Blue mold is a fungus that commonly affects fruits that are put into cold storage; the mold develops quite slowly at these cold temperatures. When it is brought to room temperature, green mold (which does not grow well in cold temperatures) predominates most infections where both molds are present. Blue mold is actually Penicillium italicum and is not as serious as the green mold that occurs in Florida. The spores become airborne and grow large colonies on the surface of fruit that have become infected. They will go on to contaminated the equipment, water in any tank the fruit comes into contact with, the packinghouse, transit containers, any storage room, and eventually the retail market area if the infected fruit is allowed to travel that far.
The fungus survives outside of the fruit packing industry in soil debris and since the spores are airborne, they can infect fruit on the tree or on the ground whose skin is damaged. Any infected fruit that is boxed with healthy fruit will cause the whole carton to become infected and care should be taken to remove any diseased fruit from the lot as soon as possible. Before it makes it to the retail market, any diseased fruit must be removed. The cycle of producing spores and infecting fruit can be repeated a great number of times in storage rooms and fruit packing houses and since this is true, it will eventually develop a strain that has a resistance to any chemical fungicides.
The symptoms of blue mold appear similar to sour rot or green mold; a small area of decay begins to form and this manifests as a soft, somewhat watery spot. These lesions will enlarge to about 1 to 2 inches in diameter and white mycelium will form in the center. Blue spores will begin to form shortly afterward and these are easily turned airborne by either moving the fruit around physically or by a simple air current in the room.
To reduce the incidents of blue mold, both harvesting and handling of the fruit needs to be very careful. High populations of blue mold spores cannot be let to gather in the storage rooms or packinghouses. Any fruit that is infected should be removed from the area where clean fruit is located immediately and put in a different facility used especially for disposing of it. Equipment should be sanitized on a daily basis.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration chicago and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
Friday, September 28, 2007
What to Do to Your Flooded Home
Investing in a home that is in an area prone to floods can be frustrating, especially after the home you just bought gets flooded for the first time. Having to dry out parts of the building or even the entire thing can be a long and tedious process and if you have not ever had to do it, you might not know how to go about it. There are a few different things that you need to do after a home has become flood damaged and precautions to take in case it happens again.
After flood waters have receded and you re-enter your home, you need to be certain that there is no risk of electrocution. All power to your home should be cut before you re-enter, because it is likely that there is still some standing water. There are also some biological risks that you take when you go back into a home or other building that has been flooded. There are all kinds of chemicals and biological hazards that tend to exist in flood waters and you should wear protective gear while you are attempting to dry out your home and thoroughly wash your hands before you eat.
Before you begin trying to do anything to the home, you should take a video camera and carefully document the damage done to every part of your home. Do this thoroughly and try not to miss anything because this will help you tremendously when trying to file an insurance claim on your damaged home.
You should start by removing any insulation in your attic that has become wet. This will weigh down on your ceilings and can cause them to collapse, because wet insulation is not only heavy, but no longer effective. Anything else in the home that is still wet should be removed and set outside to dry. Opening windows to allow air to circulate through the home is also essential and if you have hardwood floors, drying them out naturally is the best way to go if you do not want to cause them to buckle. Using hot air from heaters to dry your home out is not recommended at all.
Watch for mold beginning to grow in the home shortly after the waters have receded. Mold can start to grow in as little as 24 hours after something has come into contact with water or high humidity. This is another issue that you do not want to have to deal with after a flood, not only because of the damage that it can do to your home, but also because of the damage it can do to your health.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
After flood waters have receded and you re-enter your home, you need to be certain that there is no risk of electrocution. All power to your home should be cut before you re-enter, because it is likely that there is still some standing water. There are also some biological risks that you take when you go back into a home or other building that has been flooded. There are all kinds of chemicals and biological hazards that tend to exist in flood waters and you should wear protective gear while you are attempting to dry out your home and thoroughly wash your hands before you eat.
Before you begin trying to do anything to the home, you should take a video camera and carefully document the damage done to every part of your home. Do this thoroughly and try not to miss anything because this will help you tremendously when trying to file an insurance claim on your damaged home.
You should start by removing any insulation in your attic that has become wet. This will weigh down on your ceilings and can cause them to collapse, because wet insulation is not only heavy, but no longer effective. Anything else in the home that is still wet should be removed and set outside to dry. Opening windows to allow air to circulate through the home is also essential and if you have hardwood floors, drying them out naturally is the best way to go if you do not want to cause them to buckle. Using hot air from heaters to dry your home out is not recommended at all.
Watch for mold beginning to grow in the home shortly after the waters have receded. Mold can start to grow in as little as 24 hours after something has come into contact with water or high humidity. This is another issue that you do not want to have to deal with after a flood, not only because of the damage that it can do to your home, but also because of the damage it can do to your health.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Beware Of Water Damage Caused By Frozen Pipes
If you have just moved into a new home or even if it is just a rental, if you are planning on spending the winter there, it might be a good idea to remember to wrap any water pipes that you can gain access to. Most people who have owned a home for a while know all about this necessity, but if it is your first home, you might not think about it until it is too late. Well, it is likely that your parents mentioned it to you when you were younger, but you did not understand fully why they did it.
So, why wrap them? When the temperature outside falls below around twenty degrees Fahrenheit, the water pipes that are in your basement, under your sink, or outside exposed to these temperatures can become frozen and will burst. This will not only cause your water bill to go up if you do not notice this right away (and you should, unless you are away on vacation), but also cause water damage to the inside of your home depending on which pipe was ruptured.
Any pipes that you can reach easily should be wrapped up in some kind of insulation and if you can manage to get warm air to any of these pipes, it is a good idea to do so. Keeping the pipes above freezing is not too difficult if you have some good common sense.
The first thing to do is to open your bathroom and kitchen cabinets so that any heat inside your home can reach the water pipes inside. Even if your home is not being heated by a central heat and air system, you can still use space heaters to get this benefit as long as you are careful not to place them close enough to the cabinets for them to catch fire. Careful placement of space heaters is essential if you do not want to start a house fire. Use space heaters with caution.
It is also advised to leave a tad of water running in most faucets during the wintertime; even though your water bill may be a little more every month, but it might be a good idea to do this, anyway. The cost of repairing the water damage a busted pipe can cause far outweighs the little bit of extra you might pay each month during the winter by leaving a little water running all the time.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Basement water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
New Jersey Basement water damage restoration companies across the united states.
So, why wrap them? When the temperature outside falls below around twenty degrees Fahrenheit, the water pipes that are in your basement, under your sink, or outside exposed to these temperatures can become frozen and will burst. This will not only cause your water bill to go up if you do not notice this right away (and you should, unless you are away on vacation), but also cause water damage to the inside of your home depending on which pipe was ruptured.
Any pipes that you can reach easily should be wrapped up in some kind of insulation and if you can manage to get warm air to any of these pipes, it is a good idea to do so. Keeping the pipes above freezing is not too difficult if you have some good common sense.
The first thing to do is to open your bathroom and kitchen cabinets so that any heat inside your home can reach the water pipes inside. Even if your home is not being heated by a central heat and air system, you can still use space heaters to get this benefit as long as you are careful not to place them close enough to the cabinets for them to catch fire. Careful placement of space heaters is essential if you do not want to start a house fire. Use space heaters with caution.
It is also advised to leave a tad of water running in most faucets during the wintertime; even though your water bill may be a little more every month, but it might be a good idea to do this, anyway. The cost of repairing the water damage a busted pipe can cause far outweighs the little bit of extra you might pay each month during the winter by leaving a little water running all the time.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Basement water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
New Jersey Basement water damage restoration companies across the united states.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
