7 Ways to fireproof your house

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We are all no strangers to fire damages. Accidental fires can devastate large amounts of valuable property leaving behind not only ash and debris but also toxic gases. Often a lot can be done beforehand to prevent everything from going down in flames. Simple changes like using more non-combustible materials and being a little bit more cautious could make your home less vulnerable to fire damages. Here are a few ways you can fireproof your home.

1) Use fire-resistant/redundant materials

Although there is a fine line between fire resistant and fire redundant materials, replacing your homes with either of these materials can reduce fire-risks by half. Fire resistant materials are designed to resist burning and withstand heat while fire redundant materials slow down the burning process. Such materials may include glass, asbestos, brick, and perlite. Replace roofs made of wood with tiles or concrete.

2) Build a fireproof barrier around your house

Having a house that is fireproof wouldn’t suffice alone. Surround your houses with less inflammable materials like gravel and concrete ground. All vegetation can be a good fuel for a fire. Get rid of excess. Have branches and twigs trimmed from time to time. Create a fireproof barrier around your house by using fire-resistant vegetation. Rockrose, ice-plant, aloe, cherry trees, pine, maple and bush honeysuckles are to name a few.

3) Install fire alarms

Have smoke alarms installed at every level of your house including the basement. Have them checked by a recognized testing laboratory. Make sure everyone at home has a basic understanding of handling a fire extinguisher. It might come in handy.

4) Declutter your surrounding

Get your homes and workplaces decluttered of all the things you don’t necessarily need. It’s easy for fires to spread through superfluous junk. Household items like disinfectant sprays and aerosol sprays are highly inflammable, and so are food items like dry powders. Take extra precaution especially in the kitchen.

5) Check for electrical wiring

Make sure the wiring of your home is safe and properly insulated. Repair faulty wires. Avoid plugging in too many devices/appliances at one point, it may cause an overload and lead to a short circuit breakout.

6) Have many exit doors

Design your homes to handle accidental fire breakouts. Have a good exit strategy planned to ease getting out in case of a fire breakout. This could include multiple exit doors and hallway.

7) Don't be careless

Often fire at homes can be caused by straight up carelessness. Be responsible when you smoke. Do not smoke when you are tired. It's easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning only to wake up to the smell of burning fumes. So also, keep curtains and dish towels a safe distance away from stoves. Avoid wearing loose fitting and dangling clothes while near the stove.

Fire prevention isn't that complicated. It just involves a few easy but smart precautionary steps to avert a great disaster.

At Bio Cleanse Services, we deal with all kinds of fire damages. We can restore your home to perfection. Call us on 0427 411 789.

Fire Damage and the Need for Restoration

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Fire can lead to significant damage to the property and a number of significant other problems which can cost you a lot of money until you get everything restored. Many people still fail to realize the amount of damage fire can do. And most people do not know of the vast number of services offered by fire damage restoration experts.

In case of a fire, the damage is most evident on the walls, furniture, and other upholstery. Fire damage restoration companies will most certainly address this. The best fire damage restoration companies will offer a full restoration of the area and help you redecorate your house including your furniture and upholstery so that your rooms look better than what they did earlier.

Fire damage just doesn’t only cause burn damages. It can also cause odour and stains which won’t go away with conventional cleaning methods. Fire damage restoration services are fully equipped to take care of this as well, making sure no trace of the fire is left lingering in the house. Also, fire can cause short circuits on various electronic machine boards. Fire damage restoration technicians will make sure these are properly cleaned before starting them up. Thus avoiding any additional damage to your property.

Although water damage and fire damage are two edges of a very long pole, they can actually occur together more often than not. In case of a fire, the heat could break burst a pipe or cause a leak in the overhead tank, causing flooding in the house. Fire damage restoration companies are equipped for this hurdle as well since they are trained to handle fire as well as water damage.

If you have experienced a fire, you should get a restoration done as quickly as possible. Always have the contact details of a good fire damage restoration company close by. Make sure the company provides 24-hour services, having a quick response team on its toes all the time. Also, ensure that the company has a good track record with other customers. Check for reviews on various websites on the internet which can give more credibility to the company.

Having said all this, take all the necessary precautions required to avoid fire damage altogether. This includes following safe cooking methods as well as taking extra precautions with other fires and open electric plugs. Regularly checking the fire alarm can greatly reduce the chances of having fire damage.

Bio Cleanse Services is available 24x7 to solve your Fire damage problems. You can reach us on 0427 411 789 or visit our website.

How is Hoarding a Mental Illness?

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Hoarding is the persistent reluctance in discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their value. This behavior usually has harmful effects - emotional, physical, social, financial, and several times even legal - for a hoarder and family members. Commonly hoarded items can be newspapers, furniture, clothes, household supplies and even food items. There are cases when a house is filled with so many pets that they’re often left uncleaned and uncared for and subsequently, they fall ill.

Hoarding is considered to be a derivative of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It is reckoned that about one in four people with OCD are also compulsive hoarders. In future, hoarding might be in a league of its own. In the meantime, it is a serious issue and people are opening up about the difficulty and problems hoarding causes them in their lives. It can be difficult to determine if someone is a hoarder or if they just like to hang on to things. One of the main determining factors to identify if it becomes a disorder is to know, whether or not, and to what extent, 
the behavior has started negatively affecting daily functioning.

Here are some of the recognized symptoms of hoarding:

• Cluttered living spaces
• Unable to discard items, regardless of their value
• Keeping stacks of newspapers, magazines, boxes or junk mail
• Shifting items from one pile to another without essentially discarding anything, even the things that need to be thrown out
• Acquiring unnecessary or useless items, including trash
• Difficulty in doing the daily activities, procrastinating and having a hard time making decisions
• Difficulty organizing items
• Perfectionism - Expecting everything to be flawless
• Over-attachment to possessions and experiencing discomfort when someone else touches or borrows belongings
• Limited or no social interactions

Reasons for hoarding:

People tend to hoard because they believe that the item will come in use in the future and hold it dear to themselves with a unique sentimental value to them. Sometimes they also consider the item as a memory of a person or an event, thinking that they will not remember the event without the item. Hoarding often causes anger, resentment, and depression among family members, and it can have a great effect on the social development of children. Unliveable conditions may lead to separation between couples or divorce, eviction from the property, even loss of child custody, and can give rise to some serious financial problems.

If you are in need of a hoarding clean-up, Bio Cleanse services is who you should contact. Our years of experience, coupled with the high-tech equipment used, will most definitely give you the best customer satisfaction. Head over to our website or call us on 0427411789.

Is your home infested with black mould?

Black mould or Stachybotrys chartarum is a fungus which is considered to be one of the most dangerous of its kind. It grows in dark, moist/damp places in the house like on the walls, tiles, ceilings and wooden cabinets. It not only gives your house an unkempt appearance but also poses a risk of several health problems to the inhabitants. Below are signs that will help you detect the presence of black mould in your house before it’s too late.

1. Musty odour

Mould has a musty, earthy and stale smell. Even if you do not see any mould but notice a peculiar smell when you enter an area in the house, it is a telltale sign of mould's presence. It is important to have the whole house inspected as mould could be hiding and growing underneath moist wallpapers, carpets, or in washing machines, air conditioning, etc.

In many cases, the occupants get accustomed to this musty, damp smell. Hence, it is advisable to have a friend to come over and detect if there are any odd smells.

2. Visible dark spots

Another sign that tells you black mould could be growing in your house is the appearance of black or dark green spots on the ceilings or walls. Black mould appears in clusters and often looks slimy. Even if you feel these spots are anything but mould, they could be due to water damage or standing water, which could lead to mould growth.

When you notice these spots are a result of water damage, call a water damage restoration specialist to clean and remediate the site as well as to check if there are any other areas that have suffered damages to avoid mould problems.

3. Effects on health

The most common health effects of black mould are allergic reactions. The symptoms include watery eyes, runny nose, coughing, wheezing, itchy eyes, headaches, fatigue, and skin irritation. If anyone in your house has been experiencing these symptoms for a while, it is best to have the entire house checked for mould by a professional.

4. Visible mould growth

At times, the growth of black mould in your house may be easily visible. While it is usually black in colour, furry and slimy, its colour may differ. In some cases, it may have hints of dark brown, greenish-black, or even orange or white.

No matter what the colour, every kind of mould needs to be removed thoroughly and the affected area should be disinfected properly.

If you suspect you may have a mould problem, call us on 0427 411 789 and we’ll take care of the rest.

The long-term effects of Water Damage

Whether caused by a flooding or a simple leak in the roof, water damage can have catastrophic consequences on your home. While destroying your property, your furniture, electronics, it goes so far as to put your health at serious risk. Not to mention the damage it does to the resale value of your home.

Heavy rain, quick melting of snow, flash floods increase the possibility of water damage, made worse if your home lacks adequate waterproofing. Causes for water damage can range from a flood to a broken pipe, a sewer backup, broken fixtures, plumbing leaks, foundation cracks, clogged toilets, 
overflowing washing machines, 
faulty drainage systems, etc.

Water damage tends to start out unseen. The first and most critical step to fixing it is detecting it. It is important to have it remediated as soon as possible to prevent it from causing problems some of which are listed below.

Discoloration and Sagging

The unmistakable sign of a leak is discoloration of the ceiling, the beams roofing underlayment or of the walls. This can be considered the most minimal long-term water damage. When water accumulates in one spot resulting in a sudden bulge or change in the ceiling or walls, it causes the structure to ‘sag’.

Structural Damage

When a leak occurs, water seeps into drywall and gets absorbed. It causes the material to warp, chip or swell. If not treated quickly enough, it poses danger to the home’s structure.

• Constant exposure to water can result in the growth of fungi or mould, which then rots the structural wood. A worst case scenario is when the area at risk is an important structure of the house, like a support beam. It is of paramount importance to fix the leak and repair the damage. If ignored, it might just bring your roof down. 

• Concrete is more durable than wood. But, in cases such as flood damage, the accumulation of moisture in cracks and crevices can cause a host of problems including corrosion of steel inside the concrete structure.
• Water damage can also affect electrical wiring, the electrical circuit box, and electrical equipment in the house. This could risk the occurrence of power breakdowns at the least, and in worse situations, electrical burns and electrocution. 

Mildew and Mould 

One of the most common consequences of water damage is the growth and spread of mould in the house. Moisture trapped in a confined space quickly invites these microscopic fungi which destroy everything they touch and then continue to spread to other areas. Mould can potentially weaken the framework where a leak is located, thereby weakening the foundation of your home.

Health Risks

Mould produces spores, which when come into contact with water, proliferate, and begin to pollute the air. This poses a serious health risk. From aggravating allergy and asthma symptoms, from causing breathing difficulties, to respiratory diseases, mould affects children, the elderly and people whose immune systems have already been compromised.

As soon as a residence or any structure has been compromised by water damage, immediate cleanup and remediation is very important. If it is extensive, and you attempt to treat it yourself, you may not manage 100% damage control. In time, the lingering effects of the damage may come back to haunt your home and family. Your safest move would be to call in the professionals. Bio Cleanse Services is all equipped to help you in your toughest times. Call us on 0412 547 547 or visit our website to know more.

What should one do if a pipe bursts

A pipe burst can happen any moment and cause severe water damage to your home. If you find yourself in a situation where a pipe has burst it is important to take the following steps to minimise the water damage and cost of repair.

Shut off the water Supply:

First and foremost, turn off the main water supply to stop the water flow. Next, turn on all the cold faucets to drain out all the water. This will help to ease the existing pressure in the pipes. Then switch off the heating system and turn on all the hot taps to release all the remaining water. Don't forget to flush all the toilets. Once all the water has been drained, there will be no leakages.

Locate the break:

It is important to find out which pipe and where exactly it burst to avoid further damages. Once you've identified that, you will get an idea of what should be your next step. For example, if the burst occurred due to a tiny crack, you can fix the issue by patching it up. If the break or crack is in the main water pipe, it should be handled and repaired cautiously.

Reach out to professionals:

If there are any water damages, immediately switch off the main electricity supply and do not touch any wet appliances. In situations where cleaning and repair is beyond your capacity, it is important to call a professional water damage restoration company to clean, dry and restore your home. Simultaneously, hire a professional plumber to repair or replace the burst pipes. And if the house has suffered any electrical damages, for instance, if the wiring has been damaged, call a reliable electrician to repair it. Do not attempt to clean and repair on your own as this could be dangerous or further worsen the damage.

Contact your Insurance company:

In an event like this, it is best to file an insurance claim by approaching your insurance company. The insurance agent will advise you what steps need to be taken to process your insurance claim. The insurance agent will come and assess the extent of water damage in your home. Documentation of the damage is a must and this can be done using a digital/video camera.

Preventive measures:

No doubt, it is easy to call some professionals to repair a damaged pipe and restore a water-damaged home. Yet, it is important to take precautionary steps to avoid such damages in the first place. Taking preventive measures is much simpler than fixing burst pipes and restoring a home and doesn't even burn a hole in one's pocket.

For expert water damage restoration services, turn to Bio Cleanse Services. Our restoration efforts will ensure that your home is returned to you damage free. To know more, call us on 0412 547 547.

9 Questions To Help You Declutter

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