Fires happen all over the world, but the fires that happen inside a person’s home are often the most preventable and all it takes is a little diligence and some common sense to discover what the fire hazards in your home are and how to get rid of them when you find them.
It is a fact that most house fires happen in the kitchen. Even though a great number of these small stove fires go unreported because they do not do any damage, you really need to learn what you can do to prevent them from happening in the first place, because it only takes a second or two for a small fire to spread into a much larger one. House fire prevention begins in the kitchen by learning that you should never leave anything on the stove unattended unless it is an emergency and you should never leave the house to go and run errands during this time unless someone is going to be there to keep an eye on the cooking.
You also need to be careful with deep fryers and electric skillets. Any appliance that emits a large amount of heat needs to be monitored consistently to make sure that it does not overheat and catch on fire and you should not ever have to use an extension cord with these. Small extension cords like the ones you would use for lamps will NOT work and will melt. If you must use an extension cord, make sure it is a heavy duty one with a gauge of at least 14.
Heating shortening and oil in the kitchen also poses a significant problem, since it is so flammable. Heat these slowly so that they do not burn and do not catch on fire and if you have to leave the room, turn them off or have someone watch them for you.
Space heaters are also a big problem during the winter time and like with deep fryers and electric skillets, do not use an extension cord with these. Do not place them near drapes or other fabric items and keep children away from them. Also try not to leave them on overnight while you are sleeping unless you absolutely have to and even then, make sure you take the necessary steps to keep flammable items away from them. Do not use these in the bedrooms of small children due to the amount of flammable stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets that are likely to be there.
The worst thing that you can do is let yourself become comfortable with these appliances and allow yourself to think that you know what you are doing and a fire cannot happen to you. Letting your guard down in this manner is what causes a large amount of house fires.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
When Remodeling Your Home Kitchen
Even though the kitchen is one of the only rooms in the house that gets cleaned every day or even two or three times a day, depending on how many meals you fix, it is also one of the rooms that is the most neglected as far as long term care. This is one of the two most important rooms in your house and will often be a selling factor of the home. You need to take care of this room’s structure and appearance, especially if you plan on selling your home any time soon. Do what you can to take care of the water damaged parts of your kitchen and learn how to prevent water damage from occurring in the future.
One thing to be sure of is that the flooring in your kitchen is waterproof and completely sealed. You can have a hardwood floor in your kitchen or even in your bathroom, but reviews on the subject by most people are mixed. Some say that they have had a hardwood floor in these areas for a long time and they have been no worse for the wear, but others have had problems. It is really up to you, but you should consider going with a laminate that looks similar to real wood, since this will resist absorbing water much better and it will look almost the same.
If the dishwasher in the house is old and malfunctions often, you should really consider replacing it, whether you have hardwood, laminate, linoleum, tile, or vinyl floors. It really does not matter. Too much water spilled on the floor will eventually damage it and the cabinets that it comes into contact with. If the dishwasher is malfunctioning, wash the dishes by hand until the problem is solved.
Your plumbing under the sink should also be checked on a regular basis. If you find that it is leaking, even only a few drips, you should put a bucket or a large bowl underneath it until you get a chance to fix it. It is important not to let this leak into your cabinets for very long, because it can cause the bottom to rot out.
If the power goes out and all the food in your freezer melts, you’ll have a fair sized water leak on the floor. Get this cleaned up as soon as possible, even if your floor is waterproofed.
Lastly, make sure you have a mop in your kitchen that really absorbs water well. Some cheaper mops simply will not do the job if you spill a large amount of water onto the floor. If you can afford one, you might even want to purchase a wet vacuum.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York flood water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
South Carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.
One thing to be sure of is that the flooring in your kitchen is waterproof and completely sealed. You can have a hardwood floor in your kitchen or even in your bathroom, but reviews on the subject by most people are mixed. Some say that they have had a hardwood floor in these areas for a long time and they have been no worse for the wear, but others have had problems. It is really up to you, but you should consider going with a laminate that looks similar to real wood, since this will resist absorbing water much better and it will look almost the same.
If the dishwasher in the house is old and malfunctions often, you should really consider replacing it, whether you have hardwood, laminate, linoleum, tile, or vinyl floors. It really does not matter. Too much water spilled on the floor will eventually damage it and the cabinets that it comes into contact with. If the dishwasher is malfunctioning, wash the dishes by hand until the problem is solved.
Your plumbing under the sink should also be checked on a regular basis. If you find that it is leaking, even only a few drips, you should put a bucket or a large bowl underneath it until you get a chance to fix it. It is important not to let this leak into your cabinets for very long, because it can cause the bottom to rot out.
If the power goes out and all the food in your freezer melts, you’ll have a fair sized water leak on the floor. Get this cleaned up as soon as possible, even if your floor is waterproofed.
Lastly, make sure you have a mop in your kitchen that really absorbs water well. Some cheaper mops simply will not do the job if you spill a large amount of water onto the floor. If you can afford one, you might even want to purchase a wet vacuum.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York flood water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
South Carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.
Why You Need a Waterproof Safe
Our lives are often contained in our legal papers and other documents that are important to us, so taking good care of them and keeping track of where they are at all times is pretty important for most people. If it is not important to you, it should be, since losing these items can cause you problems later on. These documents can include anything from a birth certificate to a death certificate and from divorce papers to marriage papers and everything in between. Insurance documents, contracts, bank statements, tax records, and anything else that you can think of that you might need in the legal arena is something that you need to take care of and while this may seem like a daunting task for most people, it really is necessary in order to retain a somewhat organized life.
But, what do you do when a flood strikes your home? The documents that you have done so much to take care of are often flooded along with the rest of your home and depending on the amount of time they stayed in the water, they may not be salvageable. One thing that you can do to protect your most important documents is to purchase a waterproof safe. These can protect your papers in some of the most dilapidated watery conditions in a way that other plastic containers and drawers cannot.
When sewage, chemicals, bacteria, and other things contaminate your home and everything in it, you will want to know that the copy of your homeowner’s insurance policy is safe. Floods are not covered by most insurance policies, but if you have purchased it, you will want to find your copy of the policy as soon as possible after the event occurs. If it is lost in the sea of contaminated items in your home and damaged beyond repair, you may be in trouble. Water damaged papers are difficult to salvage sometimes, but you will not have to worry about this if you have a waterproof safe in your home to hold your most valuable possessions and documents.
Purchasing a safe that is both waterproof and fireproof can be an even better investment. Unlike water damaged documents, fire damaged documents are usually not salvageable, since there is often only a scrap or two of it left after the fire is over.
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.
But, what do you do when a flood strikes your home? The documents that you have done so much to take care of are often flooded along with the rest of your home and depending on the amount of time they stayed in the water, they may not be salvageable. One thing that you can do to protect your most important documents is to purchase a waterproof safe. These can protect your papers in some of the most dilapidated watery conditions in a way that other plastic containers and drawers cannot.
When sewage, chemicals, bacteria, and other things contaminate your home and everything in it, you will want to know that the copy of your homeowner’s insurance policy is safe. Floods are not covered by most insurance policies, but if you have purchased it, you will want to find your copy of the policy as soon as possible after the event occurs. If it is lost in the sea of contaminated items in your home and damaged beyond repair, you may be in trouble. Water damaged papers are difficult to salvage sometimes, but you will not have to worry about this if you have a waterproof safe in your home to hold your most valuable possessions and documents.
Purchasing a safe that is both waterproof and fireproof can be an even better investment. Unlike water damaged documents, fire damaged documents are usually not salvageable, since there is often only a scrap or two of it left after the fire is over.
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.
Controlling Humidity to Prevent Mold
There are a number of ways to keep the humidity in your home from building up to a level that it allows mold to grow inside the house. The air in your home should not be made completely dry, however, because both airs that are too dry or too wet can cause you and the other members of your household significant discomfort. Having air that is too dry in your home can cause nosebleeds, but having air that is too wet will allow mold to grow, which in turn can cause some serious health problems.
One thing that you should seriously consider is installing a dehumidifier in your basement, if you have one. This is one of the most difficult areas of your home to keep the humidity down in, so sometimes purchasing a piece of equipment to help is necessary. Other ways to keep the humidity in your basement down are pretty cheap, though, in comparison. If the concrete walls in your basement are leaking, you can usually fix this with an injection of concrete using a caulking gun. Something else that you can do is to install an exhaust fan in the basement to alleviate some of the moisture. If you use the basement to do laundry, one of the worst things that you can do is hang clothes up to dry there, since as the clothes dry out, the moisture evaporates and saturates the air around them.
To keep your house as dry as possible, you need to clean up spills of water as soon as they happen and these spills are most likely to happen in the kitchen or the bathroom. Both of these rooms should have tile installed on the floor that is water tight, so any spills that do occur do not leak water into the sub-flooring. Sub-flooring that keeps getting wet will eventually crumble, leaving your toilet, bathtub, or sink on the ground under the house. Most people have not had to deal with a floor collapse in their home, but water damage or termites are the usual culprits.
Replacing the plumbing in your home can also help with preventing water damage (and thus, excess humidity) in the house. Older homes may have plumbing that needs to be replaced, since these can not only become inefficient due to mineral buildup inside them, but are also more likely to leak. If you notice any discoloration of the drywall in your house near the bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room, you might have a leak behind the wall that needs to be dealt with.
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.
One thing that you should seriously consider is installing a dehumidifier in your basement, if you have one. This is one of the most difficult areas of your home to keep the humidity down in, so sometimes purchasing a piece of equipment to help is necessary. Other ways to keep the humidity in your basement down are pretty cheap, though, in comparison. If the concrete walls in your basement are leaking, you can usually fix this with an injection of concrete using a caulking gun. Something else that you can do is to install an exhaust fan in the basement to alleviate some of the moisture. If you use the basement to do laundry, one of the worst things that you can do is hang clothes up to dry there, since as the clothes dry out, the moisture evaporates and saturates the air around them.
To keep your house as dry as possible, you need to clean up spills of water as soon as they happen and these spills are most likely to happen in the kitchen or the bathroom. Both of these rooms should have tile installed on the floor that is water tight, so any spills that do occur do not leak water into the sub-flooring. Sub-flooring that keeps getting wet will eventually crumble, leaving your toilet, bathtub, or sink on the ground under the house. Most people have not had to deal with a floor collapse in their home, but water damage or termites are the usual culprits.
Replacing the plumbing in your home can also help with preventing water damage (and thus, excess humidity) in the house. Older homes may have plumbing that needs to be replaced, since these can not only become inefficient due to mineral buildup inside them, but are also more likely to leak. If you notice any discoloration of the drywall in your house near the bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room, you might have a leak behind the wall that needs to be dealt with.
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.
HEPA Filter Items Reduce Mold In Your Air
Whether you are attempting a large scale mold remediation in your home or you just want to keep the mold spore level in the air of your home down on a daily basis, items that have HEPA filters in them will go a long way to assisting you in this.
“HEPA” is an acronym standing for “High Efficiency Particulate Air” and it does exactly what the name suggests: it removes 99.9% of particles out of the air in your home, including mold spores, dust, gas, smoke, allergens, and etcetera. You may not realize it, but the air inside your house may be what is making you sick, since breathing air of poor quality can cause all kinds of health problems such as headaches, dizziness, red eye, congestion, fatigue, and can aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions.
The HEPA filter technology was first developed by the United States Atomic Energy Commission to get rid of radioactive particles in the air. To quality as a real HEPA filter, it must be able to remove 99.97% of any particles that are as small as 0.3 microns. This is equal to about 1/300 of the diameter of one of the hairs on your head. These are usually used in hospitals and in clean rooms of laboratories or anywhere that clean air is important.
There are a few different products that you can purchase to help you breathe better air in your home. These are a HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner and an air purifying system equipped with a HEPA filter. Dyson is one of the most popular brands, but it is also one of the most expensive.
HEPA filtered air purifiers are also quite expensive and most of them cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. They can also be purchased by how large of an air space that you need to have cleaned. Ionic air purifiers have been competing with these, however, because the ionic purifiers make no noise.
Almost anything with a HEPA filter in it is going to be expensive, but in the end it will probably be worth it, especially if you have small children or elderly people in the house. It will be even more beneficial if you or a member of your house has a respiratory condition like emphysema or asthma. If you are about to take on a large mold remediation project, purchasing a respirator equipped with a HEPA filter may be something that you want to consider, since opening up walls and removing contaminated material will stir up all kinds of particles.
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.
“HEPA” is an acronym standing for “High Efficiency Particulate Air” and it does exactly what the name suggests: it removes 99.9% of particles out of the air in your home, including mold spores, dust, gas, smoke, allergens, and etcetera. You may not realize it, but the air inside your house may be what is making you sick, since breathing air of poor quality can cause all kinds of health problems such as headaches, dizziness, red eye, congestion, fatigue, and can aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions.
The HEPA filter technology was first developed by the United States Atomic Energy Commission to get rid of radioactive particles in the air. To quality as a real HEPA filter, it must be able to remove 99.97% of any particles that are as small as 0.3 microns. This is equal to about 1/300 of the diameter of one of the hairs on your head. These are usually used in hospitals and in clean rooms of laboratories or anywhere that clean air is important.
There are a few different products that you can purchase to help you breathe better air in your home. These are a HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner and an air purifying system equipped with a HEPA filter. Dyson is one of the most popular brands, but it is also one of the most expensive.
HEPA filtered air purifiers are also quite expensive and most of them cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. They can also be purchased by how large of an air space that you need to have cleaned. Ionic air purifiers have been competing with these, however, because the ionic purifiers make no noise.
Almost anything with a HEPA filter in it is going to be expensive, but in the end it will probably be worth it, especially if you have small children or elderly people in the house. It will be even more beneficial if you or a member of your house has a respiratory condition like emphysema or asthma. If you are about to take on a large mold remediation project, purchasing a respirator equipped with a HEPA filter may be something that you want to consider, since opening up walls and removing contaminated material will stir up all kinds of particles.
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.
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