If your cell phone has been submersed in water recently and you have managed to save it yourself, then good for you. But, there are some other tips that you might want to know just in case.
Another method for helping the phone dry out (if you do not have any rice on hand) is to put it on top of the vent on a monitor or a television for at least 24 hours. The low amount of heat put out by these devices should be enough to gently dry out the phone.
If you are the kind of person who keeps the silica packs that come packed in electronics, coats, shoes, and etcetera, you can put the phone into a plastic bag with a couple of these and let them absorb the moisture over a couple of days. If you do not have these on hand, a local craft store should have a flower drying kit that will contain a silica sand-type mixture. Put it in a Tupperware dish, use a dryer sheet, lay the phone on top of it, and seal it.
Corrosion is a definite threat to cell phones and other electronics and some people have suggested that you wash the phone in distilled water to wash away any kind of minerals that might have existed in the water or other liquid the phone was originally submersed in. If you choose to try this, do it only after you have removed the SIM card and battery.
If the battery is wet, do NOT heat it to try and dry it out. Batteries, especially lithium-ion ones, are quite sensitive and they very well may explode if you try to speed up the drying process in this manner.
If you choose to use alcohol to clean off parts of the phone that are sticky with soda or another similar liquid, do not apply heat to the device in any way. Do not reattach the battery until the smell of alcohol is completely gone.
This might also seem like common sense, but do not put any electronic device into the microwave. You will probably destroy not only your device, but even your microwave could be put at risk.
You should be aware that most phone warranties do not cover water damaged phones and that most phones today have special stickers inside them (only one visible to you) that will tell a technician if the phone has come into contact with water or even just too much humidity. Be careful when taking your phone outdoors when humidity is very high. It is possible to void your warranty.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Things You Should Know About Water Damage And Your Computer
Water or almost any other kind of liquid is not a great thing to have around your computer or any other electronic device. This kind of damage can be expensive to either replace or to have repaired and unfortunately, many people who are unfortunate enough to have this happen to them cannot afford it.
If the liquid spilled upon the device is acidic, like soda or coffee, then it generally does more damage than simple water would do. It causes more corrosion to the metal areas of the motherboard or any other computer component such as the hard drive or CD-ROM.
One of the worst case scenarios is that you spill a liquid onto your laptop where everything, motherboard, hard drive, CD-ROM, and etcetera are all packed into the same general area. In most cases of water damage to computers, the liquid is spilled merely on the keyboard or another outside component such as the mouse. With laptops, spilling a liquid on the keyboard does not mean that only the keyboard is affected, but also the other components sharing the shell of the laptop are, as well. What can you do if water or another liquid is spilled on your laptop?
Unplug it from the A/C adapter and remove the battery IMMEDIATELY. Unplug any other external devices including external hard drives, mice, other input devices, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and etcetera. The next thing is to turn the laptop completely upside down to stop the liquid from sinking any further into it.
Use a towel or paper towels to clean up the spilled liquid, wipe off the keyboard, exterior, and any external devices that came into contact with the liquid as well.
At this point, you could do one of two things. You could take it to a professional repairman and have them look at it (I hope you have an extra arm and leg lying around) or if you know how to take something apart and put it back together, you can try to fix it yourself. In trying to fix it, you may irreparably damage it, so if you are even remotely unsure about your ability to repair it, it is better to take it to a professional.
If you choose the do-it-yourself route, disassemble the computer and allow it to dry out completely for at least 24 hours, if not longer. Let it dry until you are satisfied that it is completely done. Whatever you do, do not turn the power on before it is. It is not water itself that kills the circuit board of any electronic device, but the electricity that runs through it when someone tries to turn the device on when it is still wet.
If it was just water, drying should be all it needs. If it was soda or any other acidic liquid, clean it with rubbing alcohol and Q-tips, then put it back together and wait for the alcohol to dry. See if it works.
If the liquid spilled upon the device is acidic, like soda or coffee, then it generally does more damage than simple water would do. It causes more corrosion to the metal areas of the motherboard or any other computer component such as the hard drive or CD-ROM.
One of the worst case scenarios is that you spill a liquid onto your laptop where everything, motherboard, hard drive, CD-ROM, and etcetera are all packed into the same general area. In most cases of water damage to computers, the liquid is spilled merely on the keyboard or another outside component such as the mouse. With laptops, spilling a liquid on the keyboard does not mean that only the keyboard is affected, but also the other components sharing the shell of the laptop are, as well. What can you do if water or another liquid is spilled on your laptop?
Unplug it from the A/C adapter and remove the battery IMMEDIATELY. Unplug any other external devices including external hard drives, mice, other input devices, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and etcetera. The next thing is to turn the laptop completely upside down to stop the liquid from sinking any further into it.
Use a towel or paper towels to clean up the spilled liquid, wipe off the keyboard, exterior, and any external devices that came into contact with the liquid as well.
At this point, you could do one of two things. You could take it to a professional repairman and have them look at it (I hope you have an extra arm and leg lying around) or if you know how to take something apart and put it back together, you can try to fix it yourself. In trying to fix it, you may irreparably damage it, so if you are even remotely unsure about your ability to repair it, it is better to take it to a professional.
If you choose the do-it-yourself route, disassemble the computer and allow it to dry out completely for at least 24 hours, if not longer. Let it dry until you are satisfied that it is completely done. Whatever you do, do not turn the power on before it is. It is not water itself that kills the circuit board of any electronic device, but the electricity that runs through it when someone tries to turn the device on when it is still wet.
If it was just water, drying should be all it needs. If it was soda or any other acidic liquid, clean it with rubbing alcohol and Q-tips, then put it back together and wait for the alcohol to dry. See if it works.
Water And Your Cell Phone Do Not Mix
Many people have horror stories about how they lost anywhere between $50 and $600 on replacing a cell phone that was dropped into the toilet or the bath tub or any other liquid. The sad fact is that most cell phone warranties do not cover water damage and unfortunately, cell phone manufacturers have begun to place what some are calling “snitch stickers” in their phones that change color if they have been exposed to even a drop of water. While this keeps people trying to get a new free phone from saying that their old phone was not water damaged when it actually was, it is unfortunate for the consumer because these stickers have been known to change color in even just high humidity. So, water damage to phones is a serious problem, but what do you do if your phone does become submersed?
Take it out of the water immediately. The plastic covers on most cell phones these days are pretty tight, but water can get inside the phone. As long as you get the phone out of the water in under around 20 seconds, it should not have that much opportunity to seep in.
After you do that, remove the battery and do not hesitate. This is to effectively cut the power supply off from your phone; electricity and water combined are what fries your phone, not just the water itself.
If your phone has a SIM card, remove that quickly, as well. These cards store contact and other kinds of data from the phone and to some people, the information held on that card could be more valuable than the phone itself, even if the phone might cost them $600. Some service providers, however, do not use SIM cards, like Verizon Wireless.
Do not put the battery or the SIM card back into the phone. Dry them separately. Then, dry the phone itself from the outside and then if possible, put it in a bowl of rice and let it stay there overnight. You might get a grain of rice or two in your phone, but this probably will not happen. Rice will help draw out the moisture. Wait at least two or three days before trying to turn your phone back on. Never turn on an electronic device after it has been wet until you are sure it has completely dried out.
As long as the phone looks dry, it should be safe to try and turn the phone on. If it doesn’t work with the battery, try plugging it into the wall outlet. If this works, you just need to replace the battery.
Take it out of the water immediately. The plastic covers on most cell phones these days are pretty tight, but water can get inside the phone. As long as you get the phone out of the water in under around 20 seconds, it should not have that much opportunity to seep in.
After you do that, remove the battery and do not hesitate. This is to effectively cut the power supply off from your phone; electricity and water combined are what fries your phone, not just the water itself.
If your phone has a SIM card, remove that quickly, as well. These cards store contact and other kinds of data from the phone and to some people, the information held on that card could be more valuable than the phone itself, even if the phone might cost them $600. Some service providers, however, do not use SIM cards, like Verizon Wireless.
Do not put the battery or the SIM card back into the phone. Dry them separately. Then, dry the phone itself from the outside and then if possible, put it in a bowl of rice and let it stay there overnight. You might get a grain of rice or two in your phone, but this probably will not happen. Rice will help draw out the moisture. Wait at least two or three days before trying to turn your phone back on. Never turn on an electronic device after it has been wet until you are sure it has completely dried out.
As long as the phone looks dry, it should be safe to try and turn the phone on. If it doesn’t work with the battery, try plugging it into the wall outlet. If this works, you just need to replace the battery.
Mold Legislation Before Congress To Help Americans With Mold Problems
In March of 2003, Congressman John Conyers Jr. out of Michigan introduced a bill to Congress called the United States Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act.
This Bill says that the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection agency will be responsible for examining the effects of different kinds of mold on the health of human beings and they will research and develop more accurate results of the serious problems that are presented by the presence of mold in human habitats.
This Bill will also direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a certain number of items that will constitute the conditions that will cause mold to grow indoors and will outline what can be done in order to inhibit this growth. These guidelines will not only address the causes of mold growth and what can be done to prevent it, but also the inspection, testing, and remediation techniques.
The Bill also says that you could receive tax credits for the inspection and/or removal and remediation of any mold in the home or business.
Grants will be given for the removal of mold in any and all buildings accessible by the public.
It also will create what it calls a National Toxic Mold Insurance Program that will be administered by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) in order to protect home and business owners from any crippling financial losses, because most insurance companies do not provide insurance for mold at all or what they do provide is inadequate.
It will also necessitate the modification of building codes in local areas in order to keep the risk of mold infections in newly built homes and other buildings down.
This bill will also require mold inspections for apartment complexes and any other multi-unit residential property. Public housing is also subject to these mandatory mold inspections.
Victims of mold health complications will also be covered by Medicaid if they do not have any other health care in place at the time.
It has also authorized the establishment of different public information programs that will educate the public about the hazards of mold that is allowed to grow indoors. It is believed that an educated public is better prepared to defend itself against these hazards.
For more information, please visit http://www.house.gov/conyers/mold.htm . If you support this bill, please contact your congressman.
This Bill says that the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection agency will be responsible for examining the effects of different kinds of mold on the health of human beings and they will research and develop more accurate results of the serious problems that are presented by the presence of mold in human habitats.
This Bill will also direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a certain number of items that will constitute the conditions that will cause mold to grow indoors and will outline what can be done in order to inhibit this growth. These guidelines will not only address the causes of mold growth and what can be done to prevent it, but also the inspection, testing, and remediation techniques.
The Bill also says that you could receive tax credits for the inspection and/or removal and remediation of any mold in the home or business.
Grants will be given for the removal of mold in any and all buildings accessible by the public.
It also will create what it calls a National Toxic Mold Insurance Program that will be administered by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) in order to protect home and business owners from any crippling financial losses, because most insurance companies do not provide insurance for mold at all or what they do provide is inadequate.
It will also necessitate the modification of building codes in local areas in order to keep the risk of mold infections in newly built homes and other buildings down.
This bill will also require mold inspections for apartment complexes and any other multi-unit residential property. Public housing is also subject to these mandatory mold inspections.
Victims of mold health complications will also be covered by Medicaid if they do not have any other health care in place at the time.
It has also authorized the establishment of different public information programs that will educate the public about the hazards of mold that is allowed to grow indoors. It is believed that an educated public is better prepared to defend itself against these hazards.
For more information, please visit http://www.house.gov/conyers/mold.htm . If you support this bill, please contact your congressman.
Fixing A Water Damaged Laptop
You might not it, but the circuit board in your laptop and any other electronic items in your house were rinsed in clean water and dried before they were put into use? As long as the water is clean, the device will not be irreparably damaged. If something is allowed to soak in dirty water, however, with different particles and other mineral content, then the device will become damaged.
If you have a laptop that has gotten wet, the first thing to do is to turn it off immediately and remove all sources of power from it including the A/C adapter and batteries. Set these aside while you take the laptop and turn it upside down. This will stop any more liquid from seeping further into the computer.
After you do that, use paper towels or a rag to mop up the liquid that was spilled, wipe the liquid off the keyboard and the outside. Also wipe down anything else electronic nearby that got wet, too, like an external CD-ROM or external hard drive.
Disassemble the laptop (take a look at your user’s manual, too) and allow the insides to air out for at least a full day. Most people who have gone through this procedure recommend longer, especially if the liquid got further down into the computer. The best thing to do is let it sit and dry until you are confident that the interior is completely moisture-free.
If the only liquid it came into contact with was water out of your faucet, then allowing it to dry should be all that is necessary, but if it was something like soda, tea, or coffee that was spilled onto it, then you will want to clean it with some rubbing alcohol. You can use cotton swabs for this. Do not apply any heat to the device while you are cleaning it with alcohol and wait until the smell of alcohol is completely gone before you try to power it up.
Put the device back together after you are finished letting it dry or cleaning it up. Reattach the battery and see if it powers on. If it does, wait and see if it starts up as it should. If it does not, then attach the A/C adapter and plug it up. If you can turn the device on after trying this, then all you should need is a new battery. This should be pretty easy to obtain, as long as you have the money to purchase it with, either from the manufacturer or from a site like eBay.
If you have a laptop that has gotten wet, the first thing to do is to turn it off immediately and remove all sources of power from it including the A/C adapter and batteries. Set these aside while you take the laptop and turn it upside down. This will stop any more liquid from seeping further into the computer.
After you do that, use paper towels or a rag to mop up the liquid that was spilled, wipe the liquid off the keyboard and the outside. Also wipe down anything else electronic nearby that got wet, too, like an external CD-ROM or external hard drive.
Disassemble the laptop (take a look at your user’s manual, too) and allow the insides to air out for at least a full day. Most people who have gone through this procedure recommend longer, especially if the liquid got further down into the computer. The best thing to do is let it sit and dry until you are confident that the interior is completely moisture-free.
If the only liquid it came into contact with was water out of your faucet, then allowing it to dry should be all that is necessary, but if it was something like soda, tea, or coffee that was spilled onto it, then you will want to clean it with some rubbing alcohol. You can use cotton swabs for this. Do not apply any heat to the device while you are cleaning it with alcohol and wait until the smell of alcohol is completely gone before you try to power it up.
Put the device back together after you are finished letting it dry or cleaning it up. Reattach the battery and see if it powers on. If it does, wait and see if it starts up as it should. If it does not, then attach the A/C adapter and plug it up. If you can turn the device on after trying this, then all you should need is a new battery. This should be pretty easy to obtain, as long as you have the money to purchase it with, either from the manufacturer or from a site like eBay.
Your Cell Phone, Water, and a Sticker
Water is a part of our everyday lives, but most of us who own electronic devices can readily admit that it is not only the source of live, but also the source of some pretty pricey problems. It is every cell phone or blackberry owner’s nightmare: dropping that $400 device into the bathtub or into the pool. What do you do with it after you drop it into water? How late is too late to save it? And if it can be saved, how do you do it?
Well, if you have a newer cell phone, odds are that if you drop it in water, you will not be able to get the phone’s warranty to cover the water damage. It is not covered under most cell phone warranties and this is one reason that you should be especially careful if you plan on getting your phone anywhere near water. The new phones have been equipped with small white stickers both inside the battery compartments and on the circuit board deeper inside the phone. When the phone gets wet (or when it is simply exposed to humidity that is just too high), the sticker changes color due to a powdered dye underneath it. When you take your phone to the manufacturer to try and file a claim, they tell you that they cannot give you any compensation because the phone has been water damaged, even if you have not actually dropped the phone in water. If humidity is too high, the sticker trips and you are out of luck.
What can you do to try and remedy this problem? If you live in an area that is subject to pretty high humidity, you can take a piece of satin finished scotch tape and place a piece over the sticker on the battery compartment. The problem is getting to the other sticker that is usually on the phone’s circuit board. If you can manage that, then hat’s off to you. If your phone stops working and you need to file a claim, remove the tape.
If you do happen to drop your phone in the water, get it out in under 20 seconds and remove the power supply completely. Submerge it in a bowl of uncooked rice at least overnight and do NOT try to power on the phone until you are completely certain it is dry. If you put the battery back in and it works, congratulations. If not, try using it with your AC adapter. If this works, all you need is a new phone battery.
Well, if you have a newer cell phone, odds are that if you drop it in water, you will not be able to get the phone’s warranty to cover the water damage. It is not covered under most cell phone warranties and this is one reason that you should be especially careful if you plan on getting your phone anywhere near water. The new phones have been equipped with small white stickers both inside the battery compartments and on the circuit board deeper inside the phone. When the phone gets wet (or when it is simply exposed to humidity that is just too high), the sticker changes color due to a powdered dye underneath it. When you take your phone to the manufacturer to try and file a claim, they tell you that they cannot give you any compensation because the phone has been water damaged, even if you have not actually dropped the phone in water. If humidity is too high, the sticker trips and you are out of luck.
What can you do to try and remedy this problem? If you live in an area that is subject to pretty high humidity, you can take a piece of satin finished scotch tape and place a piece over the sticker on the battery compartment. The problem is getting to the other sticker that is usually on the phone’s circuit board. If you can manage that, then hat’s off to you. If your phone stops working and you need to file a claim, remove the tape.
If you do happen to drop your phone in the water, get it out in under 20 seconds and remove the power supply completely. Submerge it in a bowl of uncooked rice at least overnight and do NOT try to power on the phone until you are completely certain it is dry. If you put the battery back in and it works, congratulations. If not, try using it with your AC adapter. If this works, all you need is a new phone battery.
Testing Your Home For Mold
Testing for mold in your home is not really a complicated process, but if you should know that if you do not follow the instructions that come on the package to the letter, the test will be almost completely useless both to you and to the mold laboratory that you send the test kit samples to. Most test kits are fairly straight forward, but this is a rundown of what you are going to have to do, even if you do not use just the test kits.
Sometimes knowing where you need to test for mold contamination is pretty easily simply because of the fact that the mold is either completely visible on the walls, ceiling, or other belongings, but also due to the fact that many kinds of mold have a significant musty odor to them. You can take a sample of the mold that you can see on the walls by taking a knife (a clean one) and scraping some of it off into the test kit. Be careful here and do not inhale the mold spores. Wear rubber gloves and a respirator while doing this, if you can. Whether you are wearing gloves or not, though, you should wash your hands afterward before going to test another site and especially before you eat anything.
If you want to, you can also take a piece of scotch tape and lift some of the mold off the wall. Some people may prefer this over the knife method, but it is a matter of personal preference. The knife method is more likely to stir up the spores than the tape method.
Set a test kit out in every room of your home after you have run the air conditioner or fans in every room for about ten to fifteen minutes to get the spores stirred up. Tape at least one kit to the grill of an air conditioning vent so you will know if there is any mold growing inside the duct itself. If the air conditioner continues to blow mold spores out into the house after it has been run for about 15 minutes, you know you have a problem in your ventilation system.
After you collect the test kits from around your house, you need to label them all with your name, address, where each test kit was used in the home, and any other pertinent information. This should also include how long you left the test kit setting out in your home, whether it was 30 minutes or a day.
Sometimes knowing where you need to test for mold contamination is pretty easily simply because of the fact that the mold is either completely visible on the walls, ceiling, or other belongings, but also due to the fact that many kinds of mold have a significant musty odor to them. You can take a sample of the mold that you can see on the walls by taking a knife (a clean one) and scraping some of it off into the test kit. Be careful here and do not inhale the mold spores. Wear rubber gloves and a respirator while doing this, if you can. Whether you are wearing gloves or not, though, you should wash your hands afterward before going to test another site and especially before you eat anything.
If you want to, you can also take a piece of scotch tape and lift some of the mold off the wall. Some people may prefer this over the knife method, but it is a matter of personal preference. The knife method is more likely to stir up the spores than the tape method.
Set a test kit out in every room of your home after you have run the air conditioner or fans in every room for about ten to fifteen minutes to get the spores stirred up. Tape at least one kit to the grill of an air conditioning vent so you will know if there is any mold growing inside the duct itself. If the air conditioner continues to blow mold spores out into the house after it has been run for about 15 minutes, you know you have a problem in your ventilation system.
After you collect the test kits from around your house, you need to label them all with your name, address, where each test kit was used in the home, and any other pertinent information. This should also include how long you left the test kit setting out in your home, whether it was 30 minutes or a day.
Mold Likes Your Food
Mold likes food just as much as we do, but we do not usually like to find it sharing the same space as the food that we stock our refrigerators with every week or two. While we all lead busy lives and are usually too occupied to remember to clean out our refrigerator, what we do not realize is that mold is also leading a busy life consuming and contaminating our food. It can contaminate almost anything that you put in your refrigerator and most of the time if it does contaminate something, you just have to throw it away. There are some things that you can do to prevent mold from growing in your refrigerator and there are a few items that you can save even if they do get a little moldy.
Keep track of what you have in your refrigerator and how long you have had that same item in there. Make a note of expiration dates. Things like sour cream, jellies, jams, marmalades, and anything else that has high moisture content can become moldy faster than you think and if they do, unfortunately, there is not much that you can do to save these items. Throwing them away and replacing them is about the only thing that you can do.
Those little plastic bags in the produce section of the grocery store sure can be convenient, but once you get your produce back home, you should remove it from these bags. Condensation gets trapped inside the bags and this will cause your fresh fruit and vegetables to rot faster than they normally would if you just put them in the crisper by themselves.
To clean out your refrigerator as regularly as you can remember to is also some good advice. Keeping bacteria and mold spores from building up in the fridge is one of the best ways to prevent mold from growing there. You can use bleach to kill the mold inside your refrigerator, since there is no surface inside that is porous. Bleach will not kill mold growing on porous surfaces. If you have to use bleach, do not mix it with any other chemicals you might have in your kitchen cabinet, especially ammonia. This is dangerous and can produce hazardous fumes.
If a dense item in your refrigerator develops spots of mold on it, such as hard salami or a block of cheese, take a clean knife and cut both around and underneath the moldy spot one inch. Do not touch the knife to other areas of the product and discard the chunk you cut out.
Keep track of what you have in your refrigerator and how long you have had that same item in there. Make a note of expiration dates. Things like sour cream, jellies, jams, marmalades, and anything else that has high moisture content can become moldy faster than you think and if they do, unfortunately, there is not much that you can do to save these items. Throwing them away and replacing them is about the only thing that you can do.
Those little plastic bags in the produce section of the grocery store sure can be convenient, but once you get your produce back home, you should remove it from these bags. Condensation gets trapped inside the bags and this will cause your fresh fruit and vegetables to rot faster than they normally would if you just put them in the crisper by themselves.
To clean out your refrigerator as regularly as you can remember to is also some good advice. Keeping bacteria and mold spores from building up in the fridge is one of the best ways to prevent mold from growing there. You can use bleach to kill the mold inside your refrigerator, since there is no surface inside that is porous. Bleach will not kill mold growing on porous surfaces. If you have to use bleach, do not mix it with any other chemicals you might have in your kitchen cabinet, especially ammonia. This is dangerous and can produce hazardous fumes.
If a dense item in your refrigerator develops spots of mold on it, such as hard salami or a block of cheese, take a clean knife and cut both around and underneath the moldy spot one inch. Do not touch the knife to other areas of the product and discard the chunk you cut out.
Mold and Your Home Canned Food
Home canned food is a comfort to many of us and it rightly should be. It reminds us of times that have long passed when having a garden and raising your own food was just a part of life. In these days with the many grocery stores and markets that we have available to us, sometimes we forget that growing and canning your own food at home has its benefits. It might take a little effort, but in the end it is usually worth the trouble.
But, the drawback of home canning is the fact that sometimes when we can our own food, they become contaminated with mold due to a number of different factors that we may not realize right off hand. Most of these are completely avoidable and if you are a careful canner, you might not have ever had a moldy jar, but some of us are completely clueless as to how to avoid this contamination.
Whatever you are canning, be it fruits or vegetables, you need to make sure that they are washed thoroughly before you start to get them ready for processing. Starting with fresh and clean ingredients is the first step to un-contaminated food. Cut off any bad spots from these items and throw these pieces away.
Sterilize the equipment that you plan on using in boiling water. Fill the jars you are going to use with hot (not boiling water) and put them in the pot you are going to use. Fill the pot with hot water, as well, and let the water come to a slow boil on the stove. Allow it to boil for about 10 minutes or so. Pour the water from the jars back into the pot, since this water is already sterilized.
After you are done preparing your food and getting it ready to put in the jars, transfer the food to the jars you have sterilized. Do not pack the food too tightly. Allow sufficient room between the food and the top of the jar. Packing food too tightly can result in the food in the center not getting hot enough to kill bacteria and mold spores. Place the lids and the screw bands on them tightly and begin processing them in the pot of hot water. Bring the water to a boil again.
Store in a place away from heat (and sunlight) and allow them to cool naturally.
But, the drawback of home canning is the fact that sometimes when we can our own food, they become contaminated with mold due to a number of different factors that we may not realize right off hand. Most of these are completely avoidable and if you are a careful canner, you might not have ever had a moldy jar, but some of us are completely clueless as to how to avoid this contamination.
Whatever you are canning, be it fruits or vegetables, you need to make sure that they are washed thoroughly before you start to get them ready for processing. Starting with fresh and clean ingredients is the first step to un-contaminated food. Cut off any bad spots from these items and throw these pieces away.
Sterilize the equipment that you plan on using in boiling water. Fill the jars you are going to use with hot (not boiling water) and put them in the pot you are going to use. Fill the pot with hot water, as well, and let the water come to a slow boil on the stove. Allow it to boil for about 10 minutes or so. Pour the water from the jars back into the pot, since this water is already sterilized.
After you are done preparing your food and getting it ready to put in the jars, transfer the food to the jars you have sterilized. Do not pack the food too tightly. Allow sufficient room between the food and the top of the jar. Packing food too tightly can result in the food in the center not getting hot enough to kill bacteria and mold spores. Place the lids and the screw bands on them tightly and begin processing them in the pot of hot water. Bring the water to a boil again.
Store in a place away from heat (and sunlight) and allow them to cool naturally.
First Steps To Take If Your Home Is Water Damaged
Having a home that is located close to the ocean or close to a fresh water source can be a nice and aesthetically pleasing experience, but what do you do if it happens to flood? A flood can be a nightmare for any homeowner, whether the home is newly built or 30 years old and a lot of people do not know how to deal with this situation, simply because most have not ever had to.
If your home does become a victim of flooding and water damage either due to rain, a levy breaking, or hurricane, there are a few things that you can do to help minimize the damage once the water has receded. It is best to tend to the home as soon as possible after the waters have receded back away from your home.
When you do finally get the opportunity to re-enter your home, you must be absolutely certain that the electricity to your entire home is cut off. There is a serious risk of electrocution if you step into your home without making sure of this first and foremost. There are also some serious biological risks that you will be taking when you re-enter a home that has been flooded simply because of all the different chemicals, trash, sewage, and even dead bodies that could be floating around in it.
If you can afford to purchase some protective gear before trying to dry out your home, please do so. Wash your hands extremely well before you eat anything to avoid infecting yourself with anything that may be in the water.
Before you do anything at all to try and repair the damage to your home, you need to use a video camera to record the damage. Tape every section of your home that has suffered significant damage and point out everything that you notice that will have to be repaired. This will offer you irreplaceable help when you try to file an insurance claim on the home.
Remove any insulation in the attic that has gotten wet. It is no longer effective and has become very heavy. It will weigh your ceiling down and eventually cause it to collapse in sections.
You should also remove anything else that is wet and set it outside to dry in the sun, although some items should be let to dry in the shade to keep the sun from bleaching them.
Do not use artificial heat sources to dry hardwood floors. This will cause what is called cupping or can cause the floor to buckle. Open the windows and let air circulate through the home.
If your home does become a victim of flooding and water damage either due to rain, a levy breaking, or hurricane, there are a few things that you can do to help minimize the damage once the water has receded. It is best to tend to the home as soon as possible after the waters have receded back away from your home.
When you do finally get the opportunity to re-enter your home, you must be absolutely certain that the electricity to your entire home is cut off. There is a serious risk of electrocution if you step into your home without making sure of this first and foremost. There are also some serious biological risks that you will be taking when you re-enter a home that has been flooded simply because of all the different chemicals, trash, sewage, and even dead bodies that could be floating around in it.
If you can afford to purchase some protective gear before trying to dry out your home, please do so. Wash your hands extremely well before you eat anything to avoid infecting yourself with anything that may be in the water.
Before you do anything at all to try and repair the damage to your home, you need to use a video camera to record the damage. Tape every section of your home that has suffered significant damage and point out everything that you notice that will have to be repaired. This will offer you irreplaceable help when you try to file an insurance claim on the home.
Remove any insulation in the attic that has gotten wet. It is no longer effective and has become very heavy. It will weigh your ceiling down and eventually cause it to collapse in sections.
You should also remove anything else that is wet and set it outside to dry in the sun, although some items should be let to dry in the shade to keep the sun from bleaching them.
Do not use artificial heat sources to dry hardwood floors. This will cause what is called cupping or can cause the floor to buckle. Open the windows and let air circulate through the home.
How To Know When To Check For Mold In Your Home Or Business
With all the new concern about mold growing in our homes in our businesses, you may be wondering just what you can do to determine whether mold exists on your property or not. There are a few different ways to know if mold exists on your property and one of the best ones is to purchase a mold testing kit that you can perform by yourself, but how do you know if you need to test for it?
Do you throw wet clothing and towels on the floor and leave them there? Or even worse, throw dry clothing on top of them and forget the wet clothes are underneath? If this is a habit for you or the rest of your family, especially if the floor you are putting these on is carpeted, then you are inviting mold to start growing in your house. Wash wet clothing as soon as possible or put them in a sink or other container by themselves and never put dry clothing on top of wet.
Has your home suffered water damage due to floods or heavy rain? Mold likes to grow on items that have been wet and forgotten about or just never repaired. It will grow anywhere that there is moisture or high amounts of humidity. Stachybotrys mold in particular likes to grow where there is standing water, such as in a leaky area of your basement. Try to keep the humidity level in your house down and if you see condensation on your windows or on exposed pipes, you are not succeeding in this. Try a de-humidifier.
Any part of your home that has been water damaged, especially floors and walls, could be hiding a mold infestation. To detect mold that you cannot see or smell, purchase a mold testing kit and follow the directions for it exactly as they appear or the test will be useless.
Mold will also grow in closets that have too many clothes packed in them. Air simply cannot circulate in a closet packed too tight and the clothing provides all the food that the mold needs to survive. A solution to this problem is to just give or throw away clothing that you do not need and if there is not much clothing that you do not use, find another way to store it.
Leaking water pipes or even a waterline for the icemaker on your fridge can be hidden causes for this terrible menace. Check the basics and you can help to eliminate the problem before it starts.
Do you throw wet clothing and towels on the floor and leave them there? Or even worse, throw dry clothing on top of them and forget the wet clothes are underneath? If this is a habit for you or the rest of your family, especially if the floor you are putting these on is carpeted, then you are inviting mold to start growing in your house. Wash wet clothing as soon as possible or put them in a sink or other container by themselves and never put dry clothing on top of wet.
Has your home suffered water damage due to floods or heavy rain? Mold likes to grow on items that have been wet and forgotten about or just never repaired. It will grow anywhere that there is moisture or high amounts of humidity. Stachybotrys mold in particular likes to grow where there is standing water, such as in a leaky area of your basement. Try to keep the humidity level in your house down and if you see condensation on your windows or on exposed pipes, you are not succeeding in this. Try a de-humidifier.
Any part of your home that has been water damaged, especially floors and walls, could be hiding a mold infestation. To detect mold that you cannot see or smell, purchase a mold testing kit and follow the directions for it exactly as they appear or the test will be useless.
Mold will also grow in closets that have too many clothes packed in them. Air simply cannot circulate in a closet packed too tight and the clothing provides all the food that the mold needs to survive. A solution to this problem is to just give or throw away clothing that you do not need and if there is not much clothing that you do not use, find another way to store it.
Leaking water pipes or even a waterline for the icemaker on your fridge can be hidden causes for this terrible menace. Check the basics and you can help to eliminate the problem before it starts.
How to Effectively Clean Out Your Fridge
The refrigerator is an important center of the household and as such, you would think that people would remember to keep these food centers cleaned more often than they tend to. Even though it is fairly cool inside, mold can still grow very well in these cool temperatures, as anyone who has opened a jar of spoiled grape jelly can surely tell you. Whether it is a jar of grape jelly or a casserole left in the fridge for a bit too long, mold can grow on anything in your refrigerator that it can get onto. This includes, well… just about everything that is not completely sealed up, such as home-canned goods that have not had their seals broken. Mold spores are everywhere and in the air we breathe, unless the air is purified, such as in a hospital or laboratory clean room, so it is fairly hard to keep mold completely off of something we do not want it on, but it can be done. It just takes a little effort. Cleaning out your refrigerator and knowing what to do with moldy food (some of it can be saved, believe it or not) is essential to keeping a healthy kitchen.
Take everything out of your refrigerator and put it either on your kitchen table or on the counters for you to deal with later. You will go through these items after you are finished cleaning out the inside of your refrigerator.
Remove all drawers, shelves, and racks so that you can wash them in the sink in whatever household chemical you have chosen for this task. Whether it is anti-bacterial soap, bleach, or even better, a chemical made specifically to kill mold, use plenty of it, but do not mix chemicals, especially bleach. If you do use bleach, do your best not to get it on your hands. Wear rubber gloves.
Wash the inside of the refrigerator with a sponge or a rag thoroughly. To get some things that might be stuck to the wall of the fridge or stuck to a shelf off, let some warm water and some of the chemical you have chosen soak on it a few minutes. After you are done with the inside of the refrigerator, wash the parts that you removed, dry them, and replace them.
As for the food you took out, put back everything that is not contaminated with mold. Anything with a high moisture content that is contaminated like sour cream or jelly must be thrown away. Blocks of cheese or dense items like hard salami can have the molded parts cut out and thrown away. Cut 1 inch around and one inch under the molded part(s), remove, and discard. The rest is usable.
Take everything out of your refrigerator and put it either on your kitchen table or on the counters for you to deal with later. You will go through these items after you are finished cleaning out the inside of your refrigerator.
Remove all drawers, shelves, and racks so that you can wash them in the sink in whatever household chemical you have chosen for this task. Whether it is anti-bacterial soap, bleach, or even better, a chemical made specifically to kill mold, use plenty of it, but do not mix chemicals, especially bleach. If you do use bleach, do your best not to get it on your hands. Wear rubber gloves.
Wash the inside of the refrigerator with a sponge or a rag thoroughly. To get some things that might be stuck to the wall of the fridge or stuck to a shelf off, let some warm water and some of the chemical you have chosen soak on it a few minutes. After you are done with the inside of the refrigerator, wash the parts that you removed, dry them, and replace them.
As for the food you took out, put back everything that is not contaminated with mold. Anything with a high moisture content that is contaminated like sour cream or jelly must be thrown away. Blocks of cheese or dense items like hard salami can have the molded parts cut out and thrown away. Cut 1 inch around and one inch under the molded part(s), remove, and discard. The rest is usable.
Home Canned Food and Mold
Most of us like homegrown and prepared food, but sometimes when we can them in glass containers when we have too much garden produce to eat or too much to just give away, it does not all go according to plan. There are some tried and true canning techniques that have been in use in the past century or more, but sometimes we forget to use common sense when we are canning and this can lead to mold contamination in our food that we worked so hard to prepare and preserve.
We like to can our own food because we know exactly what chemicals and pesticides are going into it. Most of us do not like the idea of chemicals being put onto our food, even if they are deemed “safe” by the government or FDA. Sometimes the chemicals that they say are safe today are not safe tomorrow. But, mold contamination can be just as dangerous as any pesticide or preservative and there are a few things that you can do as a home canner to prevent this from happening to your canned items.
Make sure that the fruits and vegetables that you are canning are of the best quality from your garden. If they have any bad spots on them, cut these off or simply do not can them. Fruits and vegetables need to be washed and some need to be peeled before you can them. Starting with good quality ingredients is key.
Do not pack the food too tightly into the jars that you will can them in. The food in the center does not get to the high temperature that it needs to in order to kill bacteria and mold spores. You should pack food loosely, with at least a few inches from the top of the jar, depending on the size that you are canning in.
After you fill the jars, put the lids and the bands on. Start processing the food immediately so that mold and bacteria do not have a chance to start growing. If mold spores get into the jar, you might have a problem, because sometimes high temperatures just do not kill mold spores. Make sure any equipment that you use is completely sterile.
If you do happen to find mold growing in a jar after you open it, just throw it away. Foods that have a high amount of moisture are not salvageable when they become contaminated.
We like to can our own food because we know exactly what chemicals and pesticides are going into it. Most of us do not like the idea of chemicals being put onto our food, even if they are deemed “safe” by the government or FDA. Sometimes the chemicals that they say are safe today are not safe tomorrow. But, mold contamination can be just as dangerous as any pesticide or preservative and there are a few things that you can do as a home canner to prevent this from happening to your canned items.
Make sure that the fruits and vegetables that you are canning are of the best quality from your garden. If they have any bad spots on them, cut these off or simply do not can them. Fruits and vegetables need to be washed and some need to be peeled before you can them. Starting with good quality ingredients is key.
Do not pack the food too tightly into the jars that you will can them in. The food in the center does not get to the high temperature that it needs to in order to kill bacteria and mold spores. You should pack food loosely, with at least a few inches from the top of the jar, depending on the size that you are canning in.
After you fill the jars, put the lids and the bands on. Start processing the food immediately so that mold and bacteria do not have a chance to start growing. If mold spores get into the jar, you might have a problem, because sometimes high temperatures just do not kill mold spores. Make sure any equipment that you use is completely sterile.
If you do happen to find mold growing in a jar after you open it, just throw it away. Foods that have a high amount of moisture are not salvageable when they become contaminated.
General Rules For Mold Testing Kits
If you are unfortunate enough to have to test your home for mold, you are probably thinking that this is going to be a pretty inconvenient thing to have to do. Well, it might not be fun to think that you have disease-causing mold living in your house, but doing the actual test to determine if it exists is not really that hard to conduct at all. Whatever kind of test kit you end up using, the directions on the package must be followed to the exact letter or you will probably render the test useless. There are a few quite general rules that you should follow to get the most out of your testing kits.
If you can see the mold growing in your wall, ceilings, carpet, or on anything else in the home, you do not really have to do any guesswork as to whether you need to test the home or not. If you see anything like this, do not only test that room; test your entire home. Every room needs to be tested and this includes the ventilation system, because it extends to every room in the house and if mold is growing in the vents, it will spread to the rest of the house.
Run the air conditioner or fans in every room in your home before you put out the test kits so that if there are any mold spores in the room, they will be stirred up into the air and will settle down in the kit. Do not set them up anywhere high; a coffee table or somewhere around the mid to low level of the room should be fine. If you set them up too high, you may not get a good sample.
If there happens to be mold growing visibly on anything, you can use a piece of scotch tape to lift the mold up off the surface and place it into the test kit. There is a method that you can use involving scraping some of the mold into the kit with a knife, but since this can stir up mold spores even more, unless you are wearing a respirator, you are probably better off using the tape method.
To test the ventilation system, the best thing that you can do is tape a test against the grill of one of the ventilation ducts so that the air coming out of it is hitting the testing kit at a 90 degree angle. This will allow you to get the maximum amount of exposure.
If you can see the mold growing in your wall, ceilings, carpet, or on anything else in the home, you do not really have to do any guesswork as to whether you need to test the home or not. If you see anything like this, do not only test that room; test your entire home. Every room needs to be tested and this includes the ventilation system, because it extends to every room in the house and if mold is growing in the vents, it will spread to the rest of the house.
Run the air conditioner or fans in every room in your home before you put out the test kits so that if there are any mold spores in the room, they will be stirred up into the air and will settle down in the kit. Do not set them up anywhere high; a coffee table or somewhere around the mid to low level of the room should be fine. If you set them up too high, you may not get a good sample.
If there happens to be mold growing visibly on anything, you can use a piece of scotch tape to lift the mold up off the surface and place it into the test kit. There is a method that you can use involving scraping some of the mold into the kit with a knife, but since this can stir up mold spores even more, unless you are wearing a respirator, you are probably better off using the tape method.
To test the ventilation system, the best thing that you can do is tape a test against the grill of one of the ventilation ducts so that the air coming out of it is hitting the testing kit at a 90 degree angle. This will allow you to get the maximum amount of exposure.
Cleaning Out Your Refrigerator
I love my food, but unfortunately, if I do not remember to keep my refrigerator cleaned out regularly, mold loves my food, too. Often people who have busy lives working and taking care of children cannot remember to clean their refrigerators out as often as they probably need to and since they have more people in the house to feed, there will also be more food. More food in the refrigerator equals more of an opportunity for bacteria and mold to grow. This is not typically a problem as long as someone keeps an inventory of what is in the refrigerator and what needs to be thrown away. You cannot completely keep mold out of your refrigerator because it exists in its spore form in the air that we breathe and unless we are talking about an extremely controlled situation like a hospital clean room, it is truly everywhere. There is not really any escaping it and while mold can grow in your fridge, you can do things to inhibit its growth rate.
Take anything that is outdated and obviously inedible out of your refrigerator and throw it away. Cleaning out everything from the refrigerator and setting it aside to go through later is a good idea when you need to clean out the entire refrigerator and sterilize it. Gather whatever chemicals you might want to use for cleaning the fridge and while this can include bleach, you might want to find another alternative that kills mold and bacteria specifically. If you only have bleach, though, go ahead and use it; just do not mix bleach with any other household chemicals.
Wash all the surfaces in the refrigerator with whatever cleaning solution you have decided on, including the racks in the door and the shelves and drawers inside the main part of the unit itself. Give it a good and thorough scrubbing. This is probably something that you should consider doing between two and three times a year or possibly more, depending on how messy your fridge gets.
When you are done cleaning the inside of the refrigerator (and the outside, if it needs it), it is time to go through what you took out. Take anything that you no longer desire and is no longer edible and throw it away. If any jars have any sticky residue on the bottoms of them, wash these off with a warm rag so you don’t get sticky grape jelly or whatever it is back on the surface of your clean fridge.
Take anything that is outdated and obviously inedible out of your refrigerator and throw it away. Cleaning out everything from the refrigerator and setting it aside to go through later is a good idea when you need to clean out the entire refrigerator and sterilize it. Gather whatever chemicals you might want to use for cleaning the fridge and while this can include bleach, you might want to find another alternative that kills mold and bacteria specifically. If you only have bleach, though, go ahead and use it; just do not mix bleach with any other household chemicals.
Wash all the surfaces in the refrigerator with whatever cleaning solution you have decided on, including the racks in the door and the shelves and drawers inside the main part of the unit itself. Give it a good and thorough scrubbing. This is probably something that you should consider doing between two and three times a year or possibly more, depending on how messy your fridge gets.
When you are done cleaning the inside of the refrigerator (and the outside, if it needs it), it is time to go through what you took out. Take anything that you no longer desire and is no longer edible and throw it away. If any jars have any sticky residue on the bottoms of them, wash these off with a warm rag so you don’t get sticky grape jelly or whatever it is back on the surface of your clean fridge.
Cleaning Out the Fridge to Prevent Mold
With the obsession that many households in the United States have with food, one would think that we would remember to keep our refrigerators cleaned a lot more often than we do. Many of us have families to take care of and jobs to tend so, so maybe it is because we just do not have time to take care of this necessary chore like we used to or perhaps we think that the problem is not as bad as we are supposed to think it is. Most people realize that bacteria and mold can grow in the refrigerator almost as easily as outside it because of the large amount of food we keep inside it and a lot of the time our food is improperly stored, which opens it to contamination even further than normal. To keep a healthy kitchen, you need to clean out your refrigerator often; clean it out completely at least once every three or four months and here is how you can start.
Remove everything from the fridge, including from the doors, and set it aside wherever you are comfortable with leaving it. The best place is on the kitchen or dining room table or just your kitchen counters. If you do not have room, set things on a table somewhere, as leaving them in the floor is not exactly practical, especially if your floor is not clean.
Take every removable part of your fridge out and set them in a sink of hot water. If you are putting glass shelves in it, rinse them with warm water first to make sure the sudden temperature change does not crack the glass. This water should also contain plenty of antibacterial soap. Allow these to soak a few minutes, especially if they have any sticky residue like from jelly or syrup.
Start washing out the inside of the refrigerator with a rag or a sponge. Use a warm bowl of water and a spray bottle of whatever chemical you have chosen for this job. You can use bleach, but do not mix it with other household chemicals that you might have on hand and always wear rubber gloves. Make sure to get any food that is stuck onto the surface of the refrigerator off before you start putting things back.
When you are done cleaning the inside and done washing the removable shelves and racks, start putting them back. Then, go through the items that you took out and throw out anything that is stale, spoiled, or contaminated with mold.
Remove everything from the fridge, including from the doors, and set it aside wherever you are comfortable with leaving it. The best place is on the kitchen or dining room table or just your kitchen counters. If you do not have room, set things on a table somewhere, as leaving them in the floor is not exactly practical, especially if your floor is not clean.
Take every removable part of your fridge out and set them in a sink of hot water. If you are putting glass shelves in it, rinse them with warm water first to make sure the sudden temperature change does not crack the glass. This water should also contain plenty of antibacterial soap. Allow these to soak a few minutes, especially if they have any sticky residue like from jelly or syrup.
Start washing out the inside of the refrigerator with a rag or a sponge. Use a warm bowl of water and a spray bottle of whatever chemical you have chosen for this job. You can use bleach, but do not mix it with other household chemicals that you might have on hand and always wear rubber gloves. Make sure to get any food that is stuck onto the surface of the refrigerator off before you start putting things back.
When you are done cleaning the inside and done washing the removable shelves and racks, start putting them back. Then, go through the items that you took out and throw out anything that is stale, spoiled, or contaminated with mold.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Rooms at Risk for Mold
There are a number of different rooms in your home that can harbor mold, but a good way to guess where it might be is to look at the rooms of your house that are naturally moist. This is any area in your home that water comes out of the plumbing system and these are usually only the bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, and basement. Bedrooms and common areas can also be at risk for mold growth, but nowhere nearly as much as the other rooms in your home.
One thing you do not want to have in either the bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room, is carpet. This is just not a practical choice, since these rooms usually have large amounts of water going through them at least once a day. If the dishwasher or clothes washer malfunctions and spills water all over the floor, it will be much more difficult to clean up than if it was spilled onto a tile or linoleum floor. Mold starts to grow after about 48 hours and if you do not completely clean up the water, this is most likely to happen.
If you have a large appliance such as a dishwasher or clothes washer (and if you run a full household with spouse and kids, you should), and it malfunctions, you really need to get it replaced as soon as possible. The cost of repairing the water damage done to the floor by both over time will probably outweigh the cost of a new appliance. Cut back on some spending in other areas and purchase a new one as soon as you can.
Your bathroom is another important area to take care of. If your bathtub or toilet overflows, the damage to the floor can be substantial if it is not waterproofed. This means that there should be no missing areas of grout, no cracked tiles, and no missing or loose caulking around the base of the toilet or bath tub.
Something that you should purchase for all the moist rooms of your home is an exhaust fan. Most building codes require that there be an exhaust fan or a window in the bathroom, but you should really have both, since leaving a window open for the steam to escape is not always practical. It could be too cold, too hot, or raining outside, so having the exhaust fan helps with this inconvenience. The reason for the fan is to keep the steam from being soaked up by the ceiling and causing it to become discolored. If it soaks up enough water over time, it could start to sag and even collapse on you.
One thing you do not want to have in either the bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room, is carpet. This is just not a practical choice, since these rooms usually have large amounts of water going through them at least once a day. If the dishwasher or clothes washer malfunctions and spills water all over the floor, it will be much more difficult to clean up than if it was spilled onto a tile or linoleum floor. Mold starts to grow after about 48 hours and if you do not completely clean up the water, this is most likely to happen.
If you have a large appliance such as a dishwasher or clothes washer (and if you run a full household with spouse and kids, you should), and it malfunctions, you really need to get it replaced as soon as possible. The cost of repairing the water damage done to the floor by both over time will probably outweigh the cost of a new appliance. Cut back on some spending in other areas and purchase a new one as soon as you can.
Your bathroom is another important area to take care of. If your bathtub or toilet overflows, the damage to the floor can be substantial if it is not waterproofed. This means that there should be no missing areas of grout, no cracked tiles, and no missing or loose caulking around the base of the toilet or bath tub.
Something that you should purchase for all the moist rooms of your home is an exhaust fan. Most building codes require that there be an exhaust fan or a window in the bathroom, but you should really have both, since leaving a window open for the steam to escape is not always practical. It could be too cold, too hot, or raining outside, so having the exhaust fan helps with this inconvenience. The reason for the fan is to keep the steam from being soaked up by the ceiling and causing it to become discolored. If it soaks up enough water over time, it could start to sag and even collapse on you.
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