One of the most important events in a young person’s life is the purchase of a vehicle and if you are unfortunate enough, as many of us are, to have to buy a used vehicle, well, you might already be a tad aggravated at the process. Maybe you cannot find the right color or the right make or model vehicle that you really want and even if you do find that, is the vehicle a sound one? Does it run the way it should for its age? These questions and more plague those of us who cannot afford a brand new vehicle, but did you ever think about asking whether a vehicle has been submerged completely in water before?
Flooded vehicles being sold without telling the consumer that they have been flooded is a bit more common than you might think. Unfortunately, most of us who go to purchase a used car do not think to ask about this or even check for signs of water damage before we sign the final sale papers. There are a few things that you can do to check and make sure if a vehicle has been flooded before.
Check the upholstery. If it does not appear to match the rest of the vehicle, such as the dashboard and other interior parts of the car, it may have been taken up and replaced due to water damage. If you think it has been replaced, do not hesitate to ask if it has and why the replacement was necessary. If it was due to the vehicle being submerged in water, then this is a vehicle that you probably do not want. You could have a full inspection done by a mechanic that you trust, however, if this is the exact make and model that you want.
Check the trunk and inside the dashboard for signs of rust. Checking around the taillights in the trunk is especially advised, because this is a typical spot where rust will build up if the car has been submerged.
The engine also needs to be checked. If the car was driven into a lake or a river, then the possibility that silt, sand, or mud has gotten into the engine is pretty large. These items can completely ruin an engine beyond repair, even though they may run for a short period of time.
If mold has started to grow in the interior carpet or upholstery, then the vehicle will have a fairly musty smell to it. If you stick your head inside the car and smell air freshener, however, you might want to be careful from that point forward. Air freshener is sometimes used to cover up undesired smells and give you the impression that the car is in better condition than it really is.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Water Damage Restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Diseases Caused by Mold Exposure
We all know that mold poses a pretty good sized threat to our health, but the diseases that come about because of mold are some of the most serious around. These diseases almost always end in the suffix of “mycosis” or simply “osis” and they can sometimes end in damage to your internal organs that is often irreparable. They can also sometimes eventually result in death in the most extreme of cases.
These diseases are the most threatening for those people who have weakened immune systems. This can include small children (especially infants), those with HIV or AIDS, and the elderly who have any kind of health problems. Perfectly healthy small children and elderly people might fight off these infections a little better than some of their peers, but it is still not recommended that these people be exposed to mold for a long period of time.
The symptoms of diseases caused by mold can be anything from flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, coughing, and sneezing all the way to more serious symptoms like the coughing up of blood. Anti-fungal medications can also pose a threat, since these medications can sometimes cause the exact symptoms that they are being prescribed to treat. Almost any doctor that gives a patient antifungal medication will request the patient to come back and lab work be done on a regular basis in order to spot these possible side effects before they move into their next stage.
When you have a mold-related disease, one of the things that you should not do is eat foods that have been manufactured using funguses like mold. This includes things like blue cheese and blue cheese dressing, roguefort, and gorgonzola cheeses, and especially foods that contain mushrooms.
Aspergillosis is caused by those molds that are in the genus Aspergillus. One of the most intriguing and dangerous things about this is that what are called “aspergilloma” have been known to start growing in the lungs and other organs that have pre-existing cavities in them. These cavities can be a result of cancer or a disease that has a similar effect to tuberculosis. Unfortunately, aspergilloma typically do not cause the person to have any symptoms, although in later stages a person might cough up blood, experience weight loss, shortness of breath, and fever.
Penicilliosis is an opportunistic infection that occurs mainly in southeast Asia where the mold that causes it is indigenous. The vast majority of those who develop this infection are those that have HIV and AIDS and it is the third most common opportunistic infection for these individuals in the region.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingct.info
http://www.floodedbasementnj.info
These diseases are the most threatening for those people who have weakened immune systems. This can include small children (especially infants), those with HIV or AIDS, and the elderly who have any kind of health problems. Perfectly healthy small children and elderly people might fight off these infections a little better than some of their peers, but it is still not recommended that these people be exposed to mold for a long period of time.
The symptoms of diseases caused by mold can be anything from flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, coughing, and sneezing all the way to more serious symptoms like the coughing up of blood. Anti-fungal medications can also pose a threat, since these medications can sometimes cause the exact symptoms that they are being prescribed to treat. Almost any doctor that gives a patient antifungal medication will request the patient to come back and lab work be done on a regular basis in order to spot these possible side effects before they move into their next stage.
When you have a mold-related disease, one of the things that you should not do is eat foods that have been manufactured using funguses like mold. This includes things like blue cheese and blue cheese dressing, roguefort, and gorgonzola cheeses, and especially foods that contain mushrooms.
Aspergillosis is caused by those molds that are in the genus Aspergillus. One of the most intriguing and dangerous things about this is that what are called “aspergilloma” have been known to start growing in the lungs and other organs that have pre-existing cavities in them. These cavities can be a result of cancer or a disease that has a similar effect to tuberculosis. Unfortunately, aspergilloma typically do not cause the person to have any symptoms, although in later stages a person might cough up blood, experience weight loss, shortness of breath, and fever.
Penicilliosis is an opportunistic infection that occurs mainly in southeast Asia where the mold that causes it is indigenous. The vast majority of those who develop this infection are those that have HIV and AIDS and it is the third most common opportunistic infection for these individuals in the region.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingct.info
http://www.floodedbasementnj.info
Discard Molded Foods
If we all kept our refrigerators cleaned out along with keeping an eye on what outdated items exist in it, we would probably all have healthier meals throughout the day. Most people, however, tend to forget just how important cleaning out their fridges can be and just accept the fact that foods will become moldy and that you will have to throw away a fair portion of the food that you store every year. There are a few things that you can do to prevent mold from growing in your refrigerator, but one of the best things is just to simply keep track of what food is in your refrigerator and how long it has been in there.
Some outdated items are fine as long as they have not been opened. Even things like mayonnaise or sour cream can last quite a while as long as they are still in sealed containers. But, after these are opened, their shelf life drastically decreases and the chance that mold will start to grow inside them goes up significantly. When you break the seal on an item such as this, you let the air in your home and your refrigerator inside the container. If mold spores are in the air in your home (and they probably are), these will get inside the container, as well. This does not mean that they will start to grow immediately, but the longer it remains uneaten, the bigger the chance that it will become the home of a mold colony.
Something else to keep an eye on is sour cream. Sour cream is notorious for becoming molded and this is unfortunately one of the foods that cannot be saved once it does. Once you start to see mold spots growing in your tub of sour cream, it is time to throw it out. This is a porous, highly moist food item and like other foods that meet that criteria, once it becomes contaminated by mold on the top, the whole container is, as well.
Other porous items that you might not keep in your refrigerator that are popular with mold are baked items. These are things like bread, cookies, cakes, and just about anything else that you bake in the oven. These should be thrown away and never eaten.
Other moist items in your refrigerator that tend to have mold problems are things like jelly and jam. Other spreads such as marmalade can also become molded if left uneaten long enough, so these should be completely discarded as well as soon as mold spots begin to appear.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration New Jersey and and other states such as
Connecticut Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Some outdated items are fine as long as they have not been opened. Even things like mayonnaise or sour cream can last quite a while as long as they are still in sealed containers. But, after these are opened, their shelf life drastically decreases and the chance that mold will start to grow inside them goes up significantly. When you break the seal on an item such as this, you let the air in your home and your refrigerator inside the container. If mold spores are in the air in your home (and they probably are), these will get inside the container, as well. This does not mean that they will start to grow immediately, but the longer it remains uneaten, the bigger the chance that it will become the home of a mold colony.
Something else to keep an eye on is sour cream. Sour cream is notorious for becoming molded and this is unfortunately one of the foods that cannot be saved once it does. Once you start to see mold spots growing in your tub of sour cream, it is time to throw it out. This is a porous, highly moist food item and like other foods that meet that criteria, once it becomes contaminated by mold on the top, the whole container is, as well.
Other porous items that you might not keep in your refrigerator that are popular with mold are baked items. These are things like bread, cookies, cakes, and just about anything else that you bake in the oven. These should be thrown away and never eaten.
Other moist items in your refrigerator that tend to have mold problems are things like jelly and jam. Other spreads such as marmalade can also become molded if left uneaten long enough, so these should be completely discarded as well as soon as mold spots begin to appear.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration New Jersey and and other states such as
Connecticut Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
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