part(s), remove, and discard. The rest is usable.
Take everything out of your refrigerator and put it either on your kitchen table or on the counters for you to deal with later. You will go through these items after you are finished cleaning out the inside of your refrigerator.
Remove all drawers, shelves, and racks so that you can wash them in the sink in whatever household chemical you have chosen for this task. Whether it is anti-bacterial soap, bleach, or even better, a chemical made specifically to kill mold, use plenty of it, but do not mix chemicals, especially bleach. If you do use bleach, do your best not to get it on your hands. Wear rubber gloves.
Wash the inside of the refrigerator with a sponge or a rag thoroughly. To get some things that might be stuck to the wall of the fridge or stuck to a shelf off, let some warm water and some of the chemical you have chosen soak on it a few minutes. After you are done with the inside of the refrigerator, wash the parts that you removed, dry them, and replace them.
As for the food you took out, put back everything that is not contaminated with mold. Anything with a high moisture content that is contaminated like sour cream or jelly must be thrown away. Blocks of cheese or dense items like hard salami can have the molded parts cut out and thrown away. Cut 1 inch around and one inch under the molded part(s), remove, and discard. The rest is usable.
Home Canned Food and Mold
Most of us like homegrown and prepared food, but sometimes when we can them in glass containers when we have too much garden produce to eat or too much to just give away, it does not all go according to plan. There are some tried and true canning techniques that have been in use in the past century or more, but sometimes we forget to use common sense when we are canning and this can lead to mold contamination in our food that we worked so hard to prepare and preserve.
We like to can our own food because we know exactly what chemicals and pesticides are going into it. Most of us do not like the idea of chemicals being put onto our food, even if they are deemed “safe” by the government or FDA. Sometimes the chemicals that they say are safe today are not safe tomorrow. But, mold contamination can be just as dangerous as any pesticide or preservative and there are a few things that you can do as a home canner to prevent this from happening to your canned items.
Make sure that the fruits and vegetables that you are canning are of the best quality from your garden. If they have any bad spots on them, cut these off or simply do not can them. Fruits and vegetables need to be washed and some need to be peeled before you can them. Starting with good quality ingredients is key.
Do not pack the food too tightly into the jars that you will can them in. The food in the center does not get to the high temperature that it needs to in order to kill bacteria and mold spores. You should pack food loosely, with at least a few inches from the top of the jar, depending on the size that you are canning in.
After you fill the jars, put the lids and the bands on. Start processing the food immediately so that mold and bacteria do not have a chance to start growing. If mold spores get into the jar, you might have a problem, because sometimes high temperatures just do not kill mold spores. Make sure any equipment that you use is completely sterile.
If you do happen to find mold growing in a jar after you open it, just throw it away. Foods that have a high amount of moisture are not salvageable when they become contaminated.
We like to can our own food because we know exactly what chemicals and pesticides are going into it. Most of us do not like the idea of chemicals being put onto our food, even if they are deemed “safe” by the government or FDA. Sometimes the chemicals that they say are safe today are not safe tomorrow. But, mold contamination can be just as dangerous as any pesticide or preservative and there are a few things that you can do as a home canner to prevent this from happening to your canned items.
Make sure that the fruits and vegetables that you are canning are of the best quality from your garden. If they have any bad spots on them, cut these off or simply do not can them. Fruits and vegetables need to be washed and some need to be peeled before you can them. Starting with good quality ingredients is key.
Do not pack the food too tightly into the jars that you will can them in. The food in the center does not get to the high temperature that it needs to in order to kill bacteria and mold spores. You should pack food loosely, with at least a few inches from the top of the jar, depending on the size that you are canning in.
After you fill the jars, put the lids and the bands on. Start processing the food immediately so that mold and bacteria do not have a chance to start growing. If mold spores get into the jar, you might have a problem, because sometimes high temperatures just do not kill mold spores. Make sure any equipment that you use is completely sterile.
If you do happen to find mold growing in a jar after you open it, just throw it away. Foods that have a high amount of moisture are not salvageable when they become contaminated.
General Rules For Mold Testing Kits
If you are unfortunate enough to have to test your home for mold, you are probably thinking that this is going to be a pretty inconvenient thing to have to do. Well, it might not be fun to think that you have disease-causing mold living in your house, but doing the actual test to determine if it exists is not really that hard to conduct at all. Whatever kind of test kit you end up using, the directions on the package must be followed to the exact letter or you will probably render the test useless. There are a few quite general rules that you should follow to get the most out of your testing kits.
If you can see the mold growing in your wall, ceilings, carpet, or on anything else in the home, you do not really have to do any guesswork as to whether you need to test the home or not. If you see anything like this, do not only test that room; test your entire home. Every room needs to be tested and this includes the ventilation system, because it extends to every room in the house and if mold is growing in the vents, it will spread to the rest of the house.
Run the air conditioner or fans in every room in your home before you put out the test kits so that if there are any mold spores in the room, they will be stirred up into the air and will settle down in the kit. Do not set them up anywhere high; a coffee table or somewhere around the mid to low level of the room should be fine. If you set them up too high, you may not get a good sample.
If there happens to be mold growing visibly on anything, you can use a piece of scotch tape to lift the mold up off the surface and place it into the test kit. There is a method that you can use involving scraping some of the mold into the kit with a knife, but since this can stir up mold spores even more, unless you are wearing a respirator, you are probably better off using the tape method.
To test the ventilation system, the best thing that you can do is tape a test against the grill of one of the ventilation ducts so that the air coming out of it is hitting the testing kit at a 90 degree angle. This will allow you to get the maximum amount of exposure.
If you can see the mold growing in your wall, ceilings, carpet, or on anything else in the home, you do not really have to do any guesswork as to whether you need to test the home or not. If you see anything like this, do not only test that room; test your entire home. Every room needs to be tested and this includes the ventilation system, because it extends to every room in the house and if mold is growing in the vents, it will spread to the rest of the house.
Run the air conditioner or fans in every room in your home before you put out the test kits so that if there are any mold spores in the room, they will be stirred up into the air and will settle down in the kit. Do not set them up anywhere high; a coffee table or somewhere around the mid to low level of the room should be fine. If you set them up too high, you may not get a good sample.
If there happens to be mold growing visibly on anything, you can use a piece of scotch tape to lift the mold up off the surface and place it into the test kit. There is a method that you can use involving scraping some of the mold into the kit with a knife, but since this can stir up mold spores even more, unless you are wearing a respirator, you are probably better off using the tape method.
To test the ventilation system, the best thing that you can do is tape a test against the grill of one of the ventilation ducts so that the air coming out of it is hitting the testing kit at a 90 degree angle. This will allow you to get the maximum amount of exposure.
Cleaning Out the Fridge to Prevent Mold
With the obsession that many households in the United States have with food, one would think that we would remember to keep our refrigerators cleaned a lot more often than we do. Many of us have families to take care of and jobs to tend so, so maybe it is because we just do not have time to take care of this necessary chore like we used to or perhaps we think that the problem is not as bad as we are supposed to think it is. Most people realize that bacteria and mold can grow in the refrigerator almost as easily as outside it because of the large amount of food we keep inside it and a lot of the time our food is improperly stored, which opens it to contamination even further than normal. To keep a healthy kitchen, you need to clean out your refrigerator often; clean it out completely at least once every three or four months and here is how you can start.
Remove everything from the fridge, including from the doors, and set it aside wherever you are comfortable with leaving it. The best place is on the kitchen or dining room table or just your kitchen counters. If you do not have room, set things on a table somewhere, as leaving them in the floor is not exactly practical, especially if your floor is not clean.
Take every removable part of your fridge out and set them in a sink of hot water. If you are putting glass shelves in it, rinse them with warm water first to make sure the sudden temperature change does not crack the glass. This water should also contain plenty of antibacterial soap. Allow these to soak a few minutes, especially if they have any sticky residue like from jelly or syrup.
Start washing out the inside of the refrigerator with a rag or a sponge. Use a warm bowl of water and a spray bottle of whatever chemical you have chosen for this job. You can use bleach, but do not mix it with other household chemicals that you might have on hand and always wear rubber gloves. Make sure to get any food that is stuck onto the surface of the refrigerator off before you start putting things back.
When you are done cleaning the inside and done washing the removable shelves and racks, start putting them back. Then, go through the items that you took out and throw out anything that is stale, spoiled, or contaminated with mold.
Remove everything from the fridge, including from the doors, and set it aside wherever you are comfortable with leaving it. The best place is on the kitchen or dining room table or just your kitchen counters. If you do not have room, set things on a table somewhere, as leaving them in the floor is not exactly practical, especially if your floor is not clean.
Take every removable part of your fridge out and set them in a sink of hot water. If you are putting glass shelves in it, rinse them with warm water first to make sure the sudden temperature change does not crack the glass. This water should also contain plenty of antibacterial soap. Allow these to soak a few minutes, especially if they have any sticky residue like from jelly or syrup.
Start washing out the inside of the refrigerator with a rag or a sponge. Use a warm bowl of water and a spray bottle of whatever chemical you have chosen for this job. You can use bleach, but do not mix it with other household chemicals that you might have on hand and always wear rubber gloves. Make sure to get any food that is stuck onto the surface of the refrigerator off before you start putting things back.
When you are done cleaning the inside and done washing the removable shelves and racks, start putting them back. Then, go through the items that you took out and throw out anything that is stale, spoiled, or contaminated with mold.
What To Do When Your Fridge Has Been Invaded By Mold
Unfortunately, finding mold growing in our refrigerator is something that everyone has to deal with at some point or another, whether you are single, married, or especially if you have children. People who tend to lead fully scheduled lives from day to day typically do not have time to keep a check on the items in their refrigerator to make sure mold does not start to grow, but time should be made at the very least twice a year to clean out the refrigerator of old inventory. Those with more time to clean out their refrigerators should do so more often.
Take an inventory of what is in your refrigerator and what the date is. Anything that is sorely outdated, showing signs of mold contamination, or smelling foul should be thrown away. These items will not take long to contaminate the food that is next to it, such as potatoes from the garden that are put in the same container. One bad potato will spoil the rest fairly quickly if it is not removed and the potatoes touching it washed immediately afterward.
Fruits and vegetables that are brought home from the grocery store should be removed from their plastic sacks that we use at the store to collect them with. These bags will trap moisture inside and cause the fruit to begin to break down, inviting mold to start growing.
Clean out your refrigerator as often as possible, especially if you tend to have a lot of spills in it. If you thaw meat out in the refrigerator, you need to make sure it is thawed out in a pan of some kind to prevent the blood or other juices from getting all over your shelves. Raw poultry is notorious for causing salmonella poisoning, so it is important that you get anything the poultry touched while it was thawing in the refrigerator cleaned after you take it out.
Wash the insides of the refrigerator with antibacterial cleaners and bleach, if you must. Bleach should not be mixed with other household chemicals, however, especially those that contain ammonia. This can cause hazardous fumes to build up in your kitchen and can do you serious damage if you breathe enough in.
While you have everything out of the fridge, take the time to go through the items in it again and toss out anything questionable. Check any home-canned goods that you might have and make sure the seals are not broken on them. Throw out anything the seal is broken on, unless you broke the seal yourself not long ago.
Take an inventory of what is in your refrigerator and what the date is. Anything that is sorely outdated, showing signs of mold contamination, or smelling foul should be thrown away. These items will not take long to contaminate the food that is next to it, such as potatoes from the garden that are put in the same container. One bad potato will spoil the rest fairly quickly if it is not removed and the potatoes touching it washed immediately afterward.
Fruits and vegetables that are brought home from the grocery store should be removed from their plastic sacks that we use at the store to collect them with. These bags will trap moisture inside and cause the fruit to begin to break down, inviting mold to start growing.
Clean out your refrigerator as often as possible, especially if you tend to have a lot of spills in it. If you thaw meat out in the refrigerator, you need to make sure it is thawed out in a pan of some kind to prevent the blood or other juices from getting all over your shelves. Raw poultry is notorious for causing salmonella poisoning, so it is important that you get anything the poultry touched while it was thawing in the refrigerator cleaned after you take it out.
Wash the insides of the refrigerator with antibacterial cleaners and bleach, if you must. Bleach should not be mixed with other household chemicals, however, especially those that contain ammonia. This can cause hazardous fumes to build up in your kitchen and can do you serious damage if you breathe enough in.
While you have everything out of the fridge, take the time to go through the items in it again and toss out anything questionable. Check any home-canned goods that you might have and make sure the seals are not broken on them. Throw out anything the seal is broken on, unless you broke the seal yourself not long ago.
Know What To Throw Away When You Find Mold On Your Food
Everyone has had that battle with themselves while looking around in the refrigerator for something to eat: it has mold on it… do you eat it? Well, depending on just what kind of food “it” is, it might be salvageable and it might not be.
No matter what we put in the refrigerator, if it gets left in there long enough, mold will eventually start to grow on it. Jams, jellies, preserves, leftovers, it does not typically matter what it is. Most of us like good food and unfortunately, mold usually has the same tastes that we do and invades our refrigerators on a daily basis, ruining the meal of leftovers we thought we were going to have after work.
Improperly home canned foods are at risk for mold growth. Fruits and vegetables must always be washed carefully and inspected for quality before canning and not only that, but the jars and other equipment that is used must also be sterilized, usually by boiling them in water.
So, what do you do what that item in the fridge that has mold on it? There are not a whole lot of things that can be saved once it is contaminated with mold. But, dense items like hard salami or dry-cured country hams can be saved because these items have a pretty stable shelf life and it is common for them to have surface mold. Simply scrub it off.
Anything with a high moisture content or a soft texture, however, needs to be thrown away once mold starts to grow on it. This can include leftover casseroles, lunch meat, hot dogs, and bacon in the meat category and soft cheeses, yogurt, sour cream, and even cheeses made with mold should be thrown away. It may sound odd to throw away a block of cheese contaminated with mold if the cheese was made with mold to begin with, but it is likely that the new mold growing on your cheese was not part of the manufacturing process and this can be dangerous.
Baked goods like bread should also be thrown away because they are porous and may be contaminated below the surface.
Jams, jellies, preserves, and marmalades found to be contaminated with mold needs to be thrown away because they have a high moisture content and are soft enough for the mold to infect the entire jar.
No matter what we put in the refrigerator, if it gets left in there long enough, mold will eventually start to grow on it. Jams, jellies, preserves, leftovers, it does not typically matter what it is. Most of us like good food and unfortunately, mold usually has the same tastes that we do and invades our refrigerators on a daily basis, ruining the meal of leftovers we thought we were going to have after work.
Improperly home canned foods are at risk for mold growth. Fruits and vegetables must always be washed carefully and inspected for quality before canning and not only that, but the jars and other equipment that is used must also be sterilized, usually by boiling them in water.
So, what do you do what that item in the fridge that has mold on it? There are not a whole lot of things that can be saved once it is contaminated with mold. But, dense items like hard salami or dry-cured country hams can be saved because these items have a pretty stable shelf life and it is common for them to have surface mold. Simply scrub it off.
Anything with a high moisture content or a soft texture, however, needs to be thrown away once mold starts to grow on it. This can include leftover casseroles, lunch meat, hot dogs, and bacon in the meat category and soft cheeses, yogurt, sour cream, and even cheeses made with mold should be thrown away. It may sound odd to throw away a block of cheese contaminated with mold if the cheese was made with mold to begin with, but it is likely that the new mold growing on your cheese was not part of the manufacturing process and this can be dangerous.
Baked goods like bread should also be thrown away because they are porous and may be contaminated below the surface.
Jams, jellies, preserves, and marmalades found to be contaminated with mold needs to be thrown away because they have a high moisture content and are soft enough for the mold to infect the entire jar.
Beware, Mold Grows In Home Canned Food
If you like to can food out of your garden during the late summer and fall during the harvest season, you might be a little concerned about how best to keep mold and other microorganisms from contaminating your food. There are a number of different things that you can do to keep mold from growing in your newly canned food, but some of them might not be as obvious as you might think.
For example, paraffin was commonly used years ago to seal the tops of jars for jellies, jams, or preserves. This is no longer recommended, because mold is a common contaminant of these and it can send “threads” down through the paraffin and end up producing mycotoxins in the food. These soft spreads should be canned as you would anything else.
Food should also be stored properly and at temperatures under about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Organisms such as mold and bacteria can grow in higher temperatures and foods canned at home that are exposed to high temperatures can get quite hot inside and the air in the top of the jar will expand and break open the seal. The mold or bacteria will get inside the food and bam -- a jar is wasted. All canned foods should be dated and used within one year.
Before you put any food into your jars, they should be thoroughly sterilized first. This is done by filling the jars and the canner up to about 1 inch over the top of the jars with hot water. These should then be boiled for around 10 minutes and for every 1,000 feet over 1,000 feet in altitude, add an extra minute. Remove the jars from the water and drain their contents back into the canner to use for processing the foods, since this water is already sterile. Put the food into the jars, add the lids, and tighten on the screw bands. Some foods are said not to need pre-sterilized jars, but it is better to be safe than sorry, right?
Any food you are going to can should be of good quality, peeled, and thoroughly washed beforehand. Attempting to can any food that is questionable will only result in wasted time and effort.
Food should also not be packed tightly in the jars. Allow some air space between the food and the jar’s lid.
Jars must also not be left in the canner after they are finished processing. As the jars cool off, they can suck in water from the pot and this may contain any number of different spores or microbes. Allow the jars to cool naturally somewhere at room temperature where they will not be bothered.
For example, paraffin was commonly used years ago to seal the tops of jars for jellies, jams, or preserves. This is no longer recommended, because mold is a common contaminant of these and it can send “threads” down through the paraffin and end up producing mycotoxins in the food. These soft spreads should be canned as you would anything else.
Food should also be stored properly and at temperatures under about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Organisms such as mold and bacteria can grow in higher temperatures and foods canned at home that are exposed to high temperatures can get quite hot inside and the air in the top of the jar will expand and break open the seal. The mold or bacteria will get inside the food and bam -- a jar is wasted. All canned foods should be dated and used within one year.
Before you put any food into your jars, they should be thoroughly sterilized first. This is done by filling the jars and the canner up to about 1 inch over the top of the jars with hot water. These should then be boiled for around 10 minutes and for every 1,000 feet over 1,000 feet in altitude, add an extra minute. Remove the jars from the water and drain their contents back into the canner to use for processing the foods, since this water is already sterile. Put the food into the jars, add the lids, and tighten on the screw bands. Some foods are said not to need pre-sterilized jars, but it is better to be safe than sorry, right?
Any food you are going to can should be of good quality, peeled, and thoroughly washed beforehand. Attempting to can any food that is questionable will only result in wasted time and effort.
Food should also not be packed tightly in the jars. Allow some air space between the food and the jar’s lid.
Jars must also not be left in the canner after they are finished processing. As the jars cool off, they can suck in water from the pot and this may contain any number of different spores or microbes. Allow the jars to cool naturally somewhere at room temperature where they will not be bothered.
Keeping Mold Off Of Your Things
Mold grows everywhere, but sometimes we humans give it a little help by some of the habits we exhibit in our daily lives. We do not always know when mold is present, though, or what may cause mold to grow or what prevents it from growing. There are a few different things that you can do in order to keep mold off of your stuff and out of your house, but you will not be able to get rid of all mold from your living environment. It is in the air we breathe and on the ground we walk on; only when it starts to grow in colonies can we see it with the naked eye. While you cannot completely get rid of it, you can help prevent it from growing in colonies on your personal belongings.
Any fruit and vegetables in your kitchen should be checked for mold every day or so and anything that is showing spots of mold should have the mold either cut out of it or simply thrown away. Do not allow mold-contaminated fruits or vegetables to stay in your refrigerator or next to anything else.
If you have a baby or babysit one on a regular basis, odds are good that you have some baby bottles in your kitchen. They are made of odd shapes these days and sometimes you cannot get them completely dry and this includes some toddler “sippy” cups that have hollow handles that allow liquid from juice or milk inside. If they are not cleaned properly and dried thoroughly, mold can grow in them. The solution? After washing them and drying them, put them in your freezer until you need them again. Mold does not like to grow in cold temperatures and if the bottle has been washed immediately before being put in the freezer, it should be sterile.
Also, any wet clothing should never be thrown onto carpet and left there or even really on any floor. Once they stay there for over 24 hours, mold can start to grow on these and if the wet item is at the bottom of a dirty laundry basket or even worse, on the bottom of the floor of a closet underneath dry dirty clothes, it can contaminate everything else that it touches. The best way to deal with wet clothing from a swimming pool or from being outside in the snow is to wash it as soon as possible and do not put it in the same basket with dry clothes.
Any fruit and vegetables in your kitchen should be checked for mold every day or so and anything that is showing spots of mold should have the mold either cut out of it or simply thrown away. Do not allow mold-contaminated fruits or vegetables to stay in your refrigerator or next to anything else.
If you have a baby or babysit one on a regular basis, odds are good that you have some baby bottles in your kitchen. They are made of odd shapes these days and sometimes you cannot get them completely dry and this includes some toddler “sippy” cups that have hollow handles that allow liquid from juice or milk inside. If they are not cleaned properly and dried thoroughly, mold can grow in them. The solution? After washing them and drying them, put them in your freezer until you need them again. Mold does not like to grow in cold temperatures and if the bottle has been washed immediately before being put in the freezer, it should be sterile.
Also, any wet clothing should never be thrown onto carpet and left there or even really on any floor. Once they stay there for over 24 hours, mold can start to grow on these and if the wet item is at the bottom of a dirty laundry basket or even worse, on the bottom of the floor of a closet underneath dry dirty clothes, it can contaminate everything else that it touches. The best way to deal with wet clothing from a swimming pool or from being outside in the snow is to wash it as soon as possible and do not put it in the same basket with dry clothes.
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