Toxic Blck Mold



             


Friday, January 30, 2009

How To Remove Mold and Mildew From Awnings

This Basic guide will help you know how to efficiently remove mold and mildew from awnings. Mildew is actually what is left from mold settling into areas that get wet or stay wet often. We fight this mold and mildew often in our bathrooms, but in this article, we are going to discuss mold and mildew removal and prevention from awnings. The good thing with mold and mildew is that you can easily remove it and maintain by prevention.

4 Steps for Removing Mold and Mildew on Awnings

1. First, you will need to wash the mold and mildew from the awnings by using an appropriate scrub brush and a disinfectant and hot water. This will help remove the mold and mildew as well as kill the bacteria.

2. After you have removed all of the mildew and mold from the awnings with a disinfectant, you need to rinse the area clean with hot water. Add a little lemon juice and some salt (same parts of lemon juice and salt added to your rinsing water) to rinse away the area.

3. You can let the awnings air dry by itself after you have thoroughly washed and rinsed. Just let the sun help to dry the awnings with time.

4. After it has dried you will probably notice some staining from the mildew. You can remove these stains with some bleach and hot water. Start scrubbing at the awnings with a bleach and hot water solution to remove the stains.

How to Prevent Mold and Mildew on Your Awnings

To prevent mildew you need to prevent the mold from sitting in your awnings. To prevent the mold you need to prevent water from sitting in your awnings. When it rains outside the water will sit in the awnings and eventually create mold, and then mildew. If you can punch holes in your awnings you can allow the water to drain as it comes to prevent mold and mildew.

You need to create a drainage system that will allow the water to completely drain out of your awnings when it rains. Check for tricky places where the water will sit even though you have created some sort of drainage system. Once you have the drainage working properly, you should not experience much mold or mildew anymore, but you should still clean the awnings (which will be easier without scrubbing off mold and mildew, as well as the stains they leave behind) on a regular basis, such as yearly or seasonally.

For more information about awnings, visit http://www.awninghelp.com


For more info & a free newsletter visit our blog at http://myhomeimprovementtips.com . More tips & resources on awnings can be found at http://www.awninghelp.com

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Monday, November 3, 2008

Mold Can Be More Harmful Than You Think

What is mold exactly? Is mold a plant or an animal? Believe it or not mold is neither plant nor animal but it actually is a fungus. Mold can be found on old crusty food, on walls and ceilings of your home. Mold can be found anywhere there is moisture. Mold can be made into Penicillin which has saved many lives. It is amazing how mold can be harmful and yet help save lives. Mildew is also another name for mold.

Mold is a living organism and has a very important role in our environment.

First of all, mold grows in areas that tend to have a great deal of moisture, darkness, and heat. Most areas you may find mold are bathrooms, pool areas and even in kitchen cabinets, floor tiles and even books. Mold can pretty much grow anywhere as long as its conditions are right. Mold spreads pretty fast and can take over a home if you don?t have the proper mold remover to fight against the spread of mold.

Mold spreads by reproducing or regenerating the cells which are called spores. These spores once airborne can latch on to clothes, skin, pets and even air condition filters. There is no way to keep mold spores from entering your home. The best way is to buy certain mildew or mold removal products. You can fight off the spread of mold and keep it at bay.

Mold can be very harmful to your health. Mold is very harmful to your lungs. Sometimes you don?t even realize there is mold in your house or work place. Mold is also very harmful to people with allergies and may trigger an allergy attack. Most of the time you do not realize that mold is making you sick until it is too late. Some of the symptoms are an excess of coughing and chest pains from coughing.

Some other symptoms are shortness of breath or even a scratchy throat.The only way to find out if you have a mold problem is to have your home or place of work inspected. It may be a little pricey but a mold technician can come out to your home and take some samples.

The technician will take some samples from outside and inside the home. This will determine if the mold spores in your home are growing more rapid than outside. You have a problem if the mold spores are growing more in the home rather than outside.

You can fight the outbreak of mold spores with special mold removal products.

There are also mold cleansers that block the mold spores to prevent the mold spores from coming back. One of the main ingredients in these mold spray is bleach. When buying a mold remover product check and see if it is odorless.

The odorless ones will not make your eyes tear when using them. Spray the infected areas and start scrubbing. You should repeat this process in one week?s time for a month and you will see a difference.

Mold is a very important part of our environment but can be a problem to humans as well. Mold can never be destroyed but it can be controlled. You can fight mold spores to keep the mold from spreading by using the correct mold removal products. It is so ironic that mold can help save human life and also help take it as well.

Looking to purchase mold spray at a discounted rate? Learn what mold removal products can prevent mold from invading your home.

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Saturday, January 19, 2008

Don?t Get Ripped Off By Mold Remediators

Don?t get ripped off by mold remediators

Last Fall I had my chimney cleaned so I could use the fireplace during the winter.

The guy we had used for years shows up wearing a T-shirt stating ?We are now you mold prevention experts?

He knows how to clean chimneys so therefore he is automatically an expert on a very complicated organism?

I asked him how he kills mold.

?I spray this stuff I bought at the home mega store down the road.?

I asked him what he did for the cause of the mold.

He looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights.

?Well?, I said. ?Mold is caused by something. If you don?t address that the mold will come back.?

Again with the blank stare.

Then he said ?I use this stuff I bought. It?s EPA approved.?

The EPA doesn?t approve things. It ?controls dangerous chemicals.? The EPA doesn?t just approve some things and disapprove others. It tries to keep vendors from killing their customers.

The best mold reducing agent is made from Grapefruit Seed Extract. The EPA won?t even look at it because it?s TOO SAFE. They aren?t allowed to examine ?safe stuff.? You can even drink this stuff and won?t be harmed. Try to get your pest control people to drink their stuff in front of you. Won?t happen more than once.

In addition, most remediators insist on destroying your home and rebuilding it to kill the mold.

Why, is there something wrong with the house?

The cause of the mold is generally a water source like yard drainage, or a leaking roof. That?s what you need to repair. If the walls are okay leave them alone.

Everyone who has ever used a hammer is now a mold expert. Getting rid of the mold isn?t their goal, doing expensive repairs is their goal.

?If it ain?t broke don?t fix it.?

Getting rid of mold should cost you around $2000 plus stopping the water.

Anything beyond that, please, get a second or third opinion.

I have seen people spend tens of thousands of dollars and the mold returns in 3 months and you can?t find your expert anywhere. They won?t return your calls and have probably moved to another community.

I saw one guy promise a ?satisfaction guarantee?.

He said. ?I didn?t say you would be satisfied forever.?

Guidelines:

Safe stuff
Don?t replace it if it?s not broken
Find the cause and fix that and only that
Guarantees are worthless
All tests are flawed in some way, use the cheapest testing method.
The goal of mold removal is to be healthy.

If you don?t get better, they failed.
by Dr GW Graham. For 30 years, Dr Graham has been helping people treat and prevent disease by showing them how to live in a clean environment. Download our ebooks at: http://tennesseemold.com/ebooks.shtml DrGraham@themoldlab.com

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Monday, January 14, 2008

Preventing Bathroom Mold

Your bathroom is one of the most wetted rooms in your home, and therefore is one of the rooms where mold is most likely to grow. The fact that heat and moisture are frequently generated in the bathroom promotes mold growth as these factors provide great conditions for mold to grow and flourish. Prevent mold in your bathroom is vital for your health and for the way your bathroom looks. In addition, if neglected and due to optimal growing conditions, bathroom mold is likely to spread internally through walls, ceilings, and floors, leading to an extremely expensive remediation costs. One of the key factors for bathroom mold prevention is frequent inspections to prevent water damage that can lead to mold growth. The first step in mold prevention is keeping your bathroom dry and airy. Use a humidity meter to check humidity levels before and after showers. Be sure to keep humidity levels below forty to forty five percent. If you allow adequate air circulation, your bathroom humidity levels should drop below 45 percent within 5-10 minutes from the minute you finished your shower.

Shower and Bathtub Maintenance

Keep the bathtub, floors, walls, and ceilings, clean and dry at all times. To prevent mold where it is very likely to grow, be sure to stretch the bathtub curtain after using the bathtub to allow equal and complete drying.

Air Flow

Allowing air flow and air circulation are key step in keeping low humidity levels. The basic technique and the simplest is to open windows and doors right after taking a shower to allow air to free flow and remove excess moisture. If you didn't install an exhaust fan yet, do so as soon as possible as this is a great tool for bathroom ventilation. Turn on the exhaust fan while taking a bath or shower and leave it working for 5-10 more minutes after finishing using the bathroom to allow the bathroom to dry completely. Confirm that your fan exhausts outdoors directly.

Day to Day Maintenance

Day to day maintenance is important to prevent water damage and mold. It will also help detecting problems before they become a large scale disaster. Drains must be kept in good shape. Allow the bathtub to drain completely and by removing all debris and using drain openers from time to time. Create hard surfaces on your bathroom walls using semi-gloss paint. It is harder for mold to grow on these type of surfaces.

For more information visit http://restorationsos.com Free guides are available

Jonathan Meyer is an editorial staff member for http://www.restorationsos.com, a leading restoration services provider for water and fire damages. To learn more about water and fire damage restoration, visit http://www.restorationsos.com or call 1-877-SOS-2407

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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Toxic Mold & Diet

Some type of mold or yeast fungus disease affects an estimated 50% of patients, and can cause as many diseases as bacteria and
viruses.

This affects digestion and the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals. Over time, the result is chronic progressive
disease such as cardiovascular ailments, arthritis, gout, asthma, allergies, sinusitis, gastritis, tuberculosis, cancer, and more. The most common symptoms include sneezing, wheezing, joint pain, muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, depression, anxiety, irritability, confusion, rashes, itching, poor memory, numbness, digestive ailments, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, constipation hives, rashes,
vaginal yeast infections, and urinary frequency, attacks of anxiety and shaking when hungry, and the symptoms can be flu-like. Mold can cause fungal diseases of the skin, nails, ears and lungs.

You may experience a few of these symptoms or many to have a mold or yeast infection. [Candidiasis].

This can be caused by a poor diet [high in sugar and carbohydrates] and high stress levels, which keep feeding the yeast
overgrowth. Mold can grow on bread or cheese, overripe fruit, vegetables, grains, and other foods and get food by absorbing minerals, sugars, and water or from decaying matter on which they live.

Candida albicans is a harmless yeast that naturally lives in every ones gastrointestinal tract, mucous membranes and on the skin.
It lives there in a symbiotic world in a healthy person's body but when your bodys eco- system becomes unbalanced, Candida overgrowth can occur, thus allowing it to attack any organ or system in your body, primarily targeting the nerves and muscles, but can attack any body tissue or organ depending on your bodys predisposition.

Dietary changes can help reduce yeast as well as can a number of herbs and supplements and can promote a healthy digestive tract.
Studies have shown that herbs such as garlic, barberry, oregano, Oregon grape and goldenseal, as well as the fatty acid caprylic acid, can inhibit the growth of yeast.

In case there is evidence of mold allergy, a four-day rotation diet is recommended to minimize contact with allergens. This is a diet where foods are eaten once every four days and food families every two days. Foods that my contain mold are peanuts, beef,
tomatoes, citrus fruits, chocolate, soy, MSG, sulfites and aspartame [Nutrasweet/Equal].

This diet restricts foods that contain yeast and gluten, brown rice, popcorn, corn products, honey, smoked, dried, pickled and cured foods such as buttermilk and sour cream, [live cultured
yogurt helps to replenish your bacterial intestinal bacteria], no aged cheese of any kind [some cheeses are okay if milk is not a problem, e.g. cottage cheese, mozzarella, provolone, ricotta and farmer's cheese].

Avoid soy sauce, Tampeh and tamari, mushrooms, dried fruit, alcohol products, especially beer [the darker the beer, the more chance of mold] and wine, mustard, tomato products; juice, sauce
paste, ketchup, are made from moldy vegetables, salad dressings containing vinegar.

Avoid eggs, beef, corn, and potatoes. mushrooms, nuts or nut butter [except almonds and almond butter], fruit juices, [frozen
fruit juice is fine], dried or candied fruit and coffee, black tea, caffeine, cider and homemade root beer [commercial root beer
is fine].

No canned tomatoes, unless homemade . Avoid citric acid, which is a very common food additive; not derived from citrus fruit].

Eat leftovers within 24 hours. Multi-B Vitamins - Many contain either yeast or mold [Rice hulls are moldy]. Some are all right. Check with manufacturer.

Organic foods, although much better for the body effected by toxic mold due to the lack of chemicals tend to mold more quickly as they lack artificial preservatives.

Drink bottled water. Tap water contains mold. Try to drink distilled or reverse osmosis water as it retains the good bacteria in the digestive tract.

To fight Candida it is best to reduce all foods high in carbohydrate; sugars and starches in order to starve the Candida yeast. Wheat
does not directly feed yeast but since it is a common food sensitivity it is a good idea to eliminate it in the beginning.

The Causes of Candida Overgrowth can be antibiotics, steroids such as cortisone, prednisone, birth-control pills, and estrogen
replacement therapy, poor diet, chemotherapy, radiation, stress, and alcohol over-use. Avoid all chemical foods and drugs. Strong antibiotics, steroids, cortico-steroids and tobacco must be avoided. This diet is necessary for the first critical weeks. This is the only way to deprive the yeast of nutrients and kill it off.

Symptoms are often worsening in damp and/or moldy places.

The Candida cleansing diet should include the following foods, in the correct proportions; 65% high fiber, low starch vegetables
such as broccoli, celery, radish and asparagus. Plenty of fresh steamed vegetables, especially onions, garlic, ginger root, cabbage, carrots, peas, sweet potato, cauliflower, yams. Onions and garlic are very good anti-fungals. All root vegetables should be peeled.

20% high protein foods such as antibiotic-free fish, fowl, nuts, seeds and eggs. Note: spray all nuts and seeds with a solution of
15-30 drops GSE [grapeseed extract] in 2-cups water to kill any aflatoxins mold or fungus that may be present. All nuts should be roasted.

10% complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, beans, millet, amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat.

5% fruit; papaya pineapple, grapefruit, peaches, pears, and all types of berries. Other acceptable foods are seafood and sea
vegetables, olive oil, eggs mayonnaise, white rice, soy and vegetable pastas, white rice cakes and crackers, some citrus fruit,
herb teas and unsweetened cranberry juice.

This type of diet also reduces the unpleasant effects of headaches, nausea and fatigue, known as the "herxhiemer reaction", which
are caused by the release of toxins when pathogenic microbes "die-off".

Sources:
Alpha Nutrition Health Education Series The Book of Allergy and Immunology

Dr. William Crook, M.D.
"The Yeast Connection"

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