Fires happen all over the world, but the fires that happen inside a person’s home are often the most preventable and all it takes is a little diligence and some common sense to discover what the fire hazards in your home are and how to get rid of them when you find them.
It is a fact that most house fires happen in the kitchen. Even though a great number of these small stove fires go unreported because they do not do any damage, you really need to learn what you can do to prevent them from happening in the first place, because it only takes a second or two for a small fire to spread into a much larger one. House fire prevention begins in the kitchen by learning that you should never leave anything on the stove unattended unless it is an emergency and you should never leave the house to go and run errands during this time unless someone is going to be there to keep an eye on the cooking.
You also need to be careful with deep fryers and electric skillets. Any appliance that emits a large amount of heat needs to be monitored consistently to make sure that it does not overheat and catch on fire and you should not ever have to use an extension cord with these. Small extension cords like the ones you would use for lamps will NOT work and will melt. If you must use an extension cord, make sure it is a heavy duty one with a gauge of at least 14.
Heating shortening and oil in the kitchen also poses a significant problem, since it is so flammable. Heat these slowly so that they do not burn and do not catch on fire and if you have to leave the room, turn them off or have someone watch them for you.
Space heaters are also a big problem during the winter time and like with deep fryers and electric skillets, do not use an extension cord with these. Do not place them near drapes or other fabric items and keep children away from them. Also try not to leave them on overnight while you are sleeping unless you absolutely have to and even then, make sure you take the necessary steps to keep flammable items away from them. Do not use these in the bedrooms of small children due to the amount of flammable stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets that are likely to be there.
The worst thing that you can do is let yourself become comfortable with these appliances and allow yourself to think that you know what you are doing and a fire cannot happen to you. Letting your guard down in this manner is what causes a large amount of house fires.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Taking Care of Smoke Damaged Clothes
Most clothes that are damaged directly by fire cannot be saved, but those that are damaged only by the soot and ash that is left behind afterward can be if they are taken care of properly. Most often this kind of damage occurs to clothing that is hanging in the closet and becomes engulfed in smoke as the fire ravages another part of the house. Clothes that have soot and ash all over them might not be as difficult as you think that it is, but you still need to take care in the way that you attempt to clean the clothing. Most of this task will be just sorting the clothing into types of fabric and determining when to wash them.
Begin by sorting the clothes by how heavily soiled they are. Lightly soiled items need to be washed first, but they should be shaken out thoroughly first to remove excess soot.
Make piles of clothing and put synthetics with synthetics and organics with organics. Cotton and wool items will be a little more difficult to get the smoke smell out of than synthetic items, but it can be done.
Use as much laundry detergent as the detergent’s manufacturer says to use for every load you need to wash and you should also add one cup of water conditioner. Adding a half a cup of all-fabric bleach will also help. The temperature of the water also matters when washing these soiled clothing items and you should also use the most amount of water that your washer will be able to handle.
Synthetic items should be washed in warm water only in order to stop them from wrinkling when the spin cycle turns on.
All soiled items need to be washed twice and if the soot is still visible, the clothes need to be air dried instead of using the electric dryer. The smoke odor should be gone after they air dry, but if it is not, then the clothes should be aired out outside the house and washed again. Detergents that have perfumes can mask the smell of smoke damage, but after the perfume dissipates, the smell may return.
Chlorinated bleach should not be used on fabric that is organic, because the fabric might have been weakened in certain areas due to the excess heat.
Items that are not subject to dye running, such as very light colors, can be washed in hot water, but this can vary depending on the type of fabric. Look at the clothing tag and see what the care directions
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
mold removal in Atlanta Georgia and
Water Damage Restoration companies.
Begin by sorting the clothes by how heavily soiled they are. Lightly soiled items need to be washed first, but they should be shaken out thoroughly first to remove excess soot.
Make piles of clothing and put synthetics with synthetics and organics with organics. Cotton and wool items will be a little more difficult to get the smoke smell out of than synthetic items, but it can be done.
Use as much laundry detergent as the detergent’s manufacturer says to use for every load you need to wash and you should also add one cup of water conditioner. Adding a half a cup of all-fabric bleach will also help. The temperature of the water also matters when washing these soiled clothing items and you should also use the most amount of water that your washer will be able to handle.
Synthetic items should be washed in warm water only in order to stop them from wrinkling when the spin cycle turns on.
All soiled items need to be washed twice and if the soot is still visible, the clothes need to be air dried instead of using the electric dryer. The smoke odor should be gone after they air dry, but if it is not, then the clothes should be aired out outside the house and washed again. Detergents that have perfumes can mask the smell of smoke damage, but after the perfume dissipates, the smell may return.
Chlorinated bleach should not be used on fabric that is organic, because the fabric might have been weakened in certain areas due to the excess heat.
Items that are not subject to dye running, such as very light colors, can be washed in hot water, but this can vary depending on the type of fabric. Look at the clothing tag and see what the care directions
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
mold removal in Atlanta Georgia and
Water Damage Restoration companies.
Water And The Concrete in Your Basement
Most contractors know this, but something most homeowners do not know is that the concrete in their basement is a naturally porous material and that if there is water seeping in the house through it, this is something that should be expected. Well, it should be expected if your basement was not properly waterproofed when your home was first built. The problem with water getting in the basement through the concrete usually lies with the construction of the home and not with the actual concrete itself, since water will eventually seep through any concrete at any thickness.
Keeping a dry basement can be a difficult thing to do if your basement was not waterproofed very well. Sometimes ground water is responsible for getting into the basement through the walls and the only real thing that you can do about this is to have a drainage system installed so that the soil around the house does not become oversaturated.
Checking around outside the home’s foundation is the first thing that you need to do. See if there is any water settling in pockets around the exterior walls of the house and if there is, then one thing that you can do to stop this is piling up more soil in this area to do away with the puddles. Making sure your rain gutters are completely cleared out at all times will help keep the water directed to the downspouts instead of falling down onto the ground next to the base of the house.
Cracks in concrete walls cannot be caulked shut, because the caulking will eventually be worked loose by the water and will peel off. Hydraulic cement will also not work because it does not stick to the concrete very well. Installing cement will not work, either, because cement is a rigid material and the concrete is not. Cement placed inside the cracks will become as loose as the caulking you put in before.
Cracks in the walls can be filled in with a number of different effective materials, but will either bond or not bond depending on if the surface is wet. Expandable polyurethane will work and will bond to the surface whether the surface is wet or dry. This merely creates a waterproof barrier.
An injection of concrete with a caulking gun is an option, but so is an injection of epoxy. Epoxy, however, will not bond to wet surfaces.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Water Damage Miami and
water damage restoration in atlanta companies.
Keeping a dry basement can be a difficult thing to do if your basement was not waterproofed very well. Sometimes ground water is responsible for getting into the basement through the walls and the only real thing that you can do about this is to have a drainage system installed so that the soil around the house does not become oversaturated.
Checking around outside the home’s foundation is the first thing that you need to do. See if there is any water settling in pockets around the exterior walls of the house and if there is, then one thing that you can do to stop this is piling up more soil in this area to do away with the puddles. Making sure your rain gutters are completely cleared out at all times will help keep the water directed to the downspouts instead of falling down onto the ground next to the base of the house.
Cracks in concrete walls cannot be caulked shut, because the caulking will eventually be worked loose by the water and will peel off. Hydraulic cement will also not work because it does not stick to the concrete very well. Installing cement will not work, either, because cement is a rigid material and the concrete is not. Cement placed inside the cracks will become as loose as the caulking you put in before.
Cracks in the walls can be filled in with a number of different effective materials, but will either bond or not bond depending on if the surface is wet. Expandable polyurethane will work and will bond to the surface whether the surface is wet or dry. This merely creates a waterproof barrier.
An injection of concrete with a caulking gun is an option, but so is an injection of epoxy. Epoxy, however, will not bond to wet surfaces.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Water Damage Miami and
water damage restoration in atlanta companies.
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