Your laundry room, basement, and roof are almost as likely to have water damage and leaks as your bathrooms and your kitchen are. So, what can you do about it?
Check your washing machine hoses often for moisture around the ends of the hose and signs of cracking or weak spots. The hose should be replaced as often as is necessary, but this shouldn’t be more than every three to five years.
The water heater in your home can pose problems, as well. If there are areas of rust on the tank or wet areas in the floor nearby, you might have a leak on your hands. Hot water heaters should be located in the lowest level of your home possible, preferably the basement, and always next to a floor drain. If it has to be installed on upper floors, it should be installed inside a large drain pan and the water directed to a drain in the floor. This way, if it begins leaking, it won’t damage your floors or any area of your home on the next floor down.
Your air conditioner collects condensation and each one should have a drain pan line to direct the water collected by your air conditioner.
Outside your home, any low spots around your house’s foundation should be filled in so that water drains away from the house and not toward it and end up seeping in through any flaws in the structure. Caulking around windows and doors should be inspected; if it is cracked or missing anywhere, it’s best to remove it and completely re-caulk it.
The area round your roof should be draining properly and if it’s not, water seeps into the wood and causes it to rot. A leaky roof can be a definite cause of water damage and is another thing that is not uncommon. Keep your gutters and downspouts free from leaves and other debris that can prevent the water from leaving the roof efficiently. Don’t walk on your roof unless you have to for repairs and it could be wise to invest in a roof preservative to help limit the amount of water your roof sponges up. Wood soaks up water pretty easily and if you want to prevent water damage to your home, it’s a good idea to get a sealant for wooden areas of your home that are exposed to the elements.
Showing posts with label toxic mold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toxic mold. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
Water Damage and Your Homeowner’s Insurance
Not surprisingly, water damage is one of the most frequent causes of home insurance claims. Not many people like having to discover what is and what isn’t covered by their home insurance policy, but that’s often the way that it goes. A pipe bursts in the basement or an appliance such as a clothes washer or dishwasher begins to leak all over the floor while you’re gone on vacation and all of a sudden you find yourself wondering if you’re covered.
For example, if a pipe were to burst in the home due to a drop in temperature and you had left the home vacant and without the heat necessary to keep the pipes from bursting, you might not be covered. They could possibly deny you due to the fact that you did not take the necessary action that would have prevented the event.
If your bathtub overflows, you should be covered, even if it’s just because you were on the phone or tending to another matter in the house and simply forgot to turn off the water.
In most cases if a major household appliance such as a washer or a dishwasher suddenly malfunctions and water spews all over the floor and causes damage, you are covered by your homeowner’s insurance. You’ll have to pay for the cost of fixing the washing machine or dishwasher yourself, but any damage caused by the water itself should be paid for by your policy.
If the cause of the damage is heavy rain and the water leaks through the roof or floods into the basement and the house itself and items inside it are damaged, you should be covered for the cost of the water damage to the interior of your home. The damage to the belongings inside your home is probably not covered, however; if the roof leak was caused by a tree limb falling on the house, then the damage to your furniture, roof, and interior should be covered to a reasonable extent.
One of the major causes of water damage to homes, however, is usually not covered. This is a flood. Unless you have an insurance policy that specifically identifies a flood as a source of damage to the home, you aren’t covered. Flood insurance needs to be purchased from the federal government and your local community should be able to give you information as to whether or not they participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.
For example, if a pipe were to burst in the home due to a drop in temperature and you had left the home vacant and without the heat necessary to keep the pipes from bursting, you might not be covered. They could possibly deny you due to the fact that you did not take the necessary action that would have prevented the event.
If your bathtub overflows, you should be covered, even if it’s just because you were on the phone or tending to another matter in the house and simply forgot to turn off the water.
In most cases if a major household appliance such as a washer or a dishwasher suddenly malfunctions and water spews all over the floor and causes damage, you are covered by your homeowner’s insurance. You’ll have to pay for the cost of fixing the washing machine or dishwasher yourself, but any damage caused by the water itself should be paid for by your policy.
If the cause of the damage is heavy rain and the water leaks through the roof or floods into the basement and the house itself and items inside it are damaged, you should be covered for the cost of the water damage to the interior of your home. The damage to the belongings inside your home is probably not covered, however; if the roof leak was caused by a tree limb falling on the house, then the damage to your furniture, roof, and interior should be covered to a reasonable extent.
One of the major causes of water damage to homes, however, is usually not covered. This is a flood. Unless you have an insurance policy that specifically identifies a flood as a source of damage to the home, you aren’t covered. Flood insurance needs to be purchased from the federal government and your local community should be able to give you information as to whether or not they participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Drying Out Water Damaged Properties
As you can imagine, drying out a home or other building that’s been submerged in water, whether it’s flood water or rain water, can be quite a daunting task. Here we’ll discuss a few different ways to begin the process.
A flood can happen in almost an instant, but drying out a home or other property can take a long time. Depending on the property you’re trying to dry out, using hot air drying techniques may damage the building, especially if it’s a historical one.
Before beginning the drying process, be sure to address the electrical hazard. Make sure all power to your home is completely off. Just because the power is off for all your neighbors, don’t assume that yours is off, too. This could be a very fatal mistake. Not only should you be careful of electrical hazards, but biological ones, as well. Flood waters such as those caused by Hurricane Katrina can be contaminated with human and animal waste, all manner of chemicals, and even cadavers. Protect your eyes, mouth, hands, and wear a respirator. Wash your hands in disinfectant soap after a session of cleaning and again before you eat.
Take pictures of the damage with a camera or if possible, videotape them. This documentation will make it easier when you begin negotiating with your insurance adjuster on what compensation you will be eligible for.
Make any repairs necessary to keep water from re-entering the home. These repairs should only be temporary while you get the majority of the building dried.
Any effort to begin drying out a home is the attic. Any wet insulation should be removed as quickly as possible; it is no longer useful, but it is heavy and holds moisture for quite a long time and will continue to cause damage to wood, metal, and drywall. If anything in the attic is soaked with water, remove it. These waterlogged items are heavy and can cause the ceilings to crack. Fresh air circulating through your home is a good way to begin and if you have any fans, turn them on once you’re confident that you can’t become electrocuted simply by walking around.
Opening the windows throughout the house (as long as it isn’t raining) will help and at this time you should begin to wash down any wooden items in the home in order to remove mud, silt, and other debris.
A flood can happen in almost an instant, but drying out a home or other property can take a long time. Depending on the property you’re trying to dry out, using hot air drying techniques may damage the building, especially if it’s a historical one.
Before beginning the drying process, be sure to address the electrical hazard. Make sure all power to your home is completely off. Just because the power is off for all your neighbors, don’t assume that yours is off, too. This could be a very fatal mistake. Not only should you be careful of electrical hazards, but biological ones, as well. Flood waters such as those caused by Hurricane Katrina can be contaminated with human and animal waste, all manner of chemicals, and even cadavers. Protect your eyes, mouth, hands, and wear a respirator. Wash your hands in disinfectant soap after a session of cleaning and again before you eat.
Take pictures of the damage with a camera or if possible, videotape them. This documentation will make it easier when you begin negotiating with your insurance adjuster on what compensation you will be eligible for.
Make any repairs necessary to keep water from re-entering the home. These repairs should only be temporary while you get the majority of the building dried.
Any effort to begin drying out a home is the attic. Any wet insulation should be removed as quickly as possible; it is no longer useful, but it is heavy and holds moisture for quite a long time and will continue to cause damage to wood, metal, and drywall. If anything in the attic is soaked with water, remove it. These waterlogged items are heavy and can cause the ceilings to crack. Fresh air circulating through your home is a good way to begin and if you have any fans, turn them on once you’re confident that you can’t become electrocuted simply by walking around.
Opening the windows throughout the house (as long as it isn’t raining) will help and at this time you should begin to wash down any wooden items in the home in order to remove mud, silt, and other debris.
Protect Your Water Pipes in the Winter
People who are spending their first winter in their new home and have never owned a home before might not think about the kind of damage a burst water pipe can cause. New homeowners don’t often think about this very real problem and it can lead to some very expensive consequences.
Water pipes in the home that are not properly insulated can freeze and burst in the winter if the temperature drops to below 20 degrees. Even a crack that is only one-eighth of an inch can let out over 250 gallons of water each day and the water damage this can cause can potentially be catastrophic. Your floors, clothes, carpet, and personal items will be damaged and as the water dries up and spring returns, it will leave you with a more serious problem. This problem is mold and when water damage to your home isn’t repaired correctly or not repaired at all, it can grow in your home and make your entire family become sick over time. While most insurance policies do not cover mold, water damage is usually covered to some extent. Preventing water damage to your home that is covered can help you prevent the mold damage to your home that isn’t covered and while any kind of water damage can cause this mold to grow, but burst frozen pipes are one of the easiest things to prevent.
One of the first things that you should do during the winter is cover your indoor water pipes with insulation. Where possible, make sure warm air can get to your pipes during a deep freeze. Do this either by opening the cabinets under your kitchen and bathroom sinks or placing a space heater in the room with these pipes. If you’re going to use space heaters, be careful and don’t leave them unattended for long or where they can possibly catch things on fire. Don’t use extension cords with space heaters and keep anything that could catch fire preferably over 5 feet away or you could be facing a fire damage problem instead of water.
Disconnect any garden hoses and make sure cracks in your home’s foundation are sealed so cold air, water, and snow can’t get inside to your pipes. Keeping a small bit of water running through hot and cold water faucets can also mean the difference between a busted and an un-busted pipe.
Water pipes in the home that are not properly insulated can freeze and burst in the winter if the temperature drops to below 20 degrees. Even a crack that is only one-eighth of an inch can let out over 250 gallons of water each day and the water damage this can cause can potentially be catastrophic. Your floors, clothes, carpet, and personal items will be damaged and as the water dries up and spring returns, it will leave you with a more serious problem. This problem is mold and when water damage to your home isn’t repaired correctly or not repaired at all, it can grow in your home and make your entire family become sick over time. While most insurance policies do not cover mold, water damage is usually covered to some extent. Preventing water damage to your home that is covered can help you prevent the mold damage to your home that isn’t covered and while any kind of water damage can cause this mold to grow, but burst frozen pipes are one of the easiest things to prevent.
One of the first things that you should do during the winter is cover your indoor water pipes with insulation. Where possible, make sure warm air can get to your pipes during a deep freeze. Do this either by opening the cabinets under your kitchen and bathroom sinks or placing a space heater in the room with these pipes. If you’re going to use space heaters, be careful and don’t leave them unattended for long or where they can possibly catch things on fire. Don’t use extension cords with space heaters and keep anything that could catch fire preferably over 5 feet away or you could be facing a fire damage problem instead of water.
Disconnect any garden hoses and make sure cracks in your home’s foundation are sealed so cold air, water, and snow can’t get inside to your pipes. Keeping a small bit of water running through hot and cold water faucets can also mean the difference between a busted and an un-busted pipe.
Mold Prevention in Your Bathroom
Your bathroom is the room in your home that most people associate with cleanliness, but it’s one of the worst places for you to allow mold to propagate. Along with the kitchen, this is one of the most common places for mold to be found in the home. What can you do to prevent mold from growing in your bathroom? Here are a few tips.
Check the caulking around the bath tub or shower stall and make sure it isn’t cracked, broken, or even missing in certain areas. If you feel cold air coming in through a hole in the caulking, you should re-caulk it immediately.
It’s not uncommon to find mold growing around the base of your toilet, especially if the toilet has overflowed often in the past or worse, if you have carpet in your bathroom instead of tile. Carpet is generally a bad idea in a bathroom unless you’re very diligent in cleaning up spills of water as soon as they’re made.
You want a vent or a fan in your bathroom so that heat and moisture can escape to the outside of the house. Mold grows not only on the floors of the bathroom, but also on the ceilings where water has been absorbed due to the steam of taking a shower being unable to escape the room.
If you can see mold on the outer surface of your bathroom wall, odds are that you’re looking at a mold problem inside the wall, as well, and cleaning the mold off the outer surface of the wall isn’t going to be enough. If you truly want to get rid of all the mold, you’ll want to replace mold-contaminated building materials, except for wood supports. This includes plywood, carpet, papered sheetrock, plasterboard, and etcetera. If your bathroom has carpet in it and you find mold growing anywhere near the floor, replace the carpet.
Check the caulking around the bath tub or shower stall and make sure it isn’t cracked, broken, or even missing in certain areas. If you feel cold air coming in through a hole in the caulking, you should re-caulk it immediately.
It’s not uncommon to find mold growing around the base of your toilet, especially if the toilet has overflowed often in the past or worse, if you have carpet in your bathroom instead of tile. Carpet is generally a bad idea in a bathroom unless you’re very diligent in cleaning up spills of water as soon as they’re made.
You want a vent or a fan in your bathroom so that heat and moisture can escape to the outside of the house. Mold grows not only on the floors of the bathroom, but also on the ceilings where water has been absorbed due to the steam of taking a shower being unable to escape the room.
If you can see mold on the outer surface of your bathroom wall, odds are that you’re looking at a mold problem inside the wall, as well, and cleaning the mold off the outer surface of the wall isn’t going to be enough. If you truly want to get rid of all the mold, you’ll want to replace mold-contaminated building materials, except for wood supports. This includes plywood, carpet, papered sheetrock, plasterboard, and etcetera. If your bathroom has carpet in it and you find mold growing anywhere near the floor, replace the carpet.
Mold in Your Apartment - Who is Liable?
If you move into an apartment or a home and you sign a lease, some people might think that they’re stuck with that lease even if they discover that the property has a substantial mold problem. This is not true.
No matter who you’re renting from or what kind of property, it is the landlord’s responsibility to provide you with a healthy place to live. If you or your children become sick due to the mold located in the home, apartment, or business you are leasing, your landlord can be held responsible.
The only thing that you have to do first is prove that mold exists in your rented space. That burden or proof is on you because in most leases, mold testing, inspections, and removal are not covered by the landlord. Landlords do not pay for these; you do. If there is a problem, you have to prove it.
If the rental property is infested with mold, the landlord might be liable for the damage to the tenant’s health, the medical bills associated with mold, loss of income due to sickness, and for the damage to clothing and other possessions. Other possible liabilities include the expense it takes to move to a mold-free environment, the difference between the rent at the mold-infested rental and the new, habitable rental, and for any mold inspections, testing, and remediation of the rental that were paid for by the tenant before moving out.
You should mail a notice to your landlord via certified mail that there is a mold problem first and foremost and provide proof within the envelope. An analysis and identification of the mold sample you collected using a mold test kit signed by a mold laboratory is a good way to prove that mold exists in the property. Even better than this is to have a written report signed by a certified mold inspector along with the above mentioned laboratory report. If notice is ignored by your landlord, you can choose to send a second notice stating that due to the failure to have the mold removed from the property, you are withholding your rent. Lastly, if that is ignored by your landlord, you should send another notice via certified mail that you are vacating the premises and that legal action is going to be taken, especially if you have suffered health complications due to the mold. You shouldn’t need a lawyer to draw up these notices for you, as long as you are clear and to the point that mold exists on the landlord’s property that you are renting and you want it removed and if you are suffering any health complications, these should be stated very clearly and with proof, as well. Most landlords will respond promptly.
No matter who you’re renting from or what kind of property, it is the landlord’s responsibility to provide you with a healthy place to live. If you or your children become sick due to the mold located in the home, apartment, or business you are leasing, your landlord can be held responsible.
The only thing that you have to do first is prove that mold exists in your rented space. That burden or proof is on you because in most leases, mold testing, inspections, and removal are not covered by the landlord. Landlords do not pay for these; you do. If there is a problem, you have to prove it.
If the rental property is infested with mold, the landlord might be liable for the damage to the tenant’s health, the medical bills associated with mold, loss of income due to sickness, and for the damage to clothing and other possessions. Other possible liabilities include the expense it takes to move to a mold-free environment, the difference between the rent at the mold-infested rental and the new, habitable rental, and for any mold inspections, testing, and remediation of the rental that were paid for by the tenant before moving out.
You should mail a notice to your landlord via certified mail that there is a mold problem first and foremost and provide proof within the envelope. An analysis and identification of the mold sample you collected using a mold test kit signed by a mold laboratory is a good way to prove that mold exists in the property. Even better than this is to have a written report signed by a certified mold inspector along with the above mentioned laboratory report. If notice is ignored by your landlord, you can choose to send a second notice stating that due to the failure to have the mold removed from the property, you are withholding your rent. Lastly, if that is ignored by your landlord, you should send another notice via certified mail that you are vacating the premises and that legal action is going to be taken, especially if you have suffered health complications due to the mold. You shouldn’t need a lawyer to draw up these notices for you, as long as you are clear and to the point that mold exists on the landlord’s property that you are renting and you want it removed and if you are suffering any health complications, these should be stated very clearly and with proof, as well. Most landlords will respond promptly.
Mold in the Workplace
Mold is a serious problems not only in homes, but also in the places where we work. Employers and landlords should take special care to make sure their properties are not infested with mold and they should do this not only because the value of their property will decrease as the infestation spreads, but also because anyone working or living in the property will suffer adverse health effects.
All kinds of medical conditions can be attributed to mold: development of asthma, bleeding in the lungs, chronic dandruff, colds, coughing incessantly, fatique, skin rashes, and more. If you notice any more than a few of your employees exhibiting these and other health complications, you should take a look around your property and see if you can detect any mold growing on your own. If you can’t, talk to your employees, especially new hires, and ask them if they had these problems before they started working for you. If the answer is “no”, you might have a hidden mold problem on your hands and it could be time to call in a professional.
If the mold inspector does indeed find mold, it’s time to inform your employees that remediation is going to begin and what measures are going to be taken. Telling your workers that mold exists where they work is a recommendation of the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and you should follow it.
Inform your employees when the remediation will begin and approximately when it will begin. Any employees that exhibit any health complications that could have been caused by exposure to mold should be advised to go to their doctor and be referred to someone who knows about mold health consequences and treatments that can be done to encourage recovery.
After the remediation is completed, the property must pass a test proving that it is safe for people to return to work. Don’t try to cut corners here; the sooner you get the mold problem fixed, the sooner you can allow your workers to return and resume production.
If someone develops a medical condition because of the mold you allow to grow on your property (meaning you were notified that it existed and did nothing), you could be liable for more than just their medical bills, but it’s up to them to prove that you knew about the problem. Your best bet to make sure you don’t suffer legal consequences for the mold growth in your workplace is to have it removed as soon as you discover it.
All kinds of medical conditions can be attributed to mold: development of asthma, bleeding in the lungs, chronic dandruff, colds, coughing incessantly, fatique, skin rashes, and more. If you notice any more than a few of your employees exhibiting these and other health complications, you should take a look around your property and see if you can detect any mold growing on your own. If you can’t, talk to your employees, especially new hires, and ask them if they had these problems before they started working for you. If the answer is “no”, you might have a hidden mold problem on your hands and it could be time to call in a professional.
If the mold inspector does indeed find mold, it’s time to inform your employees that remediation is going to begin and what measures are going to be taken. Telling your workers that mold exists where they work is a recommendation of the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and you should follow it.
Inform your employees when the remediation will begin and approximately when it will begin. Any employees that exhibit any health complications that could have been caused by exposure to mold should be advised to go to their doctor and be referred to someone who knows about mold health consequences and treatments that can be done to encourage recovery.
After the remediation is completed, the property must pass a test proving that it is safe for people to return to work. Don’t try to cut corners here; the sooner you get the mold problem fixed, the sooner you can allow your workers to return and resume production.
If someone develops a medical condition because of the mold you allow to grow on your property (meaning you were notified that it existed and did nothing), you could be liable for more than just their medical bills, but it’s up to them to prove that you knew about the problem. Your best bet to make sure you don’t suffer legal consequences for the mold growth in your workplace is to have it removed as soon as you discover it.
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