Document Drying – Document Drying is an Easy Fast Recipe

During a flood within the home, the “Big things come in small packages” rings oh so true. It is generally your little shoe box of photographs, ancient love letters, & marriage or birth certificated that is the first to get soaked.

As long as you take a level headed, calm approach to your document drying, you should not see any major losses.

The first thing you need to be aware of is that the pulp bond in the paper is going to be very weak when wet. This means that quickly picking up a document from a puddle could very well mean the end of that document. Instead, when you see a document submerged, slowly grasp it with both hands, from underneath if possible. When you feel that you have the document, you will want to gently lift it from the water. Until the entire document is out from the water, it is at high risk of being torn. Document drying is about being gentle and patient, and this is when those two skills matter most.

When you have lifted the document from the water, you will want to get it onto a dry surface that does not absorb moisture (do not place on carpets or towels). The If your document is two sided, you will want to pay particularly close attention Instead of laying the document down directly on the flat surface, try using a blow dryer on the underside to get the excess water off. This will help prevent the ink on the back from splotching. When doing document drying, always pay attention to the inks. If you notice ink on a document running, you should immediately get some air on it. This will help dry it off without increasing the running inks.

When you have all your documents lying down you can begin the drying process. The most common issue when document drying is curling corners. If you see your documents drying with a curl in the corners, use a paper weight to weigh down the corners and continue your document drying process.

At this point you can choose to air dry, blow dry, or blotch dry. Use blotching paper to get excess water off of your document quickly, but be sure to also perform your blotching evenly or your document drying will not work well.

If air drying, be sure to either monitor the documents drying, or weigh down all corners, regardless of whether they are rolling or not. While the moisture evaporates, the paper will curl if not weighted down.

Blow drying is probably the fastest, safest way of document drying. If you are using a fan, keep it on the lowest setting, and approx. 2-3 feet away from the documents. Make sure to rotate the documents. You will want to move them clockwise all the way around, as well as flip them over to dry the backs properly, and evenly.

Document drying is a very easy process if you take your time to be careful, while being quick as to prevent long term damage. You may see the water marks for the life of the document, but proper document drying will preserve it through the damaging affects of flooding.

Flooded Basement – Guarding Against and Dealing with a Flooded Basement

Flooded basement is the most occurring home-based mishap in the United States. Being under the street level always puts the basement at a higher risk of flooding than the rest of the house, or even the rest of the street. Also, being a natural storage area for the entire household, it tends to cause the most economical damage to the household, potentially. Because of the significance of the basement in a household, and given its high risk nature, there are certain clauses governing the flooded basement in the National Flood Insurance Policy (NFIP). But, as a home owner, you also need to take personal precautions to protect your home and investments in the case of a flooded basement.

The home sewage drainage pipes always terminate at the basement. So not only basements are prone to naturally caused floods, but they can also be the first to get damaged in the case of bad drainage systems. Always check your pluming and install a water pump in the basement, on standby, just in case your basement gets flooded and you need to drain water out of your flooded basement.

It is totally understandable that basements serve as a storage area for the entire house. However, this does not mean that it should be neglected, and boxes can be thrown in randomly since no one sees them anyway! Assume the worst. You have a flooded basement, and you can’t get to it because you’re not sure whether the water is electrified or not. After all, you do keep your washer, drier, and the extra freezer down there. That’s why you need to always elevate all electric appliances and install them on insulated blocks. If you must have your circuit board and juncture box down in the basement, you must at least have a duplicate circuit breaker at a higher level in case you can’t get to downstairs to your flooded basement.

If you decide to store valuables in the basement, make sure they’re wrapped properly, and are elevated at least a few inches above the activation level of the draining pump. Some of these items may not be covered by the flood insurance you’ve purchased. You must check with your agent to make sure what your policy covers and what it doesn’t. The national flood insurance covers the structural elements and basic equipments which can be found in a basement, such as central air conditioning units, furnaces, heat pumps, unfinished drywalls, ceilings, circuit distributors and boxes, and basic tools found typically in a basement. The flood insurance does not cover, however, the remodeling of the basement such as finished walls and fixtures. It doesn’t not cover stored items, such as furniture, suit cases, appliances (other than what’s mentioned in the coverage clause), and other personal belonging. That’s to say, if you decide to turn your basement into a studio, or into a small apartment, you need to discuss the coverage against flood with your insurance agent as this is deemed not to be a normal basement and is not covered under the flooded basement policy. It is no wonder in high risk zones, that building codes will not permit you to build a basement under your home. For example, in Florida it is not possible that you have a basement under your house if you live in a city at the coastline. This is an acknowledgment that a flooded basement is a costly disaster, not to its owner, but also the insurance company and to the State.

Tips in Flood Damage Clean Up

If you stay in a low-lying area then there may be chances of flood in the area, due to heavy rainfall. What would a person do after a flood in that area, so that there would be no problems recovering from the flood damage? We would be required to perform a flood damage cleanup in our homes. Flood damage cleanup would render our houses clean and safe for living. Wondering how should one start with flood damage cleanup?

Any person would simply want to run into his or her house to check if everything is intact. But Never Do That. A person should enter his or her house only after the building and various features like electricity, gas are declared safe. When you do enter the house, have many safety equipments like safety masks, gloves, safety boots at your disposal, so that you face no trouble at all when cleaning up.

The first thing that you would have to do when doing a flood damage cleanup is removing all the standing water. We all know that standing water is the breeding ground for different species of microorganisms like viruses, molds or bacteria; which might be the reason of various health problems or may even cause allergic reactions. So we should try and remove the standing water as soon as possible. Not only does that cause health hazards, standing water may also be a major reason of weakening of the building structure. So one should try and start a flood damage clean up process with the clearing of all standing water, it would even facilitate smoother and faster clean process of all other items in house.

After having cleared all the standing water, we should start cleaning up the interior items as well as the interior of the house. Interior of the house would include walls, doors, floors, cabinets, shelves; in short it should include all the materials that are affected by the flood water. We should properly wash all the interior portion of the building and disinfect them. We may use some of the common disinfectants and cleaners, but make sure that you read the instructions given in the back of the disinfectant that you use. There are certain disinfectants that may that may cause toxic substance formation; so make sure that you the substance you are using do not facilitate the growth of organism that may cause the formation of toxic substance.

Flood damage cleanup would necessarily mean that you also clean each and every item that is inside your house too. Clean all items that have been affected by flood. Wipe all of them, if possible wash them and allow them to dry. Drying of items after they are cleaned is essential, and it is better if they are left to dry in sunlight. It is true that flood damage cleanup is not simple and it is better if you hand over the task to flood damage clean up company, they would do everything for you including your insurance claims. The choice depends on you, if you really are looking for hassle free flood damage cleanup, then look for a company and trust them with the job.

Mold Removal – Five Tips on Mold Removal and Prevention

One of the problems you could be left with even after the flood has subsided and you have cleaned your home is the growth of mold in your home. Mold grows in areas that are moist. Even if you work hard at keeping the moisture in your home low, floods can undermine your efforts. Flooding can leave many parts of your home wet which can result in the growth of mold. This is why after cleaning your home and disinfecting all surfaces after a flood, it is important to get everything dry. You should also use a dehumidifier to prevent the home from getting too humid.

In the event that mold still develops in certain parts of your home even after getting everything clean and dry after a flood, here are some tips on mold removal that you could follow:

* Control the moisture in your home. There are many reasons that moisture could build up in certain areas of your home. The first thing you must do is to fix the moisture problem in your home. Without moisture- mold will not grow. Fix plumbing leaks so that you won’t have problems with molds growing on ceilings, under the sink and other areas of your home that have faulty plumbing. Do not abuse your home humidifier, they can cause an excess of moisture and the growth of mold. Make sure that your home has enough ventilation in the kitchen and in the bathroom because these areas can easily get humid. You can also use silica gel and other products that absorb moisture in closets and other enclosed spaces.
 
* Do not let wet things to sit for days; instead dry them out. This applies for everything in your home – wet clothes, furniture, carpet, etc. When things get wet and not just because of flood, make sure that you dry them out. Never put wet clothes in the hamper as this is a sure-fire way for mold to grow in them. And mold removal on clothes is difficult especially if the damage is severe.

* Discard items that have been gravely damaged by the flood and by mold. There are certain items that you need to get rid of for health purposes- mattresses that have been soaked in sewage water and are now growing mold, etc. There are also things you need to discard simply because the item is cheap and mold removal won’t help restore its original look and it would be a better option to get a replacement. Try to save as much things as you can with the mold removal techniques that you know of. Simply throw out the things that have been severely damaged by mold because they can just cause mold spores to spread in your home.

* If you can afford it and there are too many precious items in your home, hire a professional to do the mold removal in your home. They will know what needs to be done and they can also inspect for hidden mold in your home.

* Do not allow mold to develop again. Mold will grow at every opportunity because mold spores are ever-present in the air. Keep all surfaces dry and watch out for leaks and other problems in your home that can lead to moisture build-up and the growth of mold. Remember that it is easier to prevent mold build-up than to worn on mold removal.