Month: August 2018

Nobody likes to find mold, let alone have it in your home. Mold is a toxic and dangerous fungus substance that is common under the right circumstances. It is vital to be able to recognize mold, know its potential health effects and deal with it immediately. This substance can cause many health problems such as mold sensitivity, mold-related infections, respiratory problems, severe or chronic conditions and symptoms that mimic allergies such as chest and nasal congestion, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, sore throat, water or dry eyes, skin irritation and headaches. Blue River Restoration is your resource for everything about mold.

Mold can put into 3 classifications (Allergenic, Pathogenic, and Toxigenic). Allergenic is a mold that can cause and produce allergies and allergic reactions such as an asthma attack. Pathogenic molds cause health problems in those suffering from an acute illness. Toxigenic molds produce toxic substances that can lead to dangerous or even deadly health conditions. This is sometimes referred to as “toxic mold.”

Under those 3 classifications, there are 12 different types of molds. Knowing about the different forms of mold will help you in identifying mold types that may be present in your home.

Toxigenic:

• Acremonium
• Fusarium*
• Stachybotrys*
• Aspergillus*

Pathogenic:

• Stachybotrys*

Allergenic:

• Alternaria
• Aspergillus*
• Aureobasidium
• Chaetomium
• Cladosporium
• Fusarium*
• Mucor
• Penicillin
• Trichoderma
• Ulocladium

*Under some circumstances can be both

If mold is found in your home or business, it can be a DIY project depending on the size. When the mold becomes too big for a DIY project, calling a professional restoration company to do mold remediation is the best idea. Getting the mold tested along with the rest of your house to make sure it is understood what type of mold is in your property. Learning about mold can help save you money in the long run. Blue River Restoration is your company to keep mold out of your property.

Dehumidifiers are portable devices that pull moisture from the air and decrease the dampness in a room. We breathe air all day long that contains a variety of particles which consists of dust and mold spores many times. Air can also contain toxic chemicals that can harm your health. Often, these dangerous particles will multiply in the right environment which generally is warm, moist air. Using dehumidifiers in the home sucks out the moisture which will decrease the ability of these particles to multiply. While you can’t control the moisture outside, you can control the humidity levels in your home by using dehumidifiers. Ideally, you’d want your home to have a relative humidity between 30 and 60%. When the relative humidity stays over 65% for an extended period of time, you face the risk of mold growing. This improves comfort and decreases health risks. Using a dehumidifier is a relatively low-cost way of monitoring the humidity in your home, use a hygrometer, which can be found at most home improvement stores.

If you think a dehumidifier is a solution to your problem. Here are examples of when to use a dehumidifier:

• Use your dehumidifier in damp and musty-smelling rooms. Aim for a relative humidity of 40-50 percent. More than that can lead to mold growth and below 30 percent can cause structural problems.
• Dehumidifiers are most useful for people suffering from respiratory problems, such as asthma, allergies, and colds. An ideal level of humidity can help alleviate their symptoms.
• If you live in a humid climate, use a dehumidifier in your basement, bathroom, and attic, especially in the summer.
• If you’ve recently experienced a flooding problem, dehumidifiers can help dry up the flooded area. Talk to a disaster restoration specialist first.

Usage Safety Tips

• Turn off the unit when nobody is home – someone should be there in case the machine malfunctions. Some dehumidifiers have an automatic turn-off function that you can use.
• Place the dehumidifier on a level and stable surface. Leave at least 10 inches of free space at the back of the dehumidifier, and five feet in front of it. Keep the dehumidifier away from flammable items and heat sources.
• Empty the tank as often as needed to avoid spills and water damage. Some models automatically shut off when the tank is full or when they reach the set humidity level.
• Plug the dehumidifier into a grounded outlet. Avoid using extension cords to power the dehumidifier since cords can be a fire hazard from overheating.
• Don’t operate the unit in a space larger than is recommended in the manual. Close the windows and doors in the area where you use the dehumidifier. Moisture coming from outside can stress the machine and may damage it.
• Do not move the dehumidifier from a cold room to a warm room too quickly to avoid condensation inside the machine. Wait at least 10 minutes to power the dehumidifier back on after turning it off, to prevent the compressor from overheating.
• Regularly clean and vacuum the area where the dehumidifier is running. Dust absorbed by the unit can spread out into the room and fill it with allergens.

While dehumidifiers are great at removing dampness from an area, always consult water damage restoration specialists if you have a serious water problem.

Another question that many ask about is if a dehumidifier will remove mold? Removing all mold spores from your home is nearly impossible. Mold stays “dormant” in the air or on surfaces even when there’s no excess moisture to help it grow. If the humidity in a room increases, mold will start growing in patches on walls, clothes, and more. The simple answer is that dehumidifiers do NOT kill mold, but they do prevent it by reducing humidity. Using dehumidifiers can help prevent the mold from turning in to a chaos mold remediation company.

With winter approaching in the midwest, prepping your home can take some time. Especially with everything else that goes on in your everyday life. Taking a look at your home before the winter can help when the cold does arrive. Here are 5 tips Blue River Restoration has for winter home prep tips to do in the fall.

1) Adding insulation can improve your home’s energy efficiency: By doing this, your home will be able to keep more heat in during the winter months and also the cool air in the summer. Now, this is not the most fun project especially if you choose to take down the drywall but adding more to your attic, basement and crawl space will help as well.

2) Upgrading your doors and windows if needed: Replacing your windows and doors can also help reduce the amount of cold air that gets into your house during the winter months. The material chosen can also matter when it comes to being the most efficient.  Such as steel or fiberglass doors are more efficient than wood doors.

3) Recaulking and redoing weather stripping: According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a home loses 5 to 30 percent of its heat due to chilly drafts. Remodelers fill corners and gaps with fresh caulking and apply weather stripping on outside-facing doors and windows to stop heat loss.

4) Installing a new programmable thermostat: With inventions such as Nest, when it comes to thermostats, the choices are now easy. These programmable thermostats will help cut down on the cost of heating and cooling because of the technology in them. Many of these devices can store half a dozen commands to account for the comings and goings of an entire family during the course of a day. These can also be manually overridden whenever schedules change. It is a simple DIY project that will pay itself back in no time.

5) Adding or upgrading a fireplace: Adding a new fireplace to your living room, or remodeling an existing one, is one thing to make sure your home stays toasty this winter. This project can be a great addition to your home and can help cut down on heating cost. Thanks to direct venting, a complex and intimidating chimney system are not required to enjoy a fireplace in your home. Also once the fireplace gets your home to a certain point, the furnace will turn off, saving you money. Full-scale stone hearth and mantel set-ups can cost upwards of $30,000. Gas-burning fireplaces are normally around a couple thousand dollars.

These winter home prep tips listed above can also improve the over function of your home along with the maintenance. Keep up with your home can benefit it in many ways.

Even though pets are your best friends, nobody likes the smell or the odor. Our culture loves to cuddle our pets but eliminating the odor is key. There are many ways to get those scents out of your house. Here are some tips on how to keep your best friends in your house without getting too mad at them for how they smell by simply being able to remove pet odor.

Wash all of your clothes and home furnishings with odor rescue laundry detergent. Anything from rugs, blankets, clothes, linens, or anything that is machine washable draperies that can be washed easily, needs to be washed somewhat regularly. Cleaning all of your personal items will help to get back on track. Keeping on a normal cleaning schedule will always help. Vacuuming your carpet or cleaning the wood/tile floors also helps a consistent odor not be a thing.

Using products such as baking soda, vinegar, and other essential oils, that are safe for your pets and other people such as babies or kids, will help as well. Baking soda can be dusted on carpets and then vacuumed. It is amazing at absorbing the odor. Just let it sit for a few hours then vacuum it up. Using Febreze or other forms of scented spray, or even candles will also help with the odor.

With all that you are able to do to get rid of the odor of your pets, remember that sometimes you might just be putting a bandage on a broken bone. You may think it is helping but it really is not. Staying up on messes can save a lot of headaches. Getting new carpets or other furnishings after certain periods of time can help a lot. If your pet using the restroom on your floors or other furnishings, getting them cleaned right away will help as well. Hiring a professional cleaner for your home or carpets every year or so is also recommended for pet owners that have a lot of pets or messer pets (dogs that shed or cats that urinate outside the litter box).

Being able to remove pet odor can have many benefits such as lowering health risks and having a cleaner house. Blue River Restoration understands the headaches that can happen from your beloved pets. Let Blue River Restoration keep our house how you want it to be.