Carp, Carps, Carpings

That sounds kind of strange, does it not?  Water is usually one of the last things that you tend to think about when your house is on fire, except for wanting lots of it to put the fire out with.  When the fire trucks come and start the business of putting the fire out with gallons and gallons of water, we are typically overjoyed, except for those of us who know that the water they pour onto and into our home can be almost as damaging as the fire itself.  Ceilings and walls become soaked in water, not to mention the rest of the home’s appliances, furniture, and fixtures.  The insulation in the attic is not safe, either, because once it gets wet, it becomes completely useless in protecting your home from the heat and cold during the summer and winter seasons.  It weighs down on your ceiling’s drywall and can eventually cause it to collapse if not replaced soon. 

There are plenty of things that you can do when you have a fire in your home and you return to it to find not a dried out shell of a building, but a soaking wet interior. 

Wait to turn on any household appliances or any lights while you are in standing water.  This includes carpets that are soaked with water and make splashing sounds when you walk across them.  It is also very important that you do not do this while standing on concrete floors.  The possibility of electrocution is high. 

If you start to enter a room, look up at the ceiling.  If the ceiling is sagging down, then it is probably due to water that has been retained in the attic or because of insulation that has gotten soaked and is weighing down on the drywall.  Do not enter this room.  Instead, check out the damage to the attic, if possible.

Whatever clothing that you have in your home should be removed and hung outside to dry, if possible.  Leaving wet clothing in your home to dry will ruin them because of the fact that mold will set in within about 24 to 48 hours after water exposure. 

Whatever you do, do not attempt to vacuum floors that are wet.  Using a wet vacuum cleaner to do this is the only option, but only do this after the electrical circuits in the house have been checked and found to be undamaged. 

Remove any books and magazines that have colored covers from the floors.  The dyes from these will run and stain your floors and carpet.  These should be removed as soon as possible.

Seattle Water Damage Restoration

Did you know that if you are a landlord or a homeowner and you have to have mold removed from your home, it is tax deductible?  It qualifies as a repair that has to be done to protect the investment of your home. 

The costs that you will incur from removing mold from your home or your business can be quite great, depending on the size of the infection.  Sometimes a quarter, half, or even a whole wall or more has to be removed, not to mention the cost of the chemicals and personal protection equipment necessary to do the job safely.

The IRS has concluded that the cost of mold removal and remediation are tax deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense.  This is a requirement that must be met before something can be deducted as a business expense: it must be both ordinary and necessary.  

Renovations that increase the value of a home or other building cannot be counted as business expenses, but the removal of mold is necessary because the health of the workers and anyone else in the building will be affected, thus affecting the flow of cash into the business.  Mold remediation does not add value to the property, so it is fine to count it as tax deductible at the end of the year, even if it is not a business that is being treated.  Unfortunately, if the mold remediation is the part of a renovation plan that includes the entire property, then the cost is required to be capitalized instead of deducted from your taxes at the end of the year.

So, just what is deductible?  If you hire a professional service to do it for you, then the total of whatever they billed you after the project was completed is what you would write down as your deduction at the end of the year.  Also, any building materials that you have to purchase after the mold removal are tax deductible, as well.  These are necessary to complete the repairs. 

It is also possible any relocation expenses that you or your family might incur while the mold remediation is taking place may be deductible, as well.  Contact whoever prepares your taxes for you and ask them if it may be deductible. 

If you play your cards right, you should be able to deduct most of the cost of your mold remediation, as long as it is not part of a larger renovation of the property.

Ct Wet Carpet Cleaning 

No matter where you live in the United States, one important thing to realize when you’re renting a home or an apartment is that there are some things you are not liable for and the landlord is. Some landlords will try to tell you that a certain thing is not their responsibility or that it was not in the lease, but the fact is that the landlord has a responsibility to make sure that the home or building that you are renting is a safe and healthy environment.

If you discover mold growing in your rental, your first order of business is to have a mold test done either by yourself or preferably by a professional. You have to first prove to the landlord that a problem exists in the rental before you can make him or her do anything about it. Once you have the burden of proving there is mold off your shoulders, then you can worry about what you’re going to do if the landlord chooses to do nothing about it. Mold inspections and tests are not generally covered by most leases and so you have to pay for them.

You must decide whether to continue living in the unit until your landlord takes the necessary steps to have the mold removed or to leave and try to make your landlord pay the cost of relocating you. Depending on the size of the mold infestation, it might be more feasible to stay in the unit. If it’s a large infestation, staying shouldn’t be considered. Sometimes mold can be gotten rid of by you if you’re unwilling to bother with your landlord and go through the trouble of making him or her do anything about it, but whether you do it yourself or have your landlord take care of the problem for you, the mold must be removed somehow if you are to continue living there safely.

When you notify your landlord that a mold problem exists, do this by certified mail so that you have legal proof that you communicated this to him. Send along the proof in the form of a paper signed by a certified mold inspector and what the mold test concluded. If this notice is received and you receive no communication from your landlord, sending a second notice saying that you are not going to pay your rent until he does something about it is the next level. If this is still ignored, notify your landlord a third time by certified mail and inform him that you are moving out and that you will be getting a lawyer. You can sue your landlord for the cost of relocating due to the mold and he is also probably liable for any medical expenses you have incurred due to the infestation.

Flooded Basement