Friday, September 28, 2007

Salvaging a Watery Electronic Device

Whether you own a cell phone, CD player, laptop, or any other small electronic device, you probably know that letting such a device come into contact with a liquid surely means the sudden death of it. This is somewhat of a misunderstanding, simply because of the fact that it is not the water alone that makes water and electrical devices coming into contact with each other a dangerous thing for your item.

What makes water a bad thing to let get onto or into your electronic devices is whether or not electricity is running through it at the time of contact. It is the electricity that does the real damage and not the liquid itself. If you were to put a CD player or a cell phone that had no electrical current running through it into a puddle of normal water (not containing any dirt particles or sand or chemicals), then there would probably be next to no damage done to it, since most circuit boards are made of plastic and do not absorb water very well. Unfortunately, putting something like that into chemically treated or dirty water could cause more problems than just the water contact.

If you do happen to drop your cell phone or CD player into a bath tub or sink full of water, get it out of the water in less than 20 seconds in order to minimize the damage. Getting it out in under 20 seconds is important because it takes about that long for the water to get inside the item and to the item’s circuit board, especially if it as airtight as most cell phones are these days. Cell phones are not completely water tight, which is the reason for the time limit. Even if the phone is on, it can be saved if you get it out in time. Remove the battery as quickly as possible and lay it on the side with openings for the water to drain out, such as on the keypad if it was a cell phone.

Put the device into a bowl of uncooked rice at least overnight and this should absorb the majority of the water from both the inside and outside of it. Do not replace the battery or try to power on the device until you are certain that it is completely dry inside. Trying to turn it on could be exactly what does the damage that you are trying to avoid.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New Jersey mold damage restoration and other states and cities such as
Connecticut mold remediation companies across the united states.

Mold in My Rice, Please

A favorite food in Asia for the past thousand years is called red yeast rice and it considered a traditional part of the dish most of us are familiar with, at least by name, called Peking duck. The system of Traditional Chinese Medicine has put the dish to use by claiming that it assists the body in keeping a healthy circulatory system and promotes a healthy heart. Its use has been documented back as long ago as the Tang imperial dynasty in China in the approximate year of 800 A.D. There could possibly be a fair reason for the claim that it helps keep a good circulatory system, since current research has proven that it is pretty good at lowering your cholesterol. But, what is this “red yeast rice”, exactly?

Well, red yeast rice is produced by fermenting a mold called “monascus purpureus” that has been put on top of rice. The natural ingredient mevinolin is supposedly what gives the dish its cholesterol lowering characteristic, since this ingredient is similar to that which doctors typically give a person to help lower high cholesterol, such as the drugs Zocor and Lipitor. Even though we all need a certain amount of cholesterol in order to survive and be healthy, most of the time our own bodies produce enough of it to maintain survival. We only actually need to obtain about twenty percent of our cholesterol from the food that we take in every day. Red yeast rice (or mevinolin, whichever you want to say) blocks the enzyme in the liver that causes it to produce cholesterol.

Even though this medicine food has been used in China for at least a millennia in the treatment of high cholesterol and maintaining a healthy circulatory system, it has only begun to see some use in the United States and other western countries. Mevinolin is actually sold as a dietary supplement in some places and is available over the counter without a prescription.

If you do happen to eat red yeast rice, it is not a good idea to eat it or take the mevinolin supplements if your doctor has already put you on Zocor or Lipitor.

Monascus purpureus is a red-purplish mold that is used primarily in Asian foods to provide color and was used for this long before food dyes were invented. In addition to providing a healthy amount of color to a dish, it can also give the food a good flavor, too.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration chicago and other states such as
South Carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.

Mold And Water In Your Two Most Important Rooms

A good meal and a good bath is something that most Americans enjoy thoroughly, but how can you enjoy either one when you’re in a room full of ugly water damage stains on the walls, floors, and ceilings? Many of these rooms often have the brown stains on the ceiling that are typical of water damage and while most people just paint over them, often the stains just keep coming back because the underlying problem has not been fixed yet.

It is probably due to a leaky roof, but what about the steam that comes off of your bath water or off of the stove when you cook dinner? These every day tasks can be just as much of a cause of water damage as a leaking roof can be, if not more so because they happen every day. At least, a bath a day comes recommended, anyway. Installing a steam vent in your bathroom for under $100 and a day’s work could possibly be one of the best investments that you can make to help safeguard the appearance and structural integrity of your kitchen and bathroom.

Make sure that you do not allow your bath tub or your kitchen sink to overflow. Sometimes we turn on the bath water and get stuck talking to a relative or a co-worker on the phone, all the while unaware that the water you wanted in your tub is pouring all over your floor. The same thing can happen when you are cooking in the kitchen or washing dishes. This can land quite a lot of water in your floor before you realize it and can do quite a bit of damage to your floor if you let it happen often.

An overflowing toilet is also a hazard, not only because of the water damage that can occur, but also due to the possible sewage content of the water when you go to flush it. If not cleaned up properly, mold can start to grow around the base of the toilet, especially if you have carpet in your bathroom. Carpet in the bathroom is a no-no.

Also avoid throwing wet dirty clothes into your bathroom floor or closet, especially if you happen to have a carpeted bathroom. You will probably forget that these wet clothes are there and throw dry ones on top of it.

This results in water damage and mold growth more often than not when the closet is not cleaned out. The best thing to do is to wash wet clothes and towels as soon as possible so they are not forgotten about or at the very least stored separately from dry dirty clothes.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Sewage Damage Cleanup and other states such as
South Carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.

Techniques Used to Clean Up Mold

While there are a lot of different ways to kill and remove mold from your home, depending on what the mold has gotten on or into, you may want to use one technique before trying the other. Note that killing mold and removing it is not one and the same thing. Killing mold is just that: terminating the life of the mold so that it ceases to continue growing. Since the mold is dead, it cannot cause infections if it gets onto your skin because it must be alive to change into yeast. However, the bad thing about simply killing the mold is the fact that it does not have to be alive in order to cause an allergic reaction in a person. The mold spores remain intact and in their same physical condition as before, so when the spores enter the body, the body does not realize that the spores are dead and pose no threat.

You can use a wet vacuum to clean up standing water in areas of your home where it exists, since this is where mold likes to grow the most. This is especially true if there are any cellulose-based materials that have been soaked by it, such as paper, cardboard, and anything else that can be decomposed. You should only use these vacuums when the surface is wet, so mold spores do not get tossed into the air. The equipment should be cleaned and dried thoroughly after you use it, since mold and its spores can attach themselves to it.

Sometimes you can use a damp paper towel or damp cloth to clean mold off of surfaces that are nonporous, like countertops or a vinyl floor, but if you are going to do this, using chemicals that kill mold are a must. Trying to clean mold off of porous surfaces like drywall usually ends in heartbreak, because most of the time they cannot be saved. The entire item is usually too contaminated. Clothes can be saved sometimes, but this is only because of the very thin nature of the item. Thick porous surfaces like drywall are simply too thick for it to be feasible to try to save them.

HEPA filter-equipped vacuum cleaners are good to have around if you are trying to remove as much mold from your home as possible, since these vacuum cleaners will filter clean air back into the room as you vacuum. The mold spores and dirt particles will get caught in the filter and are easily disposed of afterward. When you dump the contents of the receptacle, do not touch it with your bare hands. Wear gloves if you can and do not let it come into contact with your skin. Try not to stir the contents up and do not breathe them.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration chicago and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation contractor companies across the united states.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Mold Precautions for the Work Area

A thorn in the side of any and every workplace is mold. Mold is a very dangerous form of fungus that can get into our lungs and cause all kinds of nasty ailments such as asthma, colds, fatigue, bleeding in the lungs, rashes, uncontrollable coughing, and even chronic dandruff. Employers, as well as employees should take precautions to make sure that mold has not infected their work environment. It is also important to make sure that employers and employees immediately report if they experience any of the aforementioned symptoms. If so, professional help may need to be called in to clean out the mold and prevent further infestation.

If a mold inspector is called in and he or she does find mold, it is important that you inform your employees of the mold, and that the problem is indeed being taken care of. It is also important that you inform them of the measures that will be taken during the removal of the unwanted guest. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) strongly recommends that you do this for the safety of the employees. The important thing to tell the employees is when the remediation will begin and for how long, so that they know if they will have to make arrangements for the current situation. And if any employees begin to exhibit any health complications or symptoms brought on by exposure to mold, it is strongly recommended that they see their doctor before these symptoms worsen, and that they see an expert on medical effects of mold.

Once the infestation has been cleared out of the workplace, there is a test that must be passed in order for your employees to return. If the test is not passed, you will have to wait longer, but it’s not worth the safety of your employees to go cheap on these necessary precautions. Once the test has finally been passed, you can move your employees back into their respective work areas.

If you have chosen to simply ignore the mold infestation, you are liable for medical bills of your employees, and you could be in danger of losing your business. Of course, this can only happen if it is possible to proven that you knew of the infestation and chose to do nothing about it. However, it is definitely recommended to not ignore the infestation and shell out the cash to have it cleared out as soon as possible.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
mold remediation companies across the united states.

Mold Insurance Claim Advice

If you have mold damage to your home and it is due to something that’s covered in your insurance, such as water damage, a lot of the time it is covered. If it is a mold infection that has occurred over time, it is probably not covered. These are two general rules to go by if you’re trying to get your insurance company to cover the cost of removing the mold from your home.

Insurance companies are scrambling for reasons to deny insurance claims concerning mold and what adjusters and claim representatives like to tell people intending on filing a mold-related insurance claim is that mold has been around longer than people have and that it’s not as dangerous as all the hype is making it out to be. If you are going to file an insurance claim related to mold and they tell you that, it might be a good idea (especially if your claims adjuster is Jewish or Christian) to quote to them Leviticus 14:33-48. This is a scripture in the Bible that all but plainly records what the Lord has to say about mold and the dangers of it growing in the home. It says that the house is considered unclean and the mold should be removed and disposed of properly (i.e. away from where there are people). In this way, you will possibly have the upper hand because they will no longer be able to say that mold has only been recently seen as a problem when it grows in the home. Even if you are not Jewish or Christian, the text does prove that mold has not only existed as long as people have, but that it has been a problem just as long.

If you can prove that the mold in your home was a secondary problem caused by something that is covered by your insurance, your company might cover the funds needed to correct the problem. Read over your policy and determine what is covered by your insurance policy and what is not. Whatever you do, do not let your insurance adjuster sneakily get you to agree that the mold in your home has been around for a long time or that there could be a water leak hidden somewhere near the infection. As soon as you even remotely agree to something like this, they have you where they want you. Wait until any and all investigation into the problem is completed before you agree to anything with your insurance company.

List everything you need to have covered, including the cost of you having to relocate while the mold remediation is taking place and make sure you get all of the benefits that you are supposed to get under your policy.



Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration and
mold remediation companies across the united states.

Mold and Your Carpet

Nobody likes mold in the house, but whether we like it or not, mold will get into your home. It comes in the house attached to the bottoms of our shoes, attached to our clothing, and through the doors, windows, and the air conditioning unit. The only thing that you have control over is whether the conditions in your home are favorable for the mold to begin growing.

Something that mold loves to hide underneath is your carpet. If the carpet is old (especially if you have it in the bathroom), you can bet there is likely to be something living underneath it. Not only does mold like to hide under your carpet, it will also make a meal out of it. In order to reproduce, mold requires moisture, warmth, and food. The carpet provides part of the insulation that the mold needs to grow under it, so all that is left for you to provide is moisture either in the form of humidity or water spills that do not get cleaned up properly.

If you think that your carpet is moldy or mildewed, you can clean it with a biocide. Biocides are produced to stop things like mold and bacteria from growing where you do not want them to. Even if you use this, though, you will still have to remove the carpet padding underneath. This padding is not cleanable and will need to be thrown away. If your carpet has been completely submerged in water and it is not just a small area, it is advised to just tear it up and throw it away, as well. Cleaning a room’s entire carpet can be costly and it’s possible that you are better off just getting new carpet.

While you are cleaning your moldy carpet, you should wear gloves. After it has completely dried, using a vacuum that has a HEPA filter on it should remove any mold spores that still remain in the fibers of the carpet.

Having wall-to-wall carpeting is not advised. If you already have it, you can reduce the chances of mold and mildew growing by removing your shoes before walking on it and disallowing pets to enter carpeted areas. Using a good vacuum cleaner (with a HEPA filter) regularly will also help to stop mold from growing. HEPA filters are about 99.97 percent accurate in removing particles from your carpet and air.




Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Mold Remediation and
water damage restoration companies across the united states.

Home Water Damage Causes

Despite the general knowledge that water damage is bad for any building, especially one’s home, it is not so well known just what all the possible causes for water damage are, or what factors can lead to it. The most common known causes of water damage are leaky plumbing, and leaking roofs, but there are mounds of other causes that are not as well known.

If you have a basement, and you have it insulated with fiberglass, it is easy for moisture to become trapped behind the walls, and air between one floor of the home and the basement floor can leak into them. It is because of this that insulating your home with fiberglass is not recommended, nor is installing plastic sheeting, as it is capable of trapping just as much moisture. A good idea for the insulation is using blue board, as it allows the moisture to move about the wall freely and makes the wall better able to dry off.

Problems, however, can arise if the land your home is on is sloped towards its foundation. If water is flowing towards the home, as opposed to away the home, it can seep into the basement and cause serious damage to the structure of your home, and can cause sink holes, which can cause your house to sink.

You should especially be careful to have your ceilings properly insulated in a cold climate, on account of the fact that they are not, water can leak into your house by way of what are called “ice dams”. In a warmer climate, flaws in air conditioning or air ducts can cause water damage by the formation of steam and humidity that likes to attach itself to things like roofing. And this build up can cause rotting on your roof as well as the infestation of mold, which can be harmful on one’s respiratory system as well as many other sicknesses that may result.

Improperly shielded attic hatches are another chief offender of water damage to one’s ceilings, as condensation is far more likely to gather in this manner. Lighting fixtures should be as tight as humanly possible when you install them, especially the recessed kind and exhaust fans are not directed outside from the house, it should be, whether they are in the bathroom, or places of this nature. Exhaust fans should have vents to the outside so moisture does not condense and cause avoidable water damage.



Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and
flood and water damage cleanup companies across the united states.

Different Kinds of Mold

Mold has been a problem for human beings ever since even Biblical times. There are thousands of species of it and while many are harmless, some of them can be pretty detrimental to your and your pet’s health. They can grow on wet clothes left laying anywhere on the floor or stuffed animals in the closet. Anywhere that has a high amount of humidity and heat is a place where mold can begin to grow. Mold has become more of a problem in the past few years not really because the population of mold in the world has increased, but because people have become aware that this is a problem that they need to try and deal with. There are about three general categories of mold and you should be familiar with what each of them are.

Pathogenic molds can cause health issues in people who have weakened immune systems like those who are going through chemotherapy due to cancer or anyone who has HIV or AIDs. Infants and the elderly are also particularly at risk. If you have this kind of mold living in your home, it’s best to call a professional mold remediation company and have them remove it. If you try to remove this yourself, you may just stir it up and cross-contaminate another area of your home.

Allergenic molds affect many people and these, as their classification may indicate, tend to cause allergies in people and sometimes in pets. Anyone who has a problem with asthma or anyone with a weak immune system might have some trouble if these live in the same place they do.

Toxic molds produce mycotoxins and while they tend to be rare, they can cause many serious kinds of health effects and can even cause death in some extreme circumstances. You should contact a professional as soon as possible once you have determined (via a mold test kit) that the mold is toxic.

Stachybotrys mold is more commonly thought of as the “toxic black mold” of legend. This tends to be found on wet materials that are cellulose based, such as paper or wood. One strain of stachybotrys mold can cause death in pets and another type can cause bleeding in the lungs in babies. It is commonly a hidden mold growth and cannot be detected by the naked eye, as it likes to grow under ceilings and behind walls and can go unnoticed for a long time.




Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
damage restoration companies and
mold removal companies across the united states. (4)