Category: Home Tips (Page 1 of 6)

How To Prevent Mold In Your Attic

May 7, 2021 / whalen

The attic is one area of the home that is very likely to be neglected or ignored. Since attics are often “out of sight, out of mind”, they can easily become a hotbed for mold. Roof leaks, poor ventilation, and other condensation related problems are some of the most common causes of excessive attic moisture and mold growth. Unattended mold in your home attic space can reproduce, leading to potential structural deterioration. However, with proper care, you can help prevent the growth of mold in your attic.

Here Are Some Tips On How to Maintain a Mold-Free Attic

Inspect Your Attic Monthly

Check regularly for rook leaks that may produce moisture. This is the best way to ensure that a leak does not go unnoticed for too long. Inspect the insulation and wood for discoloration, as discoloration may be a sign of water damage.

Check for wet areas in roof valleys (where two roofs join at an angle). These areas are highly susceptible to rook leaks and may lead to excess water and moisture damage if not properly fixed.

Ensure Proper Attic Ventilation

Without adequate ventilation, moisture levels in your attic may significantly increase. This is particularly important in the winter, when warm air rises to the ceiling, enters the attic, and condenses on the cold surfaces. Proper ventilation, using rafter vents and soffits, allows the heat and moisture to escape. Constant air exchange will keep attic humidity low and significantly reduce the chance for mold growth.

Ensure Proper Insulation Installation

Attic insulation controls the temperature and moisture levels by preventing warmer air from penetrating into the colder attic. Ensure that the insulation of the floor, heating ducts, and other regions and surfaces are adequately insulated, and that the insulation is in good shape.

Do not over insulate. Your roof needs a certain amount of heat to reach it so it can dry out the moisture in the air. By adding too much insulation, your cold attic may mix with wet winter air and produce mold growth.

Vent Appliances Directly to the Outside

Make sure that your dryer, kitchen, and bathroom vents are vented to the outside of your home and not in the attic. Each appliance and vent should have its own dedicated port to transport the hot air outside. Otherwise, your ventilation system could be overwhelmed and not maintain moisture levels efficiently.

For all your mold remediation services, give Whalen Restoration Services a call at (508) 760-1911, or check out our website for more information.

How to Protect Your Home From Unwanted Pests & Animals

April 21, 2021 / whalen

There is a variety of unwanted pests & animals that can cause extensive damage to one’s home or business. Knowing all the negative consequences that come from animal infestations, it is only natural that you would want to protect your property against these critters.

Below are five ways you can help prevent wildlife from becoming a nuisance and making your home their home.

Clean Up Your Home
- The first thing you should do to protect your home is to clean your entire home, even areas that are difficult to reach. Hard to reach areas like between appliances and counters are some of wildlife’s favorite places to find food. Be sure to regularly vacuum and sweep your floors to keep the kitchen and living areas free of food and crumbs.
Ensure Food is Securely Covered and Stored
- Pay special attention to pantries, drawers, and cabinets. Pests are constantly looking for food sources to feast on. Make sure to place all food in sealed, hard to access containers. Consider keeping your pet’s food in sealed containers as well. Pet food that is not properly stored can become an enticing food source.
Cover and Secure Your Trash
- This is important both inside your house and outside. If you leave a bag of garbage in front of your door, you could be attracting unwanted animals to your home. Be sure to put garbage in a trash can and keep that trash can in your garage or shed, if possible. If this is not an option, make sure to secure your bins so they are difficult to open and topple over. This can be done with the use of lids and bungee cords.
Make Necessary Repairs to Your Home
- Inspect your home thoroughly to look for any small holes, especially near entry and exit points. Be sure to seal any holes and cracks as wildlife can use these as easy entryways into your home. Your chimney also provides an access point for critters . Consider investing in a chimney cap to prevent unwanted wildlife entry.
Apply Special Coverings Over Your Roof Vents
- Roof vents are by far one of the most susceptible areas of intrusions by wildlife. Typically raccoons and squirrels are know to destroy roof vents and use them as an entry point. Roof vents can be covered by screening, but the material used must be strong enough to prevent animals from physically removing it and/or chewing through it. Applying protective screening to your roof vents will substantially reduce the risk of being broken into by a wild animal.

If you do suspect intrusive animals in your home or business, you should contact an animal removal service immediately. Once the animals are properly removed, that is when our team can come in and begin to restore all affected areas.

Wildlife should be respected and appreciated within its natural habitat. However, we understand that unwanted wildlife can cause costly damage to your property – that is why we are here to help.

To learn more about our Wildlife Damage Restoration Services, click here or contact us at (508) 760-1911.

Helpful Tips for Preventing Spring Thaw Damage

April 7, 2021 / whalen

Spring is notorious for its unpredictable weather. To ensure that you and your home are protected during the rainy season, we are providing five tips on how to prepare for the spring thaw and prevent water damage.

Check your home’s drainage – to prevent flooding you must keep water away from the foundation of your home. This is best done with the assistance of a sump pump. A sump pump protects your basement from flooding by transporting excess water around your home’s foundation safely outside. If you already have a sump pump, make sure it is clean, the intake valve is clear, and the system is properly working.
Maintain gutters and downspouts – ensure that they are not filled with debris. Remove leaves, ice, and snow so water can move freely away from your home. Backed up gutters and downspouts are likely to cause overflows and flooding.
Install water alarm and flood sensors. These devices are designed to send an alert when unwanted water is detected in the home. This can be extremely helpful to secondary Cape homeowners that may not live in their homes full-time.
Rearrange items in the basement. Relocate sensitive, important items to upper levels of your home or move them onto shelves or pallets. By elevating your valuable items, you lower the risk of them getting damaged in unexpected floods.
Reevaluate your homeowner’s insurance policy. Most homeowners’ policies do not include flood damage, so make sure you have adequate coverage. It is important to purchase this protection separately, if necessary.

Most importantly, if you do experience any water damage or flooding, be sure to contact Whalen Restorations as soon as possible. For more information on our water damage restoration services, click here.

The Flu and Other Cold Viruses

March 3, 2020 / whalen

Helping to stop the spread of the Flu and other cold viruses

The recent Coronavirus outbreak is certainly testing our preparedness and response to possible pandemics. It’s a serious reminder to how quickly things can escalate when it comes to viruses that can be spread person-to-person. Flu season comes every year with reminders on good practices to help prevent the potentially fatal illness, but it seems the cautions have heightened with the news of the new danger that’s traveling the globe. Even if you’re not quite ready to start stocking up to prepare for the possibility of a mandatory 2-week quarantine, you should at least start really working on improving your day-to-day practices to help prevent the spread of many illnesses. Here are some ideas to help you that.

Are you washing your hands for a full 20 seconds?

Set a timer on your phone for 20 seconds and while it runs see how many times you can hum happy birthday before the alarm goes off. Use that a measure to how long you should be washing your hands every time.

To work or not to work?

If you wake up and you’re obviously suffering from some illness like a cold or the flu then please do everyone a favor and unless you’re leaving to seek treatment, stay home. Rest up. Keep up on the fluids. Your co-workers should even thank you for considering their health too by you not wanting to risk sharing your illness with them.

When was the last time you cleaned your keys?

I’d bet if there’s two things you touch throughout the entire day it’s your phone and your keys. That includes touching them after or while visiting public places that are known to be breeding grounds for bacteria and that have surfaces to share viruses. Don’t just wash your hands after visiting these places, but also clean your phone and your keys that you probably touched in the meantime.

Clean, clean, clean…

Hopefully you all have at least that one person at your workplace that as soon as a sniffle is heard they are all around the place with the disinfectant spray or wipes. Why not make a schedule where someone is assigned to the beginning and end of every day to wipe all of the common surfaces? Each individual should wipe down their own pens, pencils, phones, staplers, etc. Wipe down common surfaces at home too.

Air purifiers & humidifiers for the win.

You can disinfect surfaces, but how do you clean the air? Air purifiers can be great at reducing harmful airborne germs and allergens, and studies have shown that keeping a relative humidity of more than 40% can reduce the flu virus survival rate. Between those two units and keeping up on changing your air filters you are making a significant increase in air quality.