Tips To Remove The Mold Smell From Your Basement
June 7, 2011
If you can smell a musty odor in the basement, it has got to be mold. This is particularly sensed after there has been water percolation in the area due to flood, rain or even inflow of water. Mold is actually a fungus that grows in moist, wet and humid areas like the basement or bathrooms. They can causea lot of health problems; the musty smell can interfere with breathing and cause a lot of allergies. There are a lot of methods to remove the mold smell from the basement.
1. Open the basement door and windows for a few hours so that the overpowering smell can fizzle out.
2. Dead, decaying animals and plants can also lead to highly repulsive odor and filth. Mice and rats are pests that hide and eventually die in basements. Their rotting bodies can fill the air with disgusting odor that can last for days. So, as a part of the cleanup process, you have to wear rubber gloves, remove the bodies and dispose them in a garbage bag and dispose it away.
3. To remove mold from the basement, you can mix one half of bleach in one gallon of water. Oxygen bleach is safer than chlorine bleach and can kill mildew, mold and other forms of fungus. Fill the spray bottle with the mixture and soak the mold. This mixture can remain on the mold for fifteen minutes before you wipe the surface well with a wet cloth.
4. Sprinkle baking soda on basements. This product is a natural deodorizer and can remove mold odors that are trapped in the dirt without the need to use harsh chemicals. You can reapply the baking soda whenever you want.
5. Take a few bowls and fill them with charcoal briquettes. The charcoal has the property to absorb mold odor from the air.
6. You can also fill bowls with white vinegar and keep them inside the basement.
7. You can also use deodorizer granules; sprinkle them on the basement floors. These granules can be recycled, reused and are non-toxic in nature.
8. Use a few onions and cut them in half on plates. Set these plates inside the basement in different areas. Let the onions remain in the basement for 12 to 24 hours. These onions will remove the offensive, mold odors.
9. Molds and mildews tend to be in places that have poor ventilation. So get a good flow of breeze in by opening the windows and doors; so that the smell is carried away on the outside. You can also turn on a big fan or many fans to promote air circulation. The chemical cleansers that you use will work much more effectively in this manner. Another benefit of ventilation is sunlight which can be very good for removing mold and mildew smell. If you use keep the shades and blinds open for quite a few days, it can be very good not only for the room but also for your skin and overall health.
10. One of the best cleansings agents is a disinfectant like Lysol that can not only kill mold and mildew but also remove the smell. You just have to dilute the product and spray them in areas that are affected as well as potentially affected. You have to wear rubber gloves and protective mask while doing this, because mold spores can cause diseases and respiratory problems. You can sprinkle baking soda in the areas that are prone to mildew growth and let it remain there for a day. This will take care of too much smell. There are some products that will conceal the odor, making the air pleasant but may not kill the mold. Such air fresheners like Febreeze can be used at the end of the mold treatment.
Old Man Winter Has His Icy Grip on the Midwest
December 15, 2010
America’s Midwest is in an icy grip of harsh winter weather and a ferocious cold snap as storms are moving through and creating chaos – closing airports and highways. The Minneapolis Metrodome’s inflatable roof collapsed this past weekend in spite of worker’s attempts to clear the nearly 17 inches of wet, heavy snow from the structure. It is unknown how long it will take for the damage to be fixed and the stadium made safe and ready for use once again. The snow storm was so intense that state officials in Minnesota yanked their snow plows off the roads, calling it a futile fight that could not be won.
Chicago also was hit hard as the winter storm and brutal winds led to over 2,000 flights being canceled. Several buildings in downtown Chicago suffered flooding and roof damage as well as they could not hold the weight of the snow. Bone chilling cold swept across the Great Plains and Midwest over the weekend and early this week, shutting down schools and wreaking havoc with travel plans as temperatures plunged to sub-freezing levels as far south as Florida.
In Atlanta, Georgia, the blast of arctic air hitting the metro area caused frozen pipes to burst all across the metropolitan region on Tuesday. Plumbers say that homeowners are neglecting to make sure that their heating systems are in good shape. Malfunctioning blowers are one of the main causes of fault in older furnaces which have to work extra hard to heat a house in cold temperatures. Residents are being urged to unhook garden hoses from their homes there to prevent the water backing up, which could cause pipes leading into homes to freeze and burst.
Florida homeowners, not used to below freezing temperatures have an increased chance of fires starting in their homes. In Orange County, two residents can attest to that as fire officials responded to several calls of home fires, two of which was caused by space heaters being placed too close to curtains. Floridians are being urged to leave at least three feet of empty space around space heaters being used. They are also being advised to turn off space heaters when leaving a room or when sleeping.
Another problem with space heaters is the fact that often people plug them into extension cords and then into power-strips which is a big no-no. Power strips should only be plugged directly into wall outlets. Florida fire officials say that they have recently inspected several residences wherein multiple items were connected to one, single power source. Television news reports have told people in Florida to avoid making these mistakes and to be sure that the power strips and extension cords they buy are “UL approved”.
Heavy Rains Lead to Flash Flood Warnings in Parts of Iowa
September 22, 2010
It has been a very stormy and wet day across central and southern Iowa and the bad weather is going to last for at least the next two days. Between two and three inches of rain fell through several counties including Marshall, Polk, Cass, Dallas, Guthrie and Story.
A flash flood warning was issued Tuesday, Sept 21st for the region and some damages have been reported. Run-off from the rain may trigger flash floods in Ames as well as in several other towns and cities in the already rain-drenched region of the state. It has been a very wet week in a greater portion of Iowa as frequent, heavy thunderstorms have pounded the state.
Sully, Iowa was especially hard-hit on Tuesday. The National Weather Services said that a section of the town’s middle school roof was thrown fifty to one hundred feet from the building as a severe thunderstorm ripped through the area at around 1 p.m. as students were eating lunch. Witnesses reported that it was not raining at the time the damage occurred but that they saw debris falling from the roof. School officials rushed to get students out of the gymnasium. Some trees were also damaged as was the baseball field’s dugout.
ESPN’s Sports Nation was set to be hosted on the University of Iowa campus Tuesday as about one thousand students and supporters gathered at Hubbard Park to watch the show. Heavy rain began to fall and a threat of hail delayed the production and sent most of the crowd running for cover. Thankfully the rain calmed and the threat of hail subsided so the taping went on an hour later.
The Sioux Falls area typically only sees just over 2.5 inches of rainfall during the month of September but rainfalls are expected to be heavy today through Friday meaning that the city and much of the area could see as much rain with this storm as it typically receives all month. The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls predicts that many areas to the north and east of the city could very well receive up to four inches of rain. Locals are advised to travel with extreme caution during the next couple of days because low lying areas are expected to flood.
Des Moines Residents Forced to Evacuate After Flooding
August 13, 2010
Nearly 300 residences on Des Moines’ east side were forced to evacute Wednesday after the Four Mile Creek overflowed its banks after yet another night of heavy rains. Many of the residences in the Four Mile area have suffered significant damage as gas and water meters were put out of service forcing the shut down of gas and electricity to some areas. Dozens of the displaced people were forced to check into emergency shelters located throughout the area.
In the Country Estates Village mobile home community, several residents were forced to leave when the water had reached their top porch step and many residents there had said that they have never lived through anything like this even after being in the area for up to forty years.
The greater Des Moines area has been drenched with around eight inches of rain since last weekend. This week, hot and humid weather during the day has been followed by nights that brought pounding rains all across the central part of the state. The relentless rain has caused the Four Mile Creek and Walnut Creek to produce record water levels on the west side of Des Moines, leading to officials asking nearby residents to evacuate. The sewer system in the city is also backing up into many basements in the city with the south and east sides seeing the worst of it.
Residents who have storm water backing up into their basements are being warned by the local health department that the water is most likely contaminated and to use extreme caution. Police patrol units are being deployed to those neighborhoods that have been evacuated to guard against burglaries and break-ins. Rescue workers were busy Wednesday seeing to it that everyone who needed to be taken to dry land got a lift on a boat.
In Ames, flooding caused a water main to burst, which forced the city to shut off water to its population of 55,000. The Iowa State University basketball arena was submerged in five feet of dirty flood water and it is unknown when the facility will be open again as cleanup efforts and a full evaluation must be done to assess the degree of damage sustained. The National Weather Service has put a flash flood watch into effect for parts of Iowa from Thursday through Friday night. New storms moving into the area could result in three more inches falling in the already heavily saturated regions of the state.
Iowa Governor Seeks Disaster Declaration after Flash Flooding
July 10, 2010
Governor Chet Culver asked President Obama to declare thirty-five counties in Iowa federal disaster areas after severe flash flooding ravaged portions of the state. Storms moved through the state earlier this week and dumped a great deal of rain which caused rivers to overflow their banks, many communities in Iowa saw some degree of flooding damages.
Over twelve inches of rain flooded the post office in Dewar which forced the mail service to moved to the nearby Gilbertville P.O. Governor Culver is requesting that eighteen counties get individual assistance and that thirty-two to receive public aide. The Waterloo area saw the worst of the damage as six inches of rain fell, flooding basements,local streets and roadways. In Cedar Terrace, many residents were sandbagging their homes with the hopes of keeping flood waters at bay.
The 2010 spring and summer rains have cost the state of Iowa a large amount of money. De Moines officials report that the cost of fighting this year’s floods is $1 million. Half of that was spent to shore up levees, build temporary levees and to fix sewer systems. The other half of the money went towards labor. Des Moines has been on alert for more than seven days as the rain swollen Des Moines River threatened a levee protecting a neighborhood near the downtown area in the beginning of July. Officials are beginning to breathe a bit easier however as the river levels are dropping, allowing them to put an end to around the clock levee inspections.
Numerous showers and thunderstorms developed over the central portion of the state earlier this week as they moved up toward the northeast. Due to the nearly six inches of rain that fell, flash flood warnings were put into effect in numerous cities and towns. Flash flood warnings remained in effect for several days for many Iowa counties located in the eastern part of the state.
A flood warning was issued by the National Weather Service for the Little Sioux River at Linn Grove. Residents were asked to take precautionary measures and preparedness action. Locals are being asked not to drive their vehicles through flooded areas as the water depth and road conditions may be hazardous. The flood warning is extended until 7 pm on Saturday July 10th so anyone living in the area should prepare their homes by moving valuables up to a higher level in the house and sandbagging foundations.
How to Get Rid of Mold or Mildew in Your Attic Following Flooding
June 21, 2010
Having a burst pipe or tank in your attic can create a huge mess and dealing with the flood afterwards can be a real chore. Once you have fixed up most of the damage you might feel that your job is done, but the truth is that they might only have started. As the weeks go by you may be horrified to find that you are developing mold or mildew in your attic. Mold and mildew can cause a lot of problems for you and your home but luckily it is usually quite easy to get rid of.
Why you shouldn’t Leave Mold or Mildew Untreated
The idea of crawling back up into your attic to deal with mold or mildew probably isn’t going to appeal very much to you. It will appeal even less if you have recently spent a lot of time up there trying to sort out the mess of a flood. Maybe you might be tempted to leave it for a bit and see what happens. This is always a bad mistake and leaving these fungi to their own devices can cause you big problems in the future. The spores from some molds have been shown to exacerbate conditions like asthma and there may even be a link between black mold and cot death. Mold has also been associated with other health problems. It is also important that if mold is left too long it will become too big a job for you to put right and you may have to pay professionals a lot of money to put things right. Never delay with this type of problem; it is just too risky.
Getting Rid of Mold or Mildew from your Basement
Assuming that you haven’t allowed things to progress to far you should find mold fairly easy to get rid of. Make sure that you are cautious while tackling the problem and cover your whole body in clothing; you also need to ensure that you don’t inhale any spores or allow them to get into your eyes. You can either spray on or soak the area of mold using a bleach or vinegar solution. If you want to be sure of getting rid of the problem for good though, you are probably best to use one of the liquids that have been especially designed for dealing with this type of fungi.
A Wet Basement Requires Immediate Action
May 3, 2010
Nothing is more frustrating than having to deal with a wet basement. Walls and floors can become damaged and your valuable possessions such as family heirlooms, important documents and furniture can be ruined.
We have been in the business of dealing with wet basements for over three decades. We specialize in cleaning flooded basements resulting from storm damage such as residents in Nashville are experiencing as well as: broken pipes, sewage problems and flooding. Our emergency response team will arrive at your premises quickly to repair and restore your property in this time of disaster. We employ highly trained IICRC technicians who have the expertise necessary to help clean up and make the repairs in a short amount of time.
Our company has an extensive history of arriving on the scene at some of the worst natural disasters that have occurred in the United States including Hurricane Ike and Katrina. Our background in disaster relief in areas that have been declared state of emergency zones by FEMA is what is what is needed to swiftly assess your basement flooding in order to implement a quick plan of action and to ensure that the entire area is dried thoroughly so that things go back to normal in your home or business as quickly as possible. Whether your property disaster is in Boston, Rhode Island, Florida, Tennessee or Iowa we will arrive quickly to begin assisting with cleanup and recovery.
We bring trunk-mounted water extraction machines with us that are capable of removing 20,000 gallons of water per hour, TES drying machines and high powered fans to get the job done efficiently. We understand the importance of thoroughly drying behind walls, in crawl spaces and around plumbing fixtures are these are the places that damaging and potentially health threatening mold can quickly begin to develop and spread. We know the horrid damage that mold can do inside a structure. You will be given the peace of mind knowing that mold has no chance of developing as a result of your flooded basement. We bring along industrial grade desiccant dehumidifiers that are extremely effective in absorbing the moisture from the air which will eliminate the possibility of mold from ever having the chance to begin developing.
We are experts at cleaning and repairing the items in the affected area that have been subjected to water damage. We use the latest cutting edge technology and cleaning solutions that are proven to restore water damaged items of all types. We will clean what is salvageable and let you know which items you should throw away as some types of stuffed furniture and thick carpeting for instance cannot be dried quickly enough to avoid the possibility of mold and mildew developing.
Time is of the essence when your home or business has been subjected to basement flooding. Shortly after you contact us, our team of professionals will arrive on the scene and take control of the situation.
Torrential flooding on east coast leaves a path of property damage
April 9, 2010
Flood Closes off Train Tracks and More Interstate 95 is the main route that connects Boston with New York. A stretch of it was closed off in Rhode Island for quite a while recently due to heavy flooding in the area, the likes of which have never seen there before. Amtrak suspended several of their trains within that area due to the water that covered up their train tracks. The flooded area covered an area from New Haven, Connecticut all the way to Boston. The regional service from New York to Boston was suspended, as well.
After the damage from the flood, an aerial state tour was undertaken to see how bad things actually were. Water torrents had surrounded Warwick Mall, and rapids were coming close to Macy’s doors, while an entire movie theatre was submerged in water. Cars were also submerged to their roofs and oil slicks could be seen floating atop muddy waters throughout the neighborhood. Although there were a lot of parts still unaffected around the state, there were a lot of broken up roads, submerged ball fields and flooded up businesses and homes in many places. This heavy rain was just another setback that Rhode Island had to go through after struggling with a rather high unemployment rate of 13% for months. Several hard-hit areas included the business districts and the main shopping area of the state, Warwick Mall. Even West Warwick was threatened, the town that the state refers to as a distressed community due to the heavy tax burdens and the amount of low income residents living there. During the very last rounds of the flood, businesses in West Warwick lost around $730,000 in revenue alone. There are around a million residents in the state of Rhode Island and all of them were asked to conserve their electricity and drinking water after the electrical substations and sewage systems all got flooded. In fact, after a sewage and water treatment plant in Warwick failed, the officials began to ask the residents not to flush toilets or wash clothes, either.
Rescues due to the flooding went on for three days in Rhode Island along the river of Pawtuxet and beyond. At one point, the river crested at 21 feet – almost 6 feet more than the record it held before, which was only set two weeks before. This was 12 feet more than its regular 9-feet level. The river is finally back to its banks now, though. And hopefully the state will be back on its feet soon, too.
Coping With Water Damage after a disaster
March 31, 2010
If your business or home has experienced flooding due to a storm, a pipe break, roof leak or any other reason, your action taken could help to avoid you having many more problems in the future. Residents all throughout the New England area have experience significant property damages due to due flooding over the last three days. Many communities such as Cranston and Providence are in considered a FEMA declared disaster zone.
Whenever a building has been flooded, mold can begin to grow within 24 to 48 hours of the water damage. Therefore, it is vitally important that you act fact to prevent further devastation. Be sure to get a hold of your insurance company so that a report can be filed and do not neglect to document the damage using both written notes and photographs.
In the case that the flood happened a while before you noticed it, you should call in a consultant so that the extent of the damage can be assessed. Often times these contractors can help by taking the damaged materials out of the affected area such as dry wall, so that repairs can be made to the underlying area. Be sure that the contractor you hire is actually experienced in water damage restoration as these are the only type of professionals who know how to thoroughly remove the water, repair the damage and dry the area out so that microbiological contamination cannot start to grow.
Professional water damage remediation companies, once called, will do a visual assessment of the damaged area and will let you know what course of action must be taken to remedy the problem. If you have a substantial amount of flooding, then you will likely call in a local Providence flood damage cleanup company or other local company depending on where you reside. If mold contamination is suspected either by your reporting of having symptoms or by visual indication, the source of the mold will be located and it will be determined what route it took to end up where it is. If the source of the water has been present for an extended period of time, you can expect some type of structural damage that must be dealt with.
If your home is located in an area that is subjected to flooding, be sure to carry adequate flood insurance. Many people falsely believe that their regular homeowners insurance will cover flood and water damage, but the fact is, you need to take out a separate policy in order to be fully covered. It should also be noted that flood insurance must be purchased at least 30 days prior to making a claim.
Protect Your Home from Natural Disasters
March 23, 2010
Any homeowner knows how important it is to keep one’s home safe from natural disasters. While you can be given some level of advanced warning for things such as hurricanes, other disasters such as earthquakes hit out nowhere. Of course certain areas are more prone to particular natural disasters than others. One wouldn’t expect to be hit by a tornado if one lives in the Tropics. Similarly, those who inhabit very cold regions have little to fear from hurricanes. Still, the world’s weather patterns are changing and it would be irresponsible for any homeowner to ignore the very real threat posed by natural disasters.
If one has lived in an area for a while then they will already be familiar with the types of natural disasters that they can expect to have to deal with. If one is new to a neighborhood then it is always a good idea to ask questions. Remember that, while there are some general precautions, each type of natural disaster will have its own precautionary measures.
As seen in the news recently, earthquakes can be particularly devastating. There is little that one can do if one’s home is already built, unless one is willing to go through costly structural renovations. If one lives along a fault line then this may be a necessity rather than an option. Barring overall collapse of the structure, the greatest danger from an earthquake is from falling items. Therefore, everything in the household should be securely fastened. This includes any pictures or other items hanging on walls. Bookcases, cabinets and other such furniture can be secured by means of bolts or l-brackets. Even the water heater should be fastened to a wall.
To protect one’s home from storm damage, one should always ensure that the house is in good order and that there are no leaks. Check the roof to make certain that there are no loose areas. Trim any branches that may be close to the home and which could become missiles in high winds. A good investment is storm shutters for the windows, and even the garage door. Gutters, drains, and anything that forms part of the drainage system should be properly cleared so that there will be no blockage of water causing a back-up on the property.
No one can say for certain when a natural disaster is likely to hit, although some areas are luckier than others. While one may not be able to completely prevent any damage from occurring to one’s home, one can at least keep it to a minimum. Anything else can be dealt with by a reputable restoration company.
