Living organisms are classified into groups called kingdoms. There are five kingdom classifications; Monera, Protista, Plants, Animals and Fungi. Mushrooms, mold, mildew, slimes and rusts are included within the kingdom of Fungi. Throughout history, mankind has developed useful applications for some fungi. We have incorporated fungi into our diet in the form of red wine, beer, mushrooms and blue cheese. We have extracted fungi byproducts to develop and manufacture medications such as antibiotics (Penicillin) and organ transplant anti-rejection drugs (Cyclosporine). Fungi also facilitates the decomposition of organic waste in our landfills and compost bins. Other fungi, in particular molds, have been identified as pathogenic and mold exposure poses a serious threat to our health.
Flooded Basement
Property Recovery 911 was contacted by a homeowner early one Saturday morning to clean up and dry out a flooded basement resulting from a failed refrigerator water supply line. In this instance, the refrigerator was being supplied by ¼” OD polyethylene tubing, a product that has been the source of countless flood restoration jobs. To avoid dealing with flood clean up services, refrigerators that are supplied water through ¼” polyethylene or copper tubing fed by a saddle tap valve should be proactively replaced with a braided stainless steel ‘no leak’ line and a high quality shutoff valve. Saddle tap valves offer restricted water flow that have been known to burn out water pumps serving a refrigerators water dispenser and ¼” polyethylene as well as copper tubing are notorious for a propensity to leak resulting in a flooded basement requiring a flood restoration.
Property Recovery 911 was contacted for an emergency board up job on a Friday night to secure a broken plate glass window at an Ace Cash Express storefront located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. Exposed to the elements and offering easy access to intruders, rapid execution of commercial board up jobs is crucial in mitigating the possibility of profound financial and legal liability.
We arrived on the commercial board up job location within one hour and cordoned off the area to keep local foot traffic well away from the shards of broken glass strewn about the sidewalk. In this instance, securing the area around the storefront board up job was particularly important as the adjacent building houses a busy tavern with considerable patronage.