Even though wildfires are a part of the natural process of creation and destruction in the environment, the bad thing for people is that sometimes their homes are located directly in the path. A large number of people have to worry every year whether a wildfire will affect their area, but if you own your home and you know what to do, there are things that can protect your home from them. Depending on the circumstances and where your home is located, it may not be enough, but it certainly cannot hurt to try and you may actually end up saving your home.
Using fire-resistant materials on the exterior of your house is essential. The roofing material is the most important, since this has the largest amount of surface area and sparks of fire called firebrands will be picked up by the wind and possibly carried over your house. Having the fire-resistant roofing material such as metal, fiberglass, or tile will slow down the spread of the fire from the roof and it may not even catch on fire at all from one of these small sparks. You do not want to use oil-based roofing materials on a home that is located in a place at risk of wildfires.
Fire-resistant materials on the outer walls of your home will also slow down the spread of the fire, such as stone, metal, or brick, so if you are considering having a home built for you, these are materials you really want to consider. You should also have smaller windows on the exterior of your home, since large windows are more likely to break and allow the hot air and fire sparks from the outside of the house inside, where it will catch curtains and everything else. If you have to have large windows, have multi-pane ones instead of single-pane.
If there is a wildfire close to where you live, wet down the exterior of the house, especially your roof. This will give a little extra protection against firebrands floating by on the wind. Wetting down the yard and vegetation will also help, but you should do this just before you decide to leave the house.
Get rid of any dead vegetation in the yard and do not allow things like dead leaves to build up, since these are easy targets. If you do have a pile of leaves in your yard, the best thing that you can do before you evacuate is soak them down with water.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingnc.info
http://www.floodnj.info
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Avoid a Water Damaged Vehicle
Buying a used car is usually a pain in the rear, simply because of the fact that there are so many things that can be wrong with the car. It could be a bad transmission, alternator, carburetor, fuel injector, or any one of a thousand problems that could make you not want a vehicle. Some people buy cars that are “fixer-uppers” simply because of the fact that they are a cheaper buy if they decide to just repair the vehicle on their own. This is typical of mechanics who need a new vehicle, because a lot of the cost of repairing a vehicle comes from paying for the labor, not the actual parts itself.
But, what about water damaged vehicles? Most people do not think about this when they go to buy a vehicle, so they are not sure what to look for.
The first thing you should probably do is smell the interior. You should smell next to nothing. If the smell is a musty odor, then that probably means that mold is growing somewhere inside the vehicle. This could be due to liquid spills inside the car like soda, but it could also be due to the car having been flooded. Look for other signs of water damage if you detect a musty odor. Your prospective vehicle should NOT have been treated with air freshener. This is typically used to cover up musty odors and the dealer you are buying from may be hiding something.
Checking the car’s trunk for buildup of silt, rust, or mud is also a good idea. The area around the taillights should be checked thoroughly, since this is an area where these things will build up most often.
You can get a vehicle history report from a site like Carfax.com, but these are not always reliable. An accident or an incident of flooding will only be on this report if an insurance claim was filed. If the car is in an accident and the insurance company the person is with is not notified, then the incident will not appear on the history report.
Check the electronic parts of the vehicle such as gauges and make sure they are in working order. This can include the fuel gauge and other various indicator lights. Wires in the dashboard and under the steering wheel can be flexed and if they crack, they have probably been exposed to water.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Water Damage Restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
But, what about water damaged vehicles? Most people do not think about this when they go to buy a vehicle, so they are not sure what to look for.
The first thing you should probably do is smell the interior. You should smell next to nothing. If the smell is a musty odor, then that probably means that mold is growing somewhere inside the vehicle. This could be due to liquid spills inside the car like soda, but it could also be due to the car having been flooded. Look for other signs of water damage if you detect a musty odor. Your prospective vehicle should NOT have been treated with air freshener. This is typically used to cover up musty odors and the dealer you are buying from may be hiding something.
Checking the car’s trunk for buildup of silt, rust, or mud is also a good idea. The area around the taillights should be checked thoroughly, since this is an area where these things will build up most often.
You can get a vehicle history report from a site like Carfax.com, but these are not always reliable. An accident or an incident of flooding will only be on this report if an insurance claim was filed. If the car is in an accident and the insurance company the person is with is not notified, then the incident will not appear on the history report.
Check the electronic parts of the vehicle such as gauges and make sure they are in working order. This can include the fuel gauge and other various indicator lights. Wires in the dashboard and under the steering wheel can be flexed and if they crack, they have probably been exposed to water.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Water Damage Restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Discard Molded Foods
If we all kept our refrigerators cleaned out along with keeping an eye on what outdated items exist in it, we would probably all have healthier meals throughout the day. Most people, however, tend to forget just how important cleaning out their fridges can be and just accept the fact that foods will become moldy and that you will have to throw away a fair portion of the food that you store every year. There are a few things that you can do to prevent mold from growing in your refrigerator, but one of the best things is just to simply keep track of what food is in your refrigerator and how long it has been in there.
Some outdated items are fine as long as they have not been opened. Even things like mayonnaise or sour cream can last quite a while as long as they are still in sealed containers. But, after these are opened, their shelf life drastically decreases and the chance that mold will start to grow inside them goes up significantly. When you break the seal on an item such as this, you let the air in your home and your refrigerator inside the container. If mold spores are in the air in your home (and they probably are), these will get inside the container, as well. This does not mean that they will start to grow immediately, but the longer it remains uneaten, the bigger the chance that it will become the home of a mold colony.
Something else to keep an eye on is sour cream. Sour cream is notorious for becoming molded and this is unfortunately one of the foods that cannot be saved once it does. Once you start to see mold spots growing in your tub of sour cream, it is time to throw it out. This is a porous, highly moist food item and like other foods that meet that criteria, once it becomes contaminated by mold on the top, the whole container is, as well.
Other porous items that you might not keep in your refrigerator that are popular with mold are baked items. These are things like bread, cookies, cakes, and just about anything else that you bake in the oven. These should be thrown away and never eaten.
Other moist items in your refrigerator that tend to have mold problems are things like jelly and jam. Other spreads such as marmalade can also become molded if left uneaten long enough, so these should be completely discarded as well as soon as mold spots begin to appear.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingct.info
http://www.floodedbasementnj.info
Some outdated items are fine as long as they have not been opened. Even things like mayonnaise or sour cream can last quite a while as long as they are still in sealed containers. But, after these are opened, their shelf life drastically decreases and the chance that mold will start to grow inside them goes up significantly. When you break the seal on an item such as this, you let the air in your home and your refrigerator inside the container. If mold spores are in the air in your home (and they probably are), these will get inside the container, as well. This does not mean that they will start to grow immediately, but the longer it remains uneaten, the bigger the chance that it will become the home of a mold colony.
Something else to keep an eye on is sour cream. Sour cream is notorious for becoming molded and this is unfortunately one of the foods that cannot be saved once it does. Once you start to see mold spots growing in your tub of sour cream, it is time to throw it out. This is a porous, highly moist food item and like other foods that meet that criteria, once it becomes contaminated by mold on the top, the whole container is, as well.
Other porous items that you might not keep in your refrigerator that are popular with mold are baked items. These are things like bread, cookies, cakes, and just about anything else that you bake in the oven. These should be thrown away and never eaten.
Other moist items in your refrigerator that tend to have mold problems are things like jelly and jam. Other spreads such as marmalade can also become molded if left uneaten long enough, so these should be completely discarded as well as soon as mold spots begin to appear.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingct.info
http://www.floodedbasementnj.info
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