My boss called me to her office Monday morning. It is always a bit nerve wracking when “the boss” calls you to their office. You start running scenarios through your mind of all the things you have done recently that they may not have liked. Why? No one knows. Very few people expect to get good news. I was pleasantly surprised however. She informed me that I was being promoted. Not a lateral promotion but a full promotion including a raise in salary, access to the higher benefits level and a company vehicle. Then she dropped the other shoe. I would have to move. Part of becoming chief of operations for the new call center would require that I pick my family up and move them from Los Angeles to Toronto, Canada. I conditionally accepted the offer with the explanation that I had to speak with my spouse first. Quickly my employer threw in that I would have a corporate relocation package to help with the expense of moving.
When I got home that evening I explained to my spouse what had transpired. We discussed the pros and cons of moving in general, then did quite a bit of internet research on Toronto and found that the move would be beneficial to all of us. I went into work the next morning and told my employer that I would accept the position. She handed me all the necessary paperwork to complete for the promotion along with the information on the corporate relocation package. In that list there were several companies to choose from that specialized in cross country moving. I pointed out that we would not just be moving across the country; we would be moving to another country. My boss said that those companies were chosen because they were used to dealing with the small details between Canada and the United States. I was welcome to contact other companies specializing in corporate relocation if I wanted but only a portion of their costs would be covered.
I gave all the information to my spouse that evening. We had less than one month to pack and relocate. The stress of moving around the corner is high. The stress of moving to another country is much higher. My spouse contacted the corporate relocation companies from the list and chose one. They sent us a check list of things to do, arranged for a moving company, and invoiced my company comptroller for all costs. Talk about stress relief.
The only things we had to make sure were done ourselves were on the check list. We gathered all of our personal documentation (birth certificates, wedding certificate, medical records, etc). We packed for what seemed like forever. We had several moving sales and dispersed some other goods among friends and family. We went house shopping online with the help of the corporate relocation company. The decision had been made to rent until our house in Los Angeles was sold. Finally moving day came and we were actually ready to go. Sad and happy tears and good byes were exchanged with friends and family and we went to the airport while our belongings were loaded into the moving van. We were staying in a hotel until our belongings arrived. It was the most organized move I have ever participated in.
International Moving
Since your bathroom is one of the most important rooms in the house, you need to be aware of the different areas of it that are the most at risk for water damage. These are the water junctions in your bathroom and this means that these are the areas that water comes out of the plumbing and into the room at some point, whether it is at the shower, the sink, or the toilet.
Having tile down in your bathroom to protect the floor underneath from water is an absolute must. While you can put down carpet in the bathroom, this is not advised, since mold will eventually start to grow in it or under it, especially in the bathroom closet where you are likely to throw wet towels and clothes. These wet items are usually forgotten about and dry clothing is thrown on top of them.
Do an inspection of your bathroom when you go in it every now and then to make sure that there are no real signs of water damage occurring.
The tiles on the floor and on the walls around the shower and bath tub can become cracked over time and when they do become cracked, you need to replace them to keep water from seeping under them. Water that gets under these tiles will damage the surface underneath and if they become very damaged, tearing up the tile and replacing this surface is the only option to maintain structural integrity.
The plumbing under the sink should be inspected for leaks on a regular basis and you should replace the pipes if they are cracked or loose at all.
You should also pay attention to the area around the base of the toilet and cracked tile around it needs to be replaced. Toilets overflow all the time from clogging and you can prevent this most of the time by just not putting too much toilet paper in the toilet. Also avoid putting hanging toilet bowl cleansers in it, because these also tend to cause clogging.
The plumbing inside the walls can be checked out, but this is the most difficult area of the bathroom to keep an eye on, since the pipes are located inside the walls. Watch for moisture on the drywall or leaking into the floor from any part of the wall. Either of these signs should be a giveaway that there is a problem in the wall.
Water Damage Restoration
Anyone who eats Asian food regularly probably knows that soy sauce has been around for at least a couple of thousand years and it is one of the most popular condiments in use today.
In ancient times, the people of Asia had to preserve meat and fish by packing them tightly in salt and the liquid that drained from the meat preserved like this was commonly used as a seasoning for other foods such as rice. As Buddhism became more popular, the salty meat drippings that were used for seasonings had to be exchanged for vegetarian alternatives. One alternative was a salty paste of some fermented grains and this was an early version of soy sauce.
As improvements were made on the recipe in Japan and a woman there opened the first commercial soy sauce brewery in the world, soy sauce soon became even more popular in Asia and its use began to spread.
Today, soy sauce is made with mashed soybeans, salt, wheat, and finally, a fermenting agent which is usually the same one used to make sake in Japan, Aspergillus oryzae. Aspergillus soyae can also be used. The mold used to ferment the soy sauce is a pretty important ingredient, as the soy sauce made with it is referred to as a “true” soy sauce.
Aspergillus oryzae is also used in the creation of Japanese rice wine, as mentioned earlier. Also called “koji”, it is one of the most important ingredients in the beverage. The mold is used to ferment steamed rice that has been milled sometimes down to less than 50 percent of its original mass in order to remove the amino acids, proteins, and fats that can really give the beverage a smell or flavor that is not as pleasant as it could be.
The cultivation of this mold is taken extremely seriously by sake brewers, since the mold is sensitive and can absorb the flavor and smell of the things around it, such as the smell of the wood a new brewing room might be constructed out of. If constructed of cedar, the sake may very well take on a faint cedar flavor after it is produced. In contrast to wine, sake should be consumed as soon as possible after being bottled. Some aged sakes are quite good, but the general opinion is to drink it as soon as you buy it.
Miami Water Damage Repair
Chlorine bleach isn’t the holy “purify all” that we once thought it was. Mothers and housekeepers all across the country the past century have tended to think that if it needs to be cleaned or disinfected, bleach will do the trick. Most people would think that chlorine bleach will kill mold, but new studies prove that this is not the case. It is not effective in killing mold on porous surfaces like walls of a household, ceiling tiles, and etcetera.
Unless the mold is on top of a counter or a sink, the bleach will do next to nothing to eliminate the mold. A recent study paid for by Clorox, the largest manufacturer in the world of chlorine bleach, says that attempting to kill mold with bleach is best done on hard surfaces only. This means that if you find mold growing on your wall, trying to clean it with chlorine bleach is not going to help because the mold is growing not only on the outside of the wall, but also deeper in the wall than the chemical can reach. Chlorine bleach is too diluted and not strong enough to get rid of mold unless it is on a non-porous surface like tile.
Chlorine bleach is also not a registered disinfectant with the EPA that works with killing mold. The EPA puts a registration number indicating that a product kills mold on any product that does, but you will not be able to find this on any chlorine bleach label.
Another thing that some people are unaware of is the dangerous properties that chlorine bleach can have if it is mixed with other cleaning products such as anything containing ammonia or anything that contains acid. The mixing of these products causes toxic gases to be released into the air in your home and this occurs most often when someone is trying to disinfect something in their home or get rid of disease-causing microorganisms like mold. Mold is serious business, but don’t risk your life by mixing household chemicals trying to find a cheap way to kill the mold that exists in your home.
In addition to being ineffective in killing mold, it also tends to damage and discolor some surfaces it is used on such as metal.
Article By: Water Restoration
