Lots of people have fireplaces in their homes, but keeping them clean and smoke free takes some maintenance and effort on the part of the homeowner. The fireplace will not maintain itself, even though there are some fireplace cleaning logs on the market these days. These will not completely replace a professional cleaning, though, so you should have one of these done at least every year or two.
You should also have the proper tools stored next to your fireplace and these are available in many different materials and types. Cast iron is a good and durable material, but fireplace tools are also available in brass, pewter, nickel, and etcetera. There is a large selection on the market and you will surely be able to find what you are looking for.
A fireplace blower can help build up the fire and add more heat to it. You have probably seen one of these before and it can be a real help when first starting to build a fire.
Fireplace tongs can be used to move around logs that are obviously too hot to pick up with your hands and this is necessary, since the logs will not always be exactly where you need them to be to get the most heat and longevity out of the fire.
A fireplace poker can be used to stir around coals and spread them so that the heat is more evenly distributed. This helps larger logs catch on fire faster than they normally would.
A shovel is used to clean out the ashes that are left after a fire is out and a small broom is necessary to keep the area immediately outside the fireplace cleaned up.
If you are having problems building a fire that does not spill smoke back into the room, you need to make sure that nothing is blocking the chimney on top of the house. Leaves, bird nests, and sticks can clog it up during the spring, summer, and fall and make it completely unusable.
Using the correct wood is also important; logs that are freshly cut and have a lot of moisture still in them will smoke instead of catch fire. Use logs that are dried out and try to store them in a place where they will not get wet.
Start the fire slowly by building it up with paper and small sticks at first to get the chimney warm. Warming up the chimney is important so that the air inside it becomes warm instead of cold. Cold air pushes the warm air and smoke down and back into the house.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Techniques Used to Clean Up Mold
While there are a lot of different ways to kill and remove mold from your home, depending on what the mold has gotten on or into, you may want to use one technique before trying the other. Note that killing mold and removing it is not one and the same thing. Killing mold is just that: terminating the life of the mold so that it ceases to continue growing. Since the mold is dead, it cannot cause infections if it gets onto your skin because it must be alive to change into yeast. However, the bad thing about simply killing the mold is the fact that it does not have to be alive in order to cause an allergic reaction in a person. The mold spores remain intact and in their same physical condition as before, so when the spores enter the body, the body does not realize that the spores are dead and pose no threat.
You can use a wet vacuum to clean up standing water in areas of your home where it exists, since this is where mold likes to grow the most. This is especially true if there are any cellulose-based materials that have been soaked by it, such as paper, cardboard, and anything else that can be decomposed. You should only use these vacuums when the surface is wet, so mold spores do not get tossed into the air. The equipment should be cleaned and dried thoroughly after you use it, since mold and its spores can attach themselves to it.
Sometimes you can use a damp paper towel or damp cloth to clean mold off of surfaces that are nonporous, like countertops or a vinyl floor, but if you are going to do this, using chemicals that kill mold are a must. Trying to clean mold off of porous surfaces like drywall usually ends in heartbreak, because most of the time they cannot be saved. The entire item is usually too contaminated. Clothes can be saved sometimes, but this is only because of the very thin nature of the item. Thick porous surfaces like drywall are simply too thick for it to be feasible to try to save them.
HEPA filter-equipped vacuum cleaners are good to have around if you are trying to remove as much mold from your home as possible, since these vacuum cleaners will filter clean air back into the room as you vacuum. The mold spores and dirt particles will get caught in the filter and are easily disposed of afterward. When you dump the contents of the receptacle, do not touch it with your bare hands. Wear gloves if you can and do not let it come into contact with your skin. Try not to stir the contents up and do not breathe them.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Houston Fire Damage Water Restoration Contractor companies and
Los Angeles Water Damage and Restoration Services.
You can use a wet vacuum to clean up standing water in areas of your home where it exists, since this is where mold likes to grow the most. This is especially true if there are any cellulose-based materials that have been soaked by it, such as paper, cardboard, and anything else that can be decomposed. You should only use these vacuums when the surface is wet, so mold spores do not get tossed into the air. The equipment should be cleaned and dried thoroughly after you use it, since mold and its spores can attach themselves to it.
Sometimes you can use a damp paper towel or damp cloth to clean mold off of surfaces that are nonporous, like countertops or a vinyl floor, but if you are going to do this, using chemicals that kill mold are a must. Trying to clean mold off of porous surfaces like drywall usually ends in heartbreak, because most of the time they cannot be saved. The entire item is usually too contaminated. Clothes can be saved sometimes, but this is only because of the very thin nature of the item. Thick porous surfaces like drywall are simply too thick for it to be feasible to try to save them.
HEPA filter-equipped vacuum cleaners are good to have around if you are trying to remove as much mold from your home as possible, since these vacuum cleaners will filter clean air back into the room as you vacuum. The mold spores and dirt particles will get caught in the filter and are easily disposed of afterward. When you dump the contents of the receptacle, do not touch it with your bare hands. Wear gloves if you can and do not let it come into contact with your skin. Try not to stir the contents up and do not breathe them.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Houston Fire Damage Water Restoration Contractor companies and
Los Angeles Water Damage and Restoration Services.
Mold And Water In Your Two Most Important Rooms
A good meal and a good bath is something that most Americans enjoy thoroughly, but how can you enjoy either one when you’re in a room full of ugly water damage stains on the walls, floors, and ceilings? Many of these rooms often have the brown stains on the ceiling that are typical of water damage and while most people just paint over them, often the stains just keep coming back because the underlying problem has not been fixed yet.
It is probably due to a leaky roof, but what about the steam that comes off of your bath water or off of the stove when you cook dinner? These every day tasks can be just as much of a cause of water damage as a leaking roof can be, if not more so because they happen every day. At least, a bath a day comes recommended, anyway. Installing a steam vent in your bathroom for under $100 and a day’s work could possibly be one of the best investments that you can make to help safeguard the appearance and structural integrity of your kitchen and bathroom.
Make sure that you do not allow your bath tub or your kitchen sink to overflow. Sometimes we turn on the bath water and get stuck talking to a relative or a co-worker on the phone, all the while unaware that the water you wanted in your tub is pouring all over your floor. The same thing can happen when you are cooking in the kitchen or washing dishes. This can land quite a lot of water in your floor before you realize it and can do quite a bit of damage to your floor if you let it happen often.
An overflowing toilet is also a hazard, not only because of the water damage that can occur, but also due to the possible sewage content of the water when you go to flush it. If not cleaned up properly, mold can start to grow around the base of the toilet, especially if you have carpet in your bathroom. Carpet in the bathroom is a no-no.
Also avoid throwing wet dirty clothes into your bathroom floor or closet, especially if you happen to have a carpeted bathroom. You will probably forget that these wet clothes are there and throw dry ones on top of it.
This results in water damage and mold growth more often than not when the closet is not cleaned out. The best thing to do is to wash wet clothes and towels as soon as possible so they are not forgotten about or at the very least stored separately from dry dirty clothes.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
It is probably due to a leaky roof, but what about the steam that comes off of your bath water or off of the stove when you cook dinner? These every day tasks can be just as much of a cause of water damage as a leaking roof can be, if not more so because they happen every day. At least, a bath a day comes recommended, anyway. Installing a steam vent in your bathroom for under $100 and a day’s work could possibly be one of the best investments that you can make to help safeguard the appearance and structural integrity of your kitchen and bathroom.
Make sure that you do not allow your bath tub or your kitchen sink to overflow. Sometimes we turn on the bath water and get stuck talking to a relative or a co-worker on the phone, all the while unaware that the water you wanted in your tub is pouring all over your floor. The same thing can happen when you are cooking in the kitchen or washing dishes. This can land quite a lot of water in your floor before you realize it and can do quite a bit of damage to your floor if you let it happen often.
An overflowing toilet is also a hazard, not only because of the water damage that can occur, but also due to the possible sewage content of the water when you go to flush it. If not cleaned up properly, mold can start to grow around the base of the toilet, especially if you have carpet in your bathroom. Carpet in the bathroom is a no-no.
Also avoid throwing wet dirty clothes into your bathroom floor or closet, especially if you happen to have a carpeted bathroom. You will probably forget that these wet clothes are there and throw dry ones on top of it.
This results in water damage and mold growth more often than not when the closet is not cleaned out. The best thing to do is to wash wet clothes and towels as soon as possible so they are not forgotten about or at the very least stored separately from dry dirty clothes.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.
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