Our lives are often contained in our legal papers and other documents that are important to us, so taking good care of them and keeping track of where they are at all times is pretty important for most people. If it is not important to you, it should be, since losing these items can cause you problems later on. These documents can include anything from a birth certificate to a death certificate and from divorce papers to marriage papers and everything in between. Insurance documents, contracts, bank statements, tax records, and anything else that you can think of that you might need in the legal arena is something that you need to take care of and while this may seem like a daunting task for most people, it really is necessary in order to retain a somewhat organized life.
But, what do you do when a flood strikes your home? The documents that you have done so much to take care of are often flooded along with the rest of your home and depending on the amount of time they stayed in the water, they may not be salvageable. One thing that you can do to protect your most important documents is to purchase a waterproof safe. These can protect your papers in some of the most dilapidated watery conditions in a way that other plastic containers and drawers cannot.
When sewage, chemicals, bacteria, and other things contaminate your home and everything in it, you will want to know that the copy of your homeowner’s insurance policy is safe. Floods are not covered by most insurance policies, but if you have purchased it, you will want to find your copy of the policy as soon as possible after the event occurs. If it is lost in the sea of contaminated items in your home and damaged beyond repair, you may be in trouble. Water damaged papers are difficult to salvage sometimes, but you will not have to worry about this if you have a waterproof safe in your home to hold your most valuable possessions and documents.
Purchasing a safe that is both waterproof and fireproof can be an even better investment. Unlike water damaged documents, fire damaged documents are usually not salvageable, since there is often only a scrap or two of it left after the fire is over.
Dror Klar is a writer and promoter of
Queens Water Removal
and
Elizabeth NJ Wet Basement Flooding Emergency Service Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
Showing posts with label water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water. Show all posts
Monday, February 4, 2008
Water Damage Considerations in the Bathroom
The bath has almost always been an important part of daily life for us all, even back into the ancient Romans who were known for their lavish and expensive bathing areas. The importance of the bath has not declined over time but has actually become much more important than it used to be, since most people are expected to bathe at least once a day. The bathroom takes a pretty heavy amount of abuse, though, and most people do not realize just how important it is not to neglect this area of the house. Neglecting the bathroom can knock thousands of dollars off the value of the home, especially if it appears to be structurally damaged by water.
Structural damage is significantly more important to take care of than cosmetic damage when you are trying to sell a home and a lot of the time, this damage is due to rotting support beams in the house. This is pretty common in the wet rooms of the property, such as the kitchen and the bathroom. One of the last things that any homeowner wants to deal with is the floor of a room collapsing, especially in the rooms that can add or subtract the most value from the house.
Make sure that the floor of your bathroom is extremely water tight. If water can get under the tile, it will soak the floor underneath and even though it does not seem like a lot to worry about, it will really add up over time. Having hardwood floors installed in either the kitchen or bathroom is not a good idea. Try installing laminate that is made to look like hardwood instead for a similar, yet more practical effect.
The ceiling and upper walls are often forgotten about completely when we think about the structural integrity of our homes, since we do not often look up long enough to realize that they need care, too. They take abuse in a different way, though; the steam that comes from taking a bath or a shower can damage these more than you think and this is why having an exhaust fan (as you see in most hotel bathrooms) is almost imperative if you want to avoid having to repaint or replace drywall in the future.
Something else important to think about is how often you allow your bathtub or toilet to overflow. If the bathroom is on the second floor or higher, this can wreak a huge amount of damage not only on the floor, but the ceiling underneath it. Do your best to not begin running a bath while you are on the phone or leave the room if you have to answer it. Keep an eye on it from the time you begin it until the time it ends and do not get occupied with other chores in the house.
Dror Klar is a writer and promoter of
Westchester County Water Damage Repair and
Elizabeth NJ Water Damage Repair Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
Structural damage is significantly more important to take care of than cosmetic damage when you are trying to sell a home and a lot of the time, this damage is due to rotting support beams in the house. This is pretty common in the wet rooms of the property, such as the kitchen and the bathroom. One of the last things that any homeowner wants to deal with is the floor of a room collapsing, especially in the rooms that can add or subtract the most value from the house.
Make sure that the floor of your bathroom is extremely water tight. If water can get under the tile, it will soak the floor underneath and even though it does not seem like a lot to worry about, it will really add up over time. Having hardwood floors installed in either the kitchen or bathroom is not a good idea. Try installing laminate that is made to look like hardwood instead for a similar, yet more practical effect.
The ceiling and upper walls are often forgotten about completely when we think about the structural integrity of our homes, since we do not often look up long enough to realize that they need care, too. They take abuse in a different way, though; the steam that comes from taking a bath or a shower can damage these more than you think and this is why having an exhaust fan (as you see in most hotel bathrooms) is almost imperative if you want to avoid having to repaint or replace drywall in the future.
Something else important to think about is how often you allow your bathtub or toilet to overflow. If the bathroom is on the second floor or higher, this can wreak a huge amount of damage not only on the floor, but the ceiling underneath it. Do your best to not begin running a bath while you are on the phone or leave the room if you have to answer it. Keep an eye on it from the time you begin it until the time it ends and do not get occupied with other chores in the house.
Dror Klar is a writer and promoter of
Westchester County Water Damage Repair and
Elizabeth NJ Water Damage Repair Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
Water Damage Concerns in the Kitchen
The heart of the house is the kitchen for most people, but they may not realize just how important taking care of this room is. Its structural integrity is often overlooked and everything in it is bound to take a lot of abuse, since it is one of the only rooms in your home that everyone goes into at least once or twice a day. The only other room that competes with this frequency is the bathroom in most circumstances, but it can suffer from about the same amount and kind of neglect. That neglect is water damage and these are the areas most at risk for it for obvious reasons.
Water damage not only does physical damage to the home, but it can also do a lot of damage to the value of the home, as well. Most people understate the drop in value that this can cause and thus, are not as careful in their kitchens as they need to be.
The most important structure in the kitchen is not really the most obvious one: the floor. The floor of your kitchen really needs to be water tight, since there are bound to be all kinds of spills, not just of water, but also of grease. For this reason, hardwood floors should not be put in the kitchen. Installing laminate floors that appear almost like natural wood is a great alternative, since they will handle spills much better.
Your dishwasher is also a concern. Malfunctions and leaks can end up doing a lot of damage to the floor over time and if you have one that does this often, consider saving up the money necessary to purchase a new one to replace it.
Another thing to consider is the ceilings and upper walls. You might not realize this, either, but the ceiling of your kitchen takes just as much of a beating as the floor does over the years. Steam from cooking on the stove year after year is absorbed by it and will eventually cause it to discolor or even to sag. Consider installing an exhaust vent in your kitchen if one does not already exist. This should do a great job of ridding the room of the excess humidity that can cause damage to the ceiling and also mold growth over time.
Try to keep any spills of water on the floor or counters cleaned up, since water and grease can do damage to anything if they are allowed to stay on the surface long enough.
Water damage not only does physical damage to the home, but it can also do a lot of damage to the value of the home, as well. Most people understate the drop in value that this can cause and thus, are not as careful in their kitchens as they need to be.
The most important structure in the kitchen is not really the most obvious one: the floor. The floor of your kitchen really needs to be water tight, since there are bound to be all kinds of spills, not just of water, but also of grease. For this reason, hardwood floors should not be put in the kitchen. Installing laminate floors that appear almost like natural wood is a great alternative, since they will handle spills much better.
Your dishwasher is also a concern. Malfunctions and leaks can end up doing a lot of damage to the floor over time and if you have one that does this often, consider saving up the money necessary to purchase a new one to replace it.
Another thing to consider is the ceilings and upper walls. You might not realize this, either, but the ceiling of your kitchen takes just as much of a beating as the floor does over the years. Steam from cooking on the stove year after year is absorbed by it and will eventually cause it to discolor or even to sag. Consider installing an exhaust vent in your kitchen if one does not already exist. This should do a great job of ridding the room of the excess humidity that can cause damage to the ceiling and also mold growth over time.
Try to keep any spills of water on the floor or counters cleaned up, since water and grease can do damage to anything if they are allowed to stay on the surface long enough.
Mold and Plumbing Considerations When Hiring a Contractor
When building a new home or remodeling your old one, the most important decision that you need to make is who will do the job. The contractor that you hire to do this project is obviously going to influence how it turns out, not the budget or what type of materials you plan on using. You could do some of the remodeling work on your own and get away with it if you do your research ahead of time, but if you are planning on building a house and have no prior experience, then the best thing to do is to leave it to the professionals.
Finding a contractor in the phone book might not seem like a great idea, but for those of us moving to new areas and wanting to build a new home there, we may not have the advantage of talking to friends and neighbors in the area and getting references. No matter which method you use, you will want to get at least three different bids using the same exact building plans. Ask for references and do not be afraid to check up on them. Ask any of the references if they have had problems with mold or water damage in their constructions since they were first built. This should give you a decent idea whether the contractor can do the job you want.
You should visit the job site often and pay attention to how the contractor and his people are treating the building materials that you had them purchase for the job. None of these things should be stored directly on the ground, especially drywall and lumber, since these are porous surfaces. Mold will start to grow on these items and it will become built into the foundation of your home from the very start and even though your contractor will be liable should you have a problem later, it will be a huge inconvenience to deal with. It is better to monitor the care of your home’s building materials from the beginning. Have a mold inspector come at different intervals during the construction.
Make sure that your contractor has a plumber that knows what he or she is doing on the job to install the plumbing system. You want to make sure that the plumbing system is installed on your property correctly and that it is up to code. If you are having new plumbing installed in your home as a part of a remodeling or renovation project, you will want to have it inspected to be sure that it is up to code, especially if you live in an area with strict building codes.
Finding a contractor in the phone book might not seem like a great idea, but for those of us moving to new areas and wanting to build a new home there, we may not have the advantage of talking to friends and neighbors in the area and getting references. No matter which method you use, you will want to get at least three different bids using the same exact building plans. Ask for references and do not be afraid to check up on them. Ask any of the references if they have had problems with mold or water damage in their constructions since they were first built. This should give you a decent idea whether the contractor can do the job you want.
You should visit the job site often and pay attention to how the contractor and his people are treating the building materials that you had them purchase for the job. None of these things should be stored directly on the ground, especially drywall and lumber, since these are porous surfaces. Mold will start to grow on these items and it will become built into the foundation of your home from the very start and even though your contractor will be liable should you have a problem later, it will be a huge inconvenience to deal with. It is better to monitor the care of your home’s building materials from the beginning. Have a mold inspector come at different intervals during the construction.
Make sure that your contractor has a plumber that knows what he or she is doing on the job to install the plumbing system. You want to make sure that the plumbing system is installed on your property correctly and that it is up to code. If you are having new plumbing installed in your home as a part of a remodeling or renovation project, you will want to have it inspected to be sure that it is up to code, especially if you live in an area with strict building codes.
Ordinary Water Damage Prevention Tips
The majority of water damage to your home can be avoided if you just take a few simple steps. They are not as hard as you might think and you will be safeguarding the value of your home for years to come. Repairs for water damage do not typically come cheap unless you do it yourself and use less than ideal building materials, so why not do your best to avoid the problem altogether?
You might not be thinking about the structural integrity of your home when the washing machine or the bath tub overflows, but you probably should be. If you are a forgetful person that allows this to happen a lot more than it probably should, you could actually be doing quite a bit of damage to the floor of your home. Overflows like this should be avoided at all costs, but we are all a little forgetful sometimes.
Something that we also do not typically think about most of the time is whether or not the steam that exists in our kitchens and bathrooms actually has anywhere to go while we are bathing or cooking dinner. The sad fact is that if the steam does not have anywhere to go, it will stick to your walls, ceiling, and cabinets and be completely absorbed by them. When drywall absorbs too much water, the paper on the outside of it can start to sag and eventually, the entire board becomes weakened by it. Combine that with the unsightly appearance of water stains and you have a fair sized problem on your hands. The solution is to install a steam vent into both of these rooms near the source of the steam.
Keep your rain gutters cleaned out every fall. The purpose of the gutters is to collect the water that slides off of your roof when it rains, channel it to downspouts, and eventually down to the ground and away from the foundation of the home. Water that settles around the foundation of your home can be a real problem if you let it happen over years of time, because it can cause the home to start sinking into the ground.
Any leaks that you find in your roof need to be fixed as often as necessary, because a roof leak can ruin not only ceiling drywall, but also the fiberglass insulation that you might have in your attic. This insulation becomes completely useless and heavy when it gets wet and can eventually cause the drywall underneath it to collapse.
You might not be thinking about the structural integrity of your home when the washing machine or the bath tub overflows, but you probably should be. If you are a forgetful person that allows this to happen a lot more than it probably should, you could actually be doing quite a bit of damage to the floor of your home. Overflows like this should be avoided at all costs, but we are all a little forgetful sometimes.
Something that we also do not typically think about most of the time is whether or not the steam that exists in our kitchens and bathrooms actually has anywhere to go while we are bathing or cooking dinner. The sad fact is that if the steam does not have anywhere to go, it will stick to your walls, ceiling, and cabinets and be completely absorbed by them. When drywall absorbs too much water, the paper on the outside of it can start to sag and eventually, the entire board becomes weakened by it. Combine that with the unsightly appearance of water stains and you have a fair sized problem on your hands. The solution is to install a steam vent into both of these rooms near the source of the steam.
Keep your rain gutters cleaned out every fall. The purpose of the gutters is to collect the water that slides off of your roof when it rains, channel it to downspouts, and eventually down to the ground and away from the foundation of the home. Water that settles around the foundation of your home can be a real problem if you let it happen over years of time, because it can cause the home to start sinking into the ground.
Any leaks that you find in your roof need to be fixed as often as necessary, because a roof leak can ruin not only ceiling drywall, but also the fiberglass insulation that you might have in your attic. This insulation becomes completely useless and heavy when it gets wet and can eventually cause the drywall underneath it to collapse.
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