The most common causes of home mold growth
April 25, 2010
Mold is a smelly fungus that thrives on moist environment. Generally, these are not considered a threat; molds have a role to play in the breakdown of organic matter found in our surroundings. However, molds that thrive in homes and offices can pose a problem mainly to our health because they produce allergens, irritants, and even toxic matter which will cause people to sneeze, develop skin rashes, and even trigger asthma. Furthermore, the mere sight of molds growing indoors is really filthy and can easily put us off.
Here are some instances wherein molds will most likely develop.
1. The leading cause would be leaking walls, floors, and roofs. When water seeps in to a room, it will cause the dampening of the area, and will make it ideal for molds to grow.
2. Although not as frequent as the first one, kitchen items that are not properly dried out before stacking back in the shelves can also be another cause.
3. And lastly, temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit can attract molds and that is why offices and homes with poor cooling systems, humidity, and poor insulation make it favorable for molds to grow and thrive.
Essentially, molds will always breed and multiply in the presence of moisture. In order to address the problem with molds in homes and offices, the first thing to do is to ensure that the interiors are free from dampness and humidity. Flooding, which is a huge concern among homeowners and landlords, is one of the main reasons why molds are found indoors. With poor water protection systems, properties run the risk of mold growth. A good suggestion would be to install mold-proof drywall sheets; these are relatively new but are slowly gaining popularity today.
If you currently have a mold problem in your home or office, you need to remove them right away before they increase in number. Make use of fungicide cleaners to wipe corridors, cabinets, shelves, floors, bathroom tiles, and even your refrigerator. Chlorine is used by many but this is not really effective in killing molds, as they eventually grow back after a period of time. You should also pay special attention to carpets because these are prone to mold growth due to constant exposure to dirt, drips and spills. Send them out to the dryers if you notice that black or white molds are present on the surface.
Address the major cause of mold problem by getting rid of leaks; if you can get rid of leaks then you will most definitely eliminate molds, too.
Wet Basements can make home sales a challenge
April 19, 2010
If you have put your house up for sale for quite some time now and aren’t getting any serious buyers, you should start asking yourself why. Although the real estate market is not at its best performance for the last couple of years, it should not be the only factor to blame.
Wet basements are quite common among households but no matter how common it is, it still causes so much trouble to the ones living in the house. Below are some of the reasons why selling a house with a wet basement can be difficult.
Expense
Not only is having a wet basement such a hassle, it can also cause certain property damage which could cost homeowners lots of money to fix. You would have to pay for sealing the walls, pipes, and floors for cracks and leaks. Additionally, if gutters and pipes are already badly damaged, then you would have to replace them, too. Not many people are willing to spend for these, you know.
Health
Wet basements are prone to mold growth. These fungi can easily multiply and spread in your home. When there is mold, household members would be exposed to allergens which can trigger sneezing, colds, and even asthma. Mold is also toxic and when inhaled, or worse, swallowed, can cause respiratory ailments and even cancer. Not really a good selling point.
Property Value
As mentioned, wet basements can trigger mold growth and when a house has a mold problem it could easily decrease its value by at least ten percent. Aside from monetary detriments, the presence of molds can easily discourage people from buying the house. Who wants to live in a house with colonies and colonies of molds, anyway?
The reality is that if the house you want to sell has a wet basement, you are put at a big disadvantage and run the risk of never getting the house sold. You might get lucky and find a buyer for it but then you would have to give that person a sizeable discount, which is not really to your benefit at all.
So what can you do then? Your best solution is to find the root cause of the wet basement problem and fix it. Otherwise, you would have to wait a long time until someone would actually be interested to buy your property.
FEMA Flood Assistance-What You Need to Know
April 6, 2010
Having your home or business damaged by a flood is something you would wish on your worst enemy. That gut wrenching feeling of returning to find not only your home or business under water, but discovering a great many of your possessions have been ruined by filthy dirty flood water is devastating, to say the least.
Thankfully, here in the United States, we have federal agencies in place that are poised and ready to step in and help. The biggest of all of these relief organization groups is the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA. FEMA’s mission is to support the citizens of the U.S. as well as first responders to help respond to and recover from disasters such as flooding. A flood can strike virtually anywhere in the country and it can come on slowly or happen very suddenly without any warning whatsoever. Every year in the United States, people are faced with natural disasters such as hurricanes, heavy thunderstorms and monsoon-like rainstorms that dump an incredible amount of water on the ground, forcing rivers over their banks and people running for dry land.
This spring has brought some of the worst flooding seen in over a century to several parts of the U.S. As you may very well know already, several states in the mid-west and east have received the worst of these powerful spring storms: Boston, Minnesota, North Dakota and more recently Rhode Island have all suffered tremendously. If you are a victim of a recent flood or just wish to know how FEMA can help you should you become a victim in the future, here is a bit of helpful information.
Once a major disaster strikes in the U.S., the President will assess the situation and issue a major disaster declaration for regions, states or particular areas hard hit by flooding. With this declaration, FEMA steps in help residents and businesses get back on their feet. Assistance for affected individuals and families can include rental payments for temporary housing for those who cannot live in their homes due to flood damage. There are also grants made available for home repairs not covered by homeowner’s insurance so that damaged dwellings can be safe, sanitary and functional once again.
FEMA funded grants are also in place to help people pay medical expenses, funeral costs, help with transportation as well as other flood related needs not covered by insurance or by some other federal, state and charitable aid programs. Those people who have lost their jobs temporarily can also apply for unemployment benefits for up to 26 weeks if they do not already qualify for state benefits such as is the case for the self-employed.
