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.
Showing posts with label kitchen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kitchen. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
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 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.
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.
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