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 promoter of quality
South Carolina Water Damage Restoration and and other states such as
Chicago Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Areas in the Bathroom Prone to Water Damage
Since your bathroom is one of the most important rooms in the house, you need to be aware of the different areas of it that are the most at risk for water damage. These are the water junctions in your bathroom and this means that these are the areas that water comes out of the plumbing and into the room at some point, whether it is at the shower, the sink, or the toilet.
Having tile down in your bathroom to protect the floor underneath from water is an absolute must. While you can put down carpet in the bathroom, this is not advised, since mold will eventually start to grow in it or under it, especially in the bathroom closet where you are likely to throw wet towels and clothes. These wet items are usually forgotten about and dry clothing is thrown on top of them.
Do an inspection of your bathroom when you go in it every now and then to make sure that there are no real signs of water damage occurring.
The tiles on the floor and on the walls around the shower and bath tub can become cracked over time and when they do become cracked, you need to replace them to keep water from seeping under them. Water that gets under these tiles will damage the surface underneath and if they become very damaged, tearing up the tile and replacing this surface is the only option to maintain structural integrity.
The plumbing under the sink should be inspected for leaks on a regular basis and you should replace the pipes if they are cracked or loose at all.
You should also pay attention to the area around the base of the toilet and cracked tile around it needs to be replaced. Toilets overflow all the time from clogging and you can prevent this most of the time by just not putting too much toilet paper in the toilet. Also avoid putting hanging toilet bowl cleansers in it, because these also tend to cause clogging.
The plumbing inside the walls can be checked out, but this is the most difficult area of the bathroom to keep an eye on, since the pipes are located inside the walls. Watch for moisture on the drywall or leaking into the floor from any part of the wall. Either of these signs should be a giveaway that there is a problem in the wall.
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.localrestoration.com and
http://www.moldrestorationusa.com
Having tile down in your bathroom to protect the floor underneath from water is an absolute must. While you can put down carpet in the bathroom, this is not advised, since mold will eventually start to grow in it or under it, especially in the bathroom closet where you are likely to throw wet towels and clothes. These wet items are usually forgotten about and dry clothing is thrown on top of them.
Do an inspection of your bathroom when you go in it every now and then to make sure that there are no real signs of water damage occurring.
The tiles on the floor and on the walls around the shower and bath tub can become cracked over time and when they do become cracked, you need to replace them to keep water from seeping under them. Water that gets under these tiles will damage the surface underneath and if they become very damaged, tearing up the tile and replacing this surface is the only option to maintain structural integrity.
The plumbing under the sink should be inspected for leaks on a regular basis and you should replace the pipes if they are cracked or loose at all.
You should also pay attention to the area around the base of the toilet and cracked tile around it needs to be replaced. Toilets overflow all the time from clogging and you can prevent this most of the time by just not putting too much toilet paper in the toilet. Also avoid putting hanging toilet bowl cleansers in it, because these also tend to cause clogging.
The plumbing inside the walls can be checked out, but this is the most difficult area of the bathroom to keep an eye on, since the pipes are located inside the walls. Watch for moisture on the drywall or leaking into the floor from any part of the wall. Either of these signs should be a giveaway that there is a problem in the wall.
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.localrestoration.com and
http://www.moldrestorationusa.com
Fire Damage Cleanup Tips
Having to deal with a house fire, even a small one, is something that no homeowner ever wants to have to do, but unfortunately, these are often cruel facts of life. If you are like the majority of the rest of us, you probably do not have enough money to hire a professional to take care of the cleanup process for you, so educating yourself about how to go about it before this event takes place is a good idea. The cosmetic damage to your home can mostly be done by you, but the structural damage will probably need to be handled by a professional.
Depending on the size of the fire, there is probably some standing water in the home from the fire hose spilling gallons upon gallons of water into it to put out the fire. Electricity to the part of the home affected by the fire and water should be cut off so that you can clean up the standing water without fearing electrocution. Remove the standing water as quickly as you can, since this will cause water damage to your floor and walls in addition to the fire damage that is already there.
Pets should not be allowed back into the home until the initial cleanup is finished.
Any plants that you have need to have the soot and ash cleaned off of their leaves. Leaving this on the leaves will kill them.
If there is food in your kitchen that was open at the time of the fire, it should be thrown away, since it could be contaminated due to the excess heat and soot.
The smoke damage to your ceiling and walls can often not be removed by washing. The most that you can do to this is paint over it with a primer made for this purpose and then paint over that with the color of your ceiling.
Things like marble, stainless steel, chrome, and formica should be cleaned as soon as possible with the proper cleansers, since soot and ash can etch these items if you leave it on there too long. This etching cannot be repaired.
Furniture that is upholstered should not be sat on until it has been vacuumed thoroughly with a hose that has no brushes on it, since a brush attachment will only work the soot further into the fabric. This is also true for carpets. Once these have been vacuumed, put plastic over them so you do not track soot and ash in from other areas of the house.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
Depending on the size of the fire, there is probably some standing water in the home from the fire hose spilling gallons upon gallons of water into it to put out the fire. Electricity to the part of the home affected by the fire and water should be cut off so that you can clean up the standing water without fearing electrocution. Remove the standing water as quickly as you can, since this will cause water damage to your floor and walls in addition to the fire damage that is already there.
Pets should not be allowed back into the home until the initial cleanup is finished.
Any plants that you have need to have the soot and ash cleaned off of their leaves. Leaving this on the leaves will kill them.
If there is food in your kitchen that was open at the time of the fire, it should be thrown away, since it could be contaminated due to the excess heat and soot.
The smoke damage to your ceiling and walls can often not be removed by washing. The most that you can do to this is paint over it with a primer made for this purpose and then paint over that with the color of your ceiling.
Things like marble, stainless steel, chrome, and formica should be cleaned as soon as possible with the proper cleansers, since soot and ash can etch these items if you leave it on there too long. This etching cannot be repaired.
Furniture that is upholstered should not be sat on until it has been vacuumed thoroughly with a hose that has no brushes on it, since a brush attachment will only work the soot further into the fabric. This is also true for carpets. Once these have been vacuumed, put plastic over them so you do not track soot and ash in from other areas of the house.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
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