Deodorizing with hydroxyl neutralizes and removes unpleasant odors from the air.
Highly reactive molecules break down the chemical compounds that cause odors, balancing them and making them less noticeable or undetectable.
Hydroxyl
Hydroxyls work primarily by abstracting hydrogen atoms, thereby dismantling the molecular structure of odors and volatile organic compounds.
They react so rapidly that indoor environments have few natural hydroxyls present because they are consumed near their point of entry.
In addition to neutralizing odors, hydroxyl radicals can also help to purify the air by breaking down other pollutants. This can make the air in a space safer to breathe and help prevent the buildup of harmful substances in the environment.
Temporary Storage Container has become popular in recent years. Homeowners who plan a big move to a new house love these containers because they let them pack their belongings on their own time instead of loading the truck as quickly as possible on moving day.
Discovery
One of the big pain points for restoration companies is getting the client’s belongings out of the house before starting repair work. This process is time-consuming and costly if the restoration team offers to remove furniture, books, electronics, and other items from the home before repairing the damage caused by a fire or flood.
Solution
This type of storage solution has perks for residential restoration companies as well. They can spend hours or even days packing the items and transporting them to an off-site storage unit. This storage site costs money, too, further cutting into the profits that the restoration contractor is taking for the job.
More Pros for Our Pros
Restoration teams can save hours and make their rental packages more flexible with a portable storage unit in the driveway. Its costs also tend to be lower, and its rental packages are flexible.
However, significant risks come with using this if your enterprise is in the residential refurbishment business. Then you need to be aware of these risks before deciding whether a portable on-demand storage unit is the right option.
Temporary storage containers are subject to theft.
Offsite storage facilities might be inconvenient—especially if the restoration project takes only a day or two.
Offsite storage facilities also have fences, surveillance, and other elements of security that can provide substantial peace of mind. It needs to offer this security.
They have nominally protected storage units where all thieves have to do to gain access to precious belongings is break a padlock.
The risk of theft might be low—especially in a pleasant residential area.
But storing a customer’s belongings in a unit overnight is still a considerable risk.
Temporary storage container lacks proper climate control. A safe offsite storage facility will be heated or air-conditioned, depending on the time of year, to keep belongings in good condition. A standalone unit on a blacktop driveway can quickly climb into the extreme temperature range on the Consumer Affairs page. A customer review claims they destroyed their 60-inch Sony TV due to excessive heat.
Considerable Facts
If your residential restoration company doesn’t have content insurance—as most do not—you could be on the hook for any theft or damage on your watch. Includes theft or damage to a customer’s prized belongings while in the unit. Such a risk is not worth it, even despite its convenience.
Our Pros Pride
Our Pros can offer a better solution. On day one, we come into your client’s house and carefully pack their belongings. Next, we haul everything away to our secure and climate-controlled storage warehouse. You’ll have time and freedom to restore the home without worrying about theft or damage. We also have contents insurance, so it’s covered if anything damaged is on our watch.
Don’t play Russian roulette with your customer’s belongings. Our company will neutralize the risks and free you from packing and storing anything. Call us today to learn how we work.
It dictates the item’s name, a brief description, the purchase date, and an estimated value with a receipt.
How to Create a Total Loss Home Inventory for Insurance Claims
Permission
Get permission from the fire department to enter your fire-damaged home, and wear protective equipment.
Begin Your List by Room
Draw a diagram of your home, labeling each room.
Pick a room and start documenting. Begin by writing down each item by room name (i.e., bedroom #1 or living room).
Group items like clothes within the same thing. If you have 25 shirts and ten pants, it’s OK to group them instead of writing down 35 different entries.
Repeat this process in every room of your home until you have documented everything.
Take Photos and Videos
This will prove you owned the items and what condition they were in when you conducted your last home inventory checklist. Using your smartphone to capture photos and videos is sufficient.
Organize Your List by Category
Look through the photographs and create a list of every item depicted, as descriptive as possible (including brand, age, quantity, price, and condition).
Organizing it by category is the easiest and most efficient way to keep track of all your items—group things like work tools, furniture, or household appliances.
TIP! Include the purchase price of each item in your inventory, and include receipts for the original purchase whenever possible. If you need receipts or were lost or damaged, you can get duplicates from the merchants or look up comparable values online.
Use a price-scanning app or websites like wedding registries to find your possessions’ replacement cost values. If an item is no longer available, list the closest alternatives.
Keep Your Home Inventory List Safe
If you physically wrote it down, ensure the list is locked away in a waterproof lockbox that won’t get destroyed if your home does.
Keep all invoices and receipts for items you need to replace for reimbursement purposes.
If you choose modern technology, email the list to yourself or save it to an external hard drive for safekeeping. The quicker you can access your home inventory list after a disaster, the faster you can get your life back to normal.
Lead-Based paint, dust, and soil in and around your home can be dangerous if not managed properly.
Highly toxic metals may cause various health problems
If absorbed into the body, it can cause damage to the brain and other vital organs
It may also cause behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures, and in extreme cases, death.
Headaches, stomachaches, nausea, tiredness, and irritability.
Lead-poisoned children may show no symptoms.
Both inside and outside of the home deteriorated lead-based paint mixed with household dust and soil and became tracked in. Children may become lead poisoned by:
Hands or other lead-contaminated objects into their mouths,
Eating paint chips from peeling or flaking lead-based paint, or
Playing in lead-contaminated soil
Lead-based paint may also be a hazard when children can chew or that get a lot of wear and tear, such as:
Windows and window sills;
Doors and door frames; and
Stairs, railings, banisters, and porches.
CAUTION:
If your home was built before 1978:
Wipe down flat surfaces, like window sills, with a damp paper towel and throw away the paper towel,
Mop smooth floors (using a damp mop) weekly to control dust; take off shoes when entering the house
Vacuum carpets and upholstery to remove dust,
If possible, use a vacuum with a HEPA filter or a “higher efficiency” collection bag,
Discard loose paint chips with a paper towel, then wipe the surface clean
Take precautions to avoid creating lead dust when remodeling, renovating, or maintaining your home,
Test for lead hazards by a lead professional. (Have the soil tested too).
Soil, Yards, and Playgrounds
Soil, yards, and playgrounds can become contaminated when
exterior lead-based paint from houses or buildings flakes or peels and gets into the soil.
Soil may also be contaminated by leaded gasoline in cars, industrial sources, or even from contaminated sites, including former lead smelters.
Lead is also naturally occurring and can be found in high concentrations in some areas.
Lead in soil can be
Ingested due to hand-to-mouth activity or from eating vegetables that may have taken up lead from the soil in the garden.
Lead in soil may also be inhaled if resuspended in the air or tracked into your house.
Important:
Older playground equipment can still contain old lead-based paint;
Artificial turf (Artificial Grass) and playground surfaces made from shredded rubber can have lead.
Ensure young children do not eat shredded rubber or put their hands in their mouths before washing them.
To reduce exposure to lead from soils, yards, and playgrounds:
Check the exterior of your home, including porches and fences, for flaking or deteriorating lead-based paint that may contaminate soil in your yard or be tracked into your house.
Put doormats outside and inside all entryways,
Remove shoes before entering to avoid contaminated soil in your house.
Wash hands several times daily using soap and water, especially after playing or working outside.
Plant bushes close to the house to keep children from playing in the soil near your home.
Dust
Lead in household dust results from indoor sources such as
old lead-based paint on surfaces that are frequently in motion (such as window frames),
deteriorating old lead-based paint on any surface,
home repair activities,
tracking lead-contaminated soil from the outdoors into the indoor environment,
or even from lead dust on clothing worn at a job site.
Even in well-maintained homes,
lead dust can form when lead-based paint is scraped, sanded, or heated during home repair activities.
Lead paint chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects people touch.
Settled lead dust can re-enter the air when the home is vacuumed or swept or people walk through it.
To reduce exposure to lead dust, it is imperative to:
Maintain all painted surfaces in good condition.
Clean frequently using a wet mop, cloth, or sponge to reduce the likelihood of chips and dust forming.
Use a lead-safe certified renovator to perform renovation, repair, and painting jobs to reduce the likelihood of contaminating your home with lead dust.
Find a lead-safe certified firm near you.
Products
Lead can also be found in
painted toys,
furniture and
toy jewelry;
cosmetics;
food or liquid containers;
and plumbing materials.
That favorite dump truck or rocking chair handed down in the family, antique doll furniture or toy jewelry could contain lead or lead-based paint.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has a comprehensive program on lead-in toys, including toy jewelry. Biting or swallowing toys or jewelry containing lead can cause a child to suffer from lead poisoning.
Food and liquids stored or served in lead crystal, lead-glazed pottery, or porcelain can become contaminated because lead can leach from these containers into the food or liquid.
Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials like pipes, faucets, and fixtures that contain lead corrode.
Drinking Water
Lead can enter drinking water through corrosion of plumbing materials, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures, and solder.
Corrosion is the dissolving or wearing away of metal caused by a chemical reaction between water and your plumbing.
Corrosion control treatment means utilities must make drinking water less corrosive to the materials it comes into contact with on its way to consumers’ taps.
Jobs and Hobbies
Working with lead and/or lead-based paint (e.g., renovation and painting, mining, smelting, battery recycling, refinishing old furniture, autobody, shooting ranges); or having a hobby that uses lead (e.g., hunting, fishing, stained glass, stock cars, making pottery) could cause you to bring lead home on your hands or clothes, or contaminate your home directly.
Can be found in
hunting ammunition,
fishing tackle,
Lead came and solder was used in stained glass,
weights used in stock cars,
dyes and glazes used in pottery
and many other places.
Important:
Never put leaded materials (fishing sinkers, lead came or solder for stained glass, or leaded pottery clay or glaze) in your mouth.
Use proper ventilation and equipment when melting lead to casting your bullets, sinker, decoys, or other metal items.
Avoid handling food or touching your mouth or face while working with lead materials, and wash your hands before eating or drinking following such activities.
Shower and change clothes before entering your vehicle or coming home.
Launder your work and hobby clothes separately from the rest of your family’s clothes.
Keep all work and hobby materials away from living areas.
If someone in your family is a renovator or contractor working in older housing, find out more about lead-safe work practices.
If you are an owner or operator of outdoor rifle, pistol, trap, skeet, or sporting clay ranges, find out more about lead management at ranges.
Folk Remedies
Some folk remedies that contain lead, such as “Greta” and “azarcon,”are used to treat an upset stomach.
Some folk remedies for morning sickness, including “nzu”, “poto” and “calabash chalk,” contain dangerous levels of lead and other chemicals.
Consuming even small amounts of lead can be harmful.
For your child:
Have your child’s blood lead level tested at ages 1 and 2. Children from 3 to 6 years of age should have their blood tested if they have not been tested before and: They live in or regularly visit a house built before 1950,
They live in or regularly visit a home built before 1978 with ongoing or recent renovations or remodeling
They have a sibling or playmate who has or did have lead poisoning
Frequently wash your child’s hands and toys to reduce contact with dust,
Use cold tap water for drinking and cooking
Avoid using home remedies (such as arzacon, greta, pay- loo-ah, or litargirio) and cosmetics (such as kohl or alkohl) that contain lead
Certain candies, such as tamarindo candy jam products from
Some tableware, mainly folk terra cotta plates and bowls from Latin America, may contain high levels of lead that can leach into food.
Spray Disinfection, in recent developments, is included in janitorial technology and can help you and your team do more in less time. One of the most excellent productivity-enhancing tools to help you and your staff is Electrostatic Technology.
Utilizing Electrostatic Technology in your cleaning program can reduce the time spent disinfecting, allowing your staff to work on other essential cleaning efforts.
This technology is most effective when disinfecting large spaces, making it a good option for schools, healthcare settings, restrooms, cafeterias, and other community spaces in your facility. Did you know that it can disinfect small crevices and other hard-to-reach areas that are otherwise overlooked, leaving germs to multiply and spread?
What is Electrostatic Technology?
Electrostatic Technology or Spray Disinfection is spraying positively charged liquid onto negatively charged surfaces. The positively charged particles are attracted to the characters leading to an even spread and adherence to the surface.
Due to the charge of the droplets, they can wrap around hard-to-reach objects even if they are only sprayed from one side.
Electrostatic technology can be used for:
Chemical disinfection
Paint application
Filtration systems
And more…
What Is Electrostatic Disinfection?
Electrostatic Disinfection is spraying positively or negatively charged disinfectant onto surfaces and objects. It is beneficial, given its 360-degree coverage.
How Does Electrostatic Disinfection Work?
Electrostatic Disinfectant sprayers are filled with disinfectant. When sprayed, the disinfectant is positively charged and released through the spray nozzle. The disinfectant droplets then attach to surfaces and objects which are negatively charged.
What are the benefits of using electrostatic technology?
1. Enhanced Coverage
Electrostatic technology can be used to reach spots that are traditionally difficult to disinfect by hand.
Because liquid comes out in smaller droplets, they can be dispersed in areas that are hard to reach when using manual spray and wipe methods.
Similarly, disinfecting the space under a table might have traditionally required your staff to rearrange objects or spend extra time to ensure that a surface is thoroughly disinfected. Many times this isn’t done, or it is forgotten.
With Electrostatic Technology, this is no longer necessary. Due to the charged nature of the droplets, the disinfectant automatically seeks to cover the entire surface, coating them evenly for complete disinfection.
2. Increased Worker Productivity
Electrostatic Disinfectant sprayers can dramatically reduce the time it takes to disinfect.
Manual surface disinfection usually requires the application of disinfectants by using trigger sprayers, wiping, or pre-moistened wipes. Electrostatic sprayers function from 2-6 feet from the surfaces used to disinfect. Compared to manual disinfection methods, electrostatic technology can help your cleaning team disinfect about 5x more square feet per hour.
3. Less Product Waste
When performing manual disinfection, using too much disinfectant on surfaces is easy.
The charge that Electrostatic Sprayers give the droplets allows surfaces to become evenly coated in less time and prevents product overuse.
As dwell time varies by product, surfaces must remain wet with disinfectant for a certain amount of time (listed on the product label) for proper disinfecting to be performed.
Pro Tip: Dwell Time is the amount of time a disinfectant needs to remain wet on a surface to effectively disinfect (kill the organisms listed on its label) the character.
Commercial cleaning chemicals require other dwell times based on the EPA registration and contact time required for each organism. Commercial cleaning products not used with the proper dwell time and removal process are not effectively disinfecting and need to meet EPA requirements.
In Conclusion:
Routine cleaning and disinfection should continue to be a top priority to protect your facility against germ spread. While cleaning still needs to be completed, you can drastically reduce the time spent disinfecting with Electrostatic Disinfection.
With Electrostatic Technology, your staff will also be able to complete a more thorough, consistent disinfection, given the product’s ability to cover a surface or object entirely.
Many people have a fear of mold and what it can do to your health, especially if you have sensitivities or allergies to mold spores.
When you think of mold growth and contamination in your home, you assume it would apply to dark, damp basements and what can occur after a pipe breaks or other water damage situation. And you would be right, most of the time.
But there are other issues that can come up that involve mold, and it doesn’t have to be in a dark basement or after a water damage event. If you have moisture, a food source, and especially dark conditions, mold can grow.
Your bedroom
As scary as it may sound, it’s true. Mold can grow on and even inside your mattress. As you sleep, you perspire, and that moisture can be all that mold needs to start to grow. While you can clean visible mold from the surface of your mattress, it is very difficult to get clean what is inside the mattress. A professional cleaning company may be able to help. But prevention is what you should concentrate on, and an appropriate mattress pad/cover will help.
Your bathroom
Common areas that can experience mold growth are around the base of toilets, shower stalls or bathtubs, and under sinks, such as in cabinet areas. It’s no surprise when you spot some mold in those areas. However, mold can also grow on cleaning supplies that haven’t been used in a few days, and even on toothbrushes such as those left unused because of a trip away. Anything you use that involves moisture (brushes, scrub pads, buckets) and especially stored in a dark place, be sure to clean and dry them completely.
Your kitchen
The kitchen is a mold playground, because of all the food sources combined with potential moisture. There are so many places mold can grow they can’t all be mentioned here, but obvious ones include inside and behind the refrigerator, under the sink, and in cabinets. Mold growth inside the refrigerator goes against logic that mold requires warmth – it is obviously not always true. Frequent inspections of dark areas where mold may grow unnoticed is important, such as under sinks and where there are pipes that can leak or simply have condensation on them.
If you do find mold, do the smart thing and call your favorite restoration company. After all, it pays to call a pro!
When the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, speaks… most of us listen.
And the EPA has much to say about mold, which can affect health in minor, irritating ways (slight respiratory issues) to severe life-threatening reactions, resulting in medical care and the unthinkable.
Here are the edited highlights from the EPA.gov site, along with our own thoughts, that all households should consider. Of course, the EPA recommends that everyone should fix plumbing leaks, water intrusion issues, and keep all interior surfaces clean and dry at all times. If you do this, mold should not be an issue. But if it happens, here are some tips.
Mold cleanup
Who should do the cleanup? There are a number of factors. First, consider the size of the mold problem. If less than 10 square feet, you may be able to handle the cleanup yourself. However, with water damage and mold growth more than 10 feet, consult an expert. And there is no way to know 100% if even a small amount of mold could have an adverse health effect on you or those you care about.
HVAC and air conveyance systems
Don’t minimize the impact that mold can have in your ductwork or other air conveyance areas. Hidden mold may be out of sight, but it should be taken seriously. Slight musty odors should trigger an investigation. Get your duct work inspected immediately and have the work done by a professional.
Restrooms, shower stalls and more
Mold is normal in some areas, like in the corner of a shower stall. Don’t panic. Just clean it up. But if you need help, hire a pro. A very small amount of mold is no doubt fresh and can be easily removed.
Hiring a pro
If you decide to contact and use a disaster restoration company or a mold removal service, be a smart consumer and check their references and credentials. There are many “companies” that claim to be experts in mold removal, but they are far from qualified.
Do the right thing with mold. When you know you have it, you should know how to get rid of it. The easiest, best, and safest way is to let a disaster restoration, water damage, or mold remediation company do the work. After all, it pays to call a pro!
Recently, we discussed mold that can be found in unlikely places, such as in the bedroom, bathroom, and the kitchen. After all, most report mold in basements or crawlspaces, but mold can actually grow virtually anywhere.
There is one thing we can all agree on. You do not want hidden mold growing in your home. If there is mold somewhere, anywhere, with the potential of causing health issues with your family, you want to know about it so you can remove it and keep everyone safe.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has much to say about the need for mold testing. “In most cases, if visible mold growth is present, sampling is unnecessary,” according to a statement on the EPA website. And what the EPA says makes sense. If you can see the mold, you do not need to take samples and run tests because you know the mold is there. The professional restoration company that removes the mold will figure out what type it is and proper procedures for your specific case.
But what if you can’t see the mold but you feel something is there?
Then it’s time to engage mold sampling and testing. According to the EPA, surface sampling may be useful to determine if an area has been adequately cleaned or remediated.
Who should do it?
Sampling for mold should be conducted by professionals who have specific experience in designing mold sampling protocols, sampling methods and interpreting results. Sample analysis should follow analytical methods recommended by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), or other professional organizations, says the EPA.
Regulations and guidelines
Standards or threshold limit values (TLVs) for airborne concentrations of mold, or mold spores, have not been set. Currently, there are no EPA regulations or standards for airborne mold contaminants.
But if you have mold, you no doubt aren’t driven by regulations or guidelines, or lack thereof. You want to know if there is mold and if there is, what you can do to remove it.
One option is to purchase a do-it-yourself mold testing kit, something that you test surfaces with and send in for testing at a laboratory.
Another is to contact an industrial hygienist who is an expert with issues such as this, and have professional testing conducted.
No matter what you do, if you do have mold growth, do the right thing. Turn the work over to your favorite restoration company. After all, it pays to call a pro!
Where there’s mold, there is usually an underlying condition that you must discover and remediate, and quickly. Mold occurs because of conditions that allow it to grow, and some types of molds are tenacious.
Recently, we considered the difference between mildew and mold and what the EPA has to say about what we need to know.
And while the cleanup of mold and mildew may seem basic at times, there are situations when removal and cleaning can be challenging to tackle. Here are some important points to consider and remember… to play it safe means consulting and usually hiring a professional mold remediation company.
Toxic or non-toxic?
Mold is a common problem and as a fungus it can appear in different areas for many different reasons. Usually because of a dark, moist condition. But just because you find mold doesn’t mean it is necessarily toxic. After all, everyone has different reactions to substances. What may be harmful to one person may not be to another. But always be safe and when cleaning up mold, wear gloves, a respirator, and proper personal protective equipment that a mold remediation expert would recommend.
Most molds
Most of the time, the mold you find, such as in a bathroom, a windowsill, or other common areas, can be easily cleaned. It is unlikely you will call a mold remediation expert to take care of the mold growing on the grout in your shower. Just be safe and wear a mask and gloves, and use products designed for removing small amounts of mold.
Mold is a type of soil. It’s organic growth. No need to panic, just be smart about cleaning it up. After all, if you were in the garden and saw some mold, you wouldn’t run screaming into the house. Simply applying a cleaning product for mold and mildew removal, scrubbing and wiping it up, completely, often fixes the issue. But sometimes, the mold has grown into surfaces, such as baseboards, walls, or even the subfloor that you discover as you replace flooring material. When that occurs, removing and replacing affected areas is often the best solution.
Hiring a pro
If the mold appears significant, and you have some doubts on removing it, it’s best to call a professional. A mold remediation company utilizes technicians who are trained and have experience in safely removing larger amounts of mold, or the types of mold that are known to affect more individuals with mold allergen sensitivities.
Who pays for all of this? Sometimes, your insurance company, if the cause of the mold is from a water damage situation. Talk to your favorite restoration company about all of this. After all, it pays to call a pro!
Most think of mold inside the home as a big problem — and it is. But what about that mold that grows on the outside of your home, such as on vinyl siding and other surfaces? While not as much of a health concern, it’s still a nuisance that must be handled.
Mold typically does not grow on clean, dry surfaces. And most materials, such as the plastic construction materials used on homes, is not a food source for mold. So why does it grow? Because of the dirt, soil, grime, and other organic matter that builds up on surfaces. While your vinyl siding may be vertical, it still gets dirty, and mold will grab onto that and grow like wildfire. And when there are trees and vegetation around your home, they release particles that attach to exterior surfaces and that just makes the problem worse.
The solution? Cleaning. Keeping surfaces clean, physically removing both molds and their food sources, is the best way to keep your home looking good.
While the solution seems simple, unless you have a ranch-style home, reaching all those high surfaces is not easy. You will need ladders, extension poles, and plenty of safety gear. If you have all that, and are ready to get to work, here are a few tips.
Get a good scrub brush, something you can put on a pole, and something that will scrub the surface but not scratch it. Softer nylon bristles are great. Have plenty of garden hose available, with a concentrated spray nozzle. A large bucket, a pump-up sprayer, or a sprayer assembly that you can put liquid cleaning products in, one that automatically dilutes and applies the cleaner to your home. You need all this before you get to work.
Purchase a quality exterior cleaning solution specifically for siding and removing mold. While you can create your own solution with a variety of household products (bleach, vinegar, detergent) what you find at the store is not expensive.
Then get to work. Hopefully on a nice, sunny day. Apply your product with the hose attachment or your pump-up sprayer, allow to dwell for a few minutes. The bleach component in your solution will take time to work. Scrub the surface and spray it all off. Let it dry and inspect, repeating as necessary. Take your time, section off areas, and you will see fantastic results.
But what about mold inside your home? That’s a different problem altogether. When you see mold inside, contact your favorite disaster restoration company. After all, it pays to call a pro!
