Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Preventing Water Damaging in Electronics

People would not get as bent out of shape about their cell phone getting wet if it wasn’t for the reason that they were probably using it at the time. Often is the case that electronics cease to function once they make contact with water because the device is powered on when it hits the liquid. If you are one of the unfortunate many who has dropped a electronic device in the drink, don’t worry about it. Just make sure that it wasn’t on when you dropped it in. While water can cause damage to electronics, the electricity that causes it to work is what causes the machine to fry like an egg on the windshield of your car in triple digit weather. Turning on your device after it has been submerged will cause the electric current to run through it and will usually render the device useless.

There are obvious ways to prevent your device from being submerged in water. One such way is called being careful. But this method isn’t always effective. If your device is, let’s say, a cell phone, a cover for it is your best bet. While a cover won’t always, well, cover it, it will be a great way to prevent a good deal of moisture. If, say, your computer has some water spilled on it (and just what are you doing with liquids around your computer, anyway?) you should IMMEDIATELY unplug it and wait for roughly two weeks so that it has dried out, and there is no water to cause its very unpleasant death. It is very important that you keep the device in a cool, dry area that won’t pick up condensation, because that will cause the device to take longer to dry, and additional water damage can be done. It is also important to wait for a week or two, and to make sure that you do NOT shake the device to see if there is still water in it. This can just cause damage to the device, and then you will have waited for probably nothing.

Now, if you are the kind of person who doubts their repertoire of electronics knowledge, it’s best to simply take the device to an electronics repairman. You will have to shell out a few bucks, but not as many as you paid for the device. This can also be taken as a chance to make sure there is nothing else wrong with the device that should be fixed before it is used again.

Penicillin and Your New Baby

Ever since Penicillin was put into mass production back in the 1940’s, it has been noted that some people have experienced adverse reactions to the drug. What is penicillin?

Penicillin is an antibiotic that has been used for the past 70 years or so to treat different kinds of illnesses and infections. It comes from the mold penicillin notatum, which is a blue-green kind of mold sometimes found growing on food. Before the invention of this drug, infections and diseases that are only minor to us could very well be fatal. Because it is made from mold and reproduces quickly, it’s not very difficult to manufacture at all and therefore it is the most popular antibiotic in use worldwide today.

If you are allergic to penicillin or know someone who is, you might know a bit about what to expect if your new baby is allergic. If not, you should know that an allergic reaction to penicillin, especially at such a young age, can be fatal. These reactions can be anything from a simple skin rash all the way to breathing difficulties that can be life-threatening. If you go to a doctor regularly, you should have had to answer a question on a form that asked if you were allergic to penicillin. This is so they know whether or not they can administer the drug if you are admitted to the hospital because it is the most frequently occurring drug allergy in existence today.

Even though penicillin is a drug made from mold designed to help us fight infections, you can be allergic to it like any other mold. The medical industry is unsure why some people have reactions to penicillin and some do not, but knowing if you are allergic is very important. Some only have minor symptoms when exposed to the drug and some can be put near death by it. The only treatment for being allergic to the drug is simply not to use it. There are other antibiotics that can be used to fight infections besides penicillin.

The symptoms of a penicillin allergy include swollen lips, tongue, and face or sometimes rashes or hives that can cover a large area of the body. The most life-threatening reaction to the drug is when the bronchial airway becomes extremely swollen and it causes difficulty breathing. This can be followed by a drop in your blood pressure and will cause lightheadedness. This kind of reaction can be fatal and if you experience any of these symptoms after receiving a dose of penicillin, you should tell your doctor as soon as you can. If you are allergic, it’s possible that your newborn will be allergic as well, so your child’s doctor needs to know this before giving them a dose of the drug.

Mold Trouble in Florida

If you live in Florida, you have probably experienced some damage to your home due to hurricanes, especially water damage. Mold also likes to start growing in homes that have been water damaged after hurricanes and other storms, especially since Florida is characterized by warm and moist weather. Mold can start to grow in these homes after about 48 hours, so it’s important to get any standing water in the home removed and the home dried out as soon as possible.

A large amount of all the buildings in Florida have to deal with some kind of water or mold damage and a lot of the time this is due to the frequent hurricanes that hit the state almost every single year. The electricity goes down and people are not able to use their air conditioners to help air out and dry the home. Air conditioners can also help to remove humidity by keeping the house at a certain temperature.

If you want to have a healthy and safe indoor environment to live in, you need to make sure your air conditioner is properly serviced as often as is necessary. If it is an old system and has a lot of problems, it is probably best to just replace it instead of doing work on it repeatedly.

Sometimes indoor air quality tests need to be done and not just in Florida. Mold testing should be done and while it’s become a multi-million dollar business industry, it is a necessary one. Mold has been proved to be very harmful to human (and animal) health. When you choose a company to do mold testing or remediation keep it in mind not to choose the same company to do both for you. If a company does both mold testing and removal, it is in their best interest for them to find mold on your property, so even if they say there is mold there, it might not be.

Make sure they have the latest technology in mold testing such as infrared thermal cameras, mold spore counters, air moisture meters, and etcetera. The company should also have a microbiologist in house and certified mold inspectors.

They should inspect the air conditioner, the exterior, plumbing, and they should perform moisture tests around the whole house.

You should do these things even if you do not live in Florida, but a large part of the state of Florida is at risk for water and mold damage because of the moisture and humidity that can exist there.