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.
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
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.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Contractor Need to Know Facts
Almost everyone wants to have the opportunity to build that dream home, but before you can have it built, you need to find the right person to build it for you. This means finding the contractor that you can stand to be around for at least a few months while the house is being built and also finding the contractor that can get the job done right and on time. Other legal matters will also need to be taken care of by the contractor, so before building begins, you need to be sure that these have been taken care of, as well.
When looking for a contractor, talk to your friends and relatives first to find out if they can recommend anyone to you. If they cannot, then it is time to go to the phone book. Avoid hiring a contractor over the internet if possible, but if you feel like you have to go this route, be very careful. Meet the contractor in person and obtain a number of references so you can find out just what quality work he does. Find out if there have been any problems with mold in the home or water damage due to bad plumbing or bad construction since the house was built. Ask a lot of questions about the contractor’s character and about how efficient the job was.
Find out whether the contractor’s license is current and has no claims against it at the moment. There should not be any. In California, anyone who is contracted to do work that will cost more than $500 must have a license from the Contractor’s State License Board. If you hire someone without a license, you may not be able to obtain assistance from the Board to resolve a complaint. They should have a pocket license with their name on it and the name on it should match the name of who you are talking to.
Your contractor should also have all of the appropriate insurances and he should have no problem with giving you copies of the policies for your own records. He or she should have liability and worker’s compensation insurance. They may not be required by your local law to have general liability insurance, but if they do damage to your property, you or your insurance company may have to cover the bill.
Your contractor is also responsible for getting the appropriate building permits from the city to do your project. Make sure he or she has obtained all these permits and permissions before building starts.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Mold Remediation and
water damage restoration companies across the united states.
When looking for a contractor, talk to your friends and relatives first to find out if they can recommend anyone to you. If they cannot, then it is time to go to the phone book. Avoid hiring a contractor over the internet if possible, but if you feel like you have to go this route, be very careful. Meet the contractor in person and obtain a number of references so you can find out just what quality work he does. Find out if there have been any problems with mold in the home or water damage due to bad plumbing or bad construction since the house was built. Ask a lot of questions about the contractor’s character and about how efficient the job was.
Find out whether the contractor’s license is current and has no claims against it at the moment. There should not be any. In California, anyone who is contracted to do work that will cost more than $500 must have a license from the Contractor’s State License Board. If you hire someone without a license, you may not be able to obtain assistance from the Board to resolve a complaint. They should have a pocket license with their name on it and the name on it should match the name of who you are talking to.
Your contractor should also have all of the appropriate insurances and he should have no problem with giving you copies of the policies for your own records. He or she should have liability and worker’s compensation insurance. They may not be required by your local law to have general liability insurance, but if they do damage to your property, you or your insurance company may have to cover the bill.
Your contractor is also responsible for getting the appropriate building permits from the city to do your project. Make sure he or she has obtained all these permits and permissions before building starts.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Mold Remediation and
water damage restoration companies across the united states.
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