Mold and radon –a serious threat to your health and building by Bill Wright

At present, two major issues with regards to our health and our buildings are mold remediation and radon removal. Many departments of environment protection have taken serious steps to guide the public in creating a safe and healthy environment.

Mold, a type of fungi, are ubiquitous in nature and reproduce with spores which are easily carried in air and grow where moisture is present. All molds can cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems in humans and animals. Among all the molds those producing the mycotoxins are referred as “toxic molds”. These toxin producing molds can pose serious health hazards to human beings and animals. In addition, mold can cause serious damage to buildings.

On the other hand, radon gas affects people rather than buildings. Formed from the decay of uranium 238, it is colorless, tasteless and odorless. As a carcinogenic gas, radon can lead to lung cancer and has the tendency to seep into the houses through cracks in the foundation, thus contaminating the air and posing health risks inside buildings.

The main source of growth for mold is moisture. Mold can easily spread on any moist surface in both indoor and outdoor environments. In our daily life we find these molds in common building materials such as drywall, carpets, furring strips, plywood and many more. Mold growth is typically caused by issues that bring moisture into a home, including improper or incomplete drying of floors, leaky roofs, plumbing defects and building maintenance problems. As such, mold removal is often required.

The process of mold assessment involves the identification of the location and determining the extent of the hazard, especially where moisture is suspected. A visual inspection of the mold-prone areas is a non-intrusive method for locating visible mold or odors. Tools such as hygrometers, temperature guns, and moisture meters are further used to inspect the growth of mold.

The mold assessment is usually followed by mold testing after the mold situation is identified. A trained professional, with specific experience in designing mold-sampling protocols, is often recommended for getting the correct sampling locations as well as sampling interpretation of the mold testing. The three main modes of mold testing are air sampling (for the assessment of non-visible molds), surface sampling (for the determination of mold spores on indoor surfaces) and bulk sampling (for identifying and determining the concentration of mold in the sample).

The mold colonies are finally terminated by eliminating moisture, which is one of the three requirements for mold growth along with oxygen and food. Since we cannot live without oxygen and our buildings need wood, sheetrock and other food sources for mold, we can only eliminate the moisture/water concerns in a structure. If we eliminate the moisture, we can effectively remediate the mold. Air scrubbing, setting a containment area, damp wiping with an anti-microbial solution, HEPA vacuuming of all surfaces, and application of anti-microbial sealant are some of the common tasks for mold remediation.

For radon testing many service providers make use of the latest technology, such as electronic continuous radon monitors which record the radon levels every hour. These monitors allow us to determine if radon levels in the home are above the US EPA threshold level of 4.0 pCi/l. If levels are elevated, radon mitigation is recommended for radon removal. Active sub-slab depressurization is considered as the best method for radon mitigation to create a safe and healthy living environment. Another radon mitigation technique is to use an HRV or air-exchange system that removes the harmful air to the exterior and exchanges it with safe air from the exterior.

With the help of many environmentally-conscious departments, many online service providers have come to the frontline, working with the government to bring awareness on radon and mold-related issues.

Bill Wright is the author of this article on Mold Remediation.
Find more information about Mold Removal here.

Winterizing Your Home by John Bogdanski

Strategies to Combat Heat Loss in Your Home

The objective of any comprehensive heating program is to allow maximum heating at the lowest cost. The three areas of influence that you, the consumer, control are: winterization of your home, heating oil costs and appliance efficiency. While the latter two are important to an overall program, winterizing your home is an integral part of any successful program. A well thought out and executed program for winterizing your home will invariably give you the largest return on investment of the three. Savings can range from 5-20% by employing these simple, yet inexpensive, measures.

A good winterization program is composed of three main elements:

• Appliance performance
• Personal behaviors
• Structural considerations

Appliance performance:

• Change air filters in your furnace at least once a month. Air filters allow only clean air into the furnace, keeping the mechanics dirt and grim free. A dirty furnace works twice as hard as a clean one.

• Insulate your water heater if using heating oil. Maintaining the temperature longer requires less fuel consumption.

• Keep vents obstructions free. Use deflectors to re-route air around obstructions.

• Use humidifiers. Moist air creates a humid effect making your home feel warmer.

Personal behaviors:

• Open the curtains when sunlight is available and close them when it is not.

• Use common sense. Re-evaluate your actual living space. Close off spare bedrooms and other areas not requiring heat. Restrict the in and out traffic of children. Dress warmly.

• Lower the settings on thermostats and consider using programmable thermostats that automatically vary heat settings throughout a 24-hour period

• Use ceiling fans can keep the air circulating and spread the heat in each room.
Structural considerations:

• Check the heating ductwork. Insure sections are tightly fitted, free of holes and sealed with tape. Aluminum tape is a little more expensive, but holds up better under moisture from condensation. Winterizing ductwork by wrapping it in insulation is another option.

• Cold floors result in air inside the home cooling off and requiring re-heating. While some ventilation is required to reduce moisture, check the crawl space for excessive drafts. Seal these with plastic, plywood or Styrofoam. A vapor barrier may reduce excessive dampness as a means of further winterizing the crawl space.

• An annual inspection of exterior caulking around all window and door casings is recommended. Check window glazing in older windows as another source of heat loss.

• Consider winterizing water lines with foam sleeves. It prevents freezing and keeps water as warm as possible.

• Check for drafts around external openings in the house: windows, doors and chimneys. This can be done with a cigarette or incense. Follow the smoke to the source of the draft. Your local home supply store will carry winterization tape, insulating foam, or caulk that will seal these leaks; keeping heat in and cold out.

• Older single-pane windows often allow heat loss through the framing of the window itself. Covering these windows with clear plastic will help remedy this winterization deficiency.

Note: Care must be taken not to exclude the entrance of all fresh air.

• Insure you have 6-8 inches of insulation in your attic or loft area. Heat is lost through the roof if improperly insulated. Materials for this are available at your local home improvement store.

This is not a total list of all that can be done, but it should get you started on your individual winterization program. Look around your home and think it through. Each situation is unique and will offer you opportunities to save money if you winterize properly. STAY WARM!

For more information on Home Heating Oil Prices and energy solutions, visit Home Heating Oil Prices Do your research,save yourself some money. John Bogdanski a renegade Oil Heat marketing executive, rips open the curtain, exposing the industry.

Article Source: Do It Yourself Article Library

Keeping Moisture Out Of Your House by Peter Valentine

There are several problems that water leakage can cause for you and your home. First, water leakage can cause the growth of fungi, mildew, and molds in your home. This can weaken your walls and cause bigger cracks, thus, increasing the possibility of vermin and rodent infestation. Second, due to the fungi and the rodents, your family becomes exposed to possible diseases. Also, stagnant water is a perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes which are also carriers of diseases like dengue or malaria. Third, water leakage limits your living space. Using your basement or attic when it is wet or damp is out of question. Aside from being uncomfortable and smelly, there is also a high accident risk due to slippage. Fourth, water leakage decreases the value of your property. Real estate agents say that to sell a property with leakage problems, they generally have to lower prices even if the house is worth more than the selling price. This is because more than 25% of possible clients refuse a property with water leakage problems regardless of how minimal the problems are. But there is a solution to all these leakage problems, and that is making your house waterproof. With the development and availability of a variety of waterproofing solutions, there is surely one that can fit into your budget.

A contractor is the first option for properties with severe water leakage problems like basement flooding. This is an expensive option and time-consuming. However, for those who cannot afford waterproofing contractors, there are different methods available. One is to use a sump pump to pump water out of your house into a drainage. The equipment is installed at the lowest part of your house with a pipe leading to the main drainage system. This is only recommended for basement water problems.

For condensation problem, a dehumidifier is often enough to solve it. However, if leakage is really the problem, a waterproof coating system would work well on any part of the house. This option is cheaper compared to contractual work but will entail longer work hours if you opt to do it by yourself. Builders recommend that before undertaking any waterproofing work, clean the surrounding areas like the gutters and ventilation systems. Consequences of these problems are usually mistaken for leakage. This will also lead to the leakage’s source. Most coating system starts with wirebrushing walls of the room to be waterproofed like the basement. This removes any debris that might affect the treatment. Using quick drying cement on holes and cracks usually follow. When the cement dries, it is followed by three coatings of waterproofing enamel. Bill Emerick, a waterproofing specialist emphasize the importance of following indicated spread rates on the can of the solution. Too-thin coatings undo all your efforts to keep moisture and water out of your home.

Regardless of whatever steps you take to maintain your property, you are making steps to ensure your family’s health and the stability of your house. You are also preserving the market value of your property, thereby, taking care of your investment. It might be tedious work, but waterproofing your home is an essential matter you shouldn’t forget.

For more valuable information on waterproofing please visit http://www.waterproofingsystem.net

Saving On Home Energy Costs by Chester Smith

These days, a major factor for many home improvement projects is the need to cut down on energy costs by making the home more energy efficient. Many home owners are finding that simple projects that require little initial investment will save them a bundle in the summer and the winter, when heating and cooling costs really begin to add up. Here are some areas and ideas you can check on to make sure that your home is wasting the least possible amount of energy.

Water: Water in any form is a general conservation concern, and there are areas throughout North America where water is at such a premium that usage is measured in much the same way as electricity; through the use of meters. The same methods for conserving your water in the home can also be used when it comes to cutting down on your gas or electric bill by watching your hot water intake.

A major area for the loss of hot water is the bath. In order to cut costs, consider installing a water smart showerhead- these easy to screw on water savers can be bought both as attachable heads, which are mounted directly on your shower spout, or as heads attached to a tube which allows for flexibility and a large range of motion. The best water saving heads will have several controls to adjust the flow and pressure of water.

You should also take a look at repairing any leaky taps in your home, whether in the bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room. A leaky tap can mean hundreds of gallons of water used needlessly every day, in addition to the annoyance of the noise.

Heating and Cooling: The main factors in energy use as far as homes go is in their heating in the wintertime and cooling in the form of air conditioning in the summer time. Some basic home improvement ideas can help you maintain a static temperature in your home without having to use extra power.

Windows are always the first area to check in the event of air loss. Older houses contain only single-pane windows, and in order to retain the air temperature of your house double paned windows are necessary; in fact, in many places double paned windows are mandatory. Upgrading your windows is a relatively easy task, although the windows themselves may be expensive. Check the seals around the window edges to make sure they are intact and offer no leaks.

The next area to check for air leaks is around your doors. Doors will contract over time, leaving minute cracks along the bottoms and the edges which can allow drafts or escaped air. This is a pretty simple thing to fix, simply by adding some additional caulking or weather stripping to the area where you can feel the leak.

Finally, a roof in need of repair can cause a lot of air to escape. Remember that heat rises, so if your roof is in disrepair you stand to lose quite a lot of heat out of the top of your home. Check your roof every year to make sure there are no loose shingles, and most houses require a roof to be replaced every twenty-five years. Adding a second whirlybird to the top of your house can greatly improve the circulation of air inside.

Chester Smith runs a website offering free home improvement advice.

Article Source: Do It Yourself Article Library

Tips For Powder Coating by Barney Garcia

Powder coating is the youngest of the surface finishing techniques that is still in use today. It was first used in 1967 in Australia by Allan Davies.

Powder coating is the simple technique of applying dry paint to a part such as metal or plastic, and after the final coating is the same as a finished 2-coat wet paint job. Powder coating can be applied in two ways; either by lowering an item into a bed of powder which may or may not be electrically charged, or the powder paint is electrically charged and sprayed onto the part. After being coating with dry paint, the part is placed in an oven and the powder particles melt and combine to form a permanent layer of paint.

There are two main types of powder available to use, either the thermoplastic powder which re-melt when heated, and thermosetting powders that will not re-melt when heated. This is because during the initial heating process a chemical cross-linking reaction is triggered so that the bonds cannot be broken.

The foundation of any high-quality coating job is preparation. Most powder coating failures are linked to a poor preparation process. It is important to know that the preparation treatment is different for different materials.

For all applications the preparation treatment for aluminum is to clean, rinse, etch, chromate, rinse and denim rinse. Oils and greases can be removed by weak alkali or neutral detergent solutions and the surface is etched to remove heavy oxides. After rinsing, the aluminum is dipped into a chromate or phosphate solution to form a adaptation coating. After rinsing the aluminum it is rinsed in de-mineralized water which gets rid of chemical salts on the aluminums surface. This process has two functions which include giving the aluminum a surface which is better for adhesion and protects the aluminum from under the paint corrosion.

If you are preparing a steel part, the steps you take to prepare your part are as follows: clean, rinse, etch, rinse, grain refine, zinc phosphate, rinse and acidulated rinse. The grain refiner is used after acid cleaning of steel surfaces and before zinc phosphate, because otherwise the zinc phosphate coatings produced will be very coarse and have a low adhesion ability. The etch is required to remove the zinc corrosion products which begin to form almost immediately the zinc is removed from the galvanizing kettle. The grain refiner ensures a fine phosphate is produced.

Barney Garcia writes about many different topics. He is a proud contributing author and invites you to his websites. www.need-powder-coating.info and Powder Coating

Article Source: Do It Yourself Article Library