Beware a Damp House is Wrecking Your Health

Ever wondered how damp in your house is playing with your health? Yes, the dampness on the wall here and there not only spoil the look of your home but impact the health of your family too. India being a tropical country, the building structures here are exposed to a high amount of moisture and humidity. Thus, they become more susceptible to damp development. When you are living in such a home, one thing leads to another and before you even know, your health is at risk too. Research suggests that on an average, we spend around 16 hours in our home. So, it is easy to apprehend how much at risk we are of developing health disorders due to damp. Common human health hazards associated with a damp house include:

  • Upper respiratory (nasal and throat) symptoms
  • Asthma symptoms in sensitized persons with asthma
  • Cough
  • Wheeze
  • Allergies
  • Skin Diseases
  • Migraine Headaches & Depression

What are the reasons and how does damp wreaks havoc on our health? We have listed out a few points below for you:

1. Flourishing Pathogens

When you have damp in your home, it means excess moisture has been accumulated. Guess what it is best for enabling pathogens and all kinds of germs to flourish and reproduce in higher numbers. Besides viruses and bacteria, other microorganisms like fungi and algae also proliferate in a moist environment. These microorganisms, being pathogenic, bring forth health disorders of various types. They release harmful chemicals in the air that pollute the indoor atmosphere or act as allergens causing mild to severe irritations in different parts of the body. If dampness persists these irritations tend to become chronic in nature.

2. Humid conditions make transmission faster

If multiplying by leaps and bounds was not enough, the transmission of viruses and bacteria and other microbes is facilitated in humid conditions. When you present them a humid indoor environment, they tend to spread exponentially.

Look at what’s happening in the current pandemic situation! Earlier it was said that COVID-19 can flourish only in cold climates. But more recent evidence shows that it can be transmitted in all areas including hot and humid places1. Actually, virus thrives inside the human body the normal temperature of which is 36.5-degree to 37-degree Celsius. This is regardless of the external temperature and weather conditions. So, apart from maintaining basic hygiene, it is advisable to keep your house as damp-free as possible to restrict the transmission of viruses.

3. Flourishing dust mites

Dust mites are popular in households where the temperature is considerably high and the moisture level is also in excess. They are the catalyst to give rise to allergy, stuffy nose, respiratory problems and asthma. So, if you have experienced stuffy nose, itchy eyes, and breathing problem then you might want to look into the condition of your house. These symptoms can further give birth to health problems that will cost you in the long run. It is better to invest some money in your house now or at least take suitable care.

4. Welcoming pests

Well, mosquitoes and flies infested every part of the house, spiders spinning cobwebs in every corner, the occasional screeching of mice or musk-rats- is this how you picture your home? Damp build-up welcomes all these pests and other unwanted ones too. They have a directly proportionate relationship with damp which means the greater the damp in the house, the more is the number of pests. Now would you want to live in a house with humans or disgusting pets? If the former option is your choice then get rid of this unhealthy living condition immediately. It affects your immune system, breathing pattern and slowly destroys your health.

5. Cold climate

Several types of research have shown that a cold indoor climate is the result of dampness in those regions where it is not naturally cold outside. Unmaintained house, damaged roofs and walls are the common causes but it could also be because of the lack of proper ventilation. Humans can stay overall healthy if the environment in which he or she is living is dry with optimum moisture content in the air. If the house becomes a place where it is difficult to breathe then it is obvious that the environment isn’t right.

Cold indoor atmosphere adversely affects respiratory health. A significant number of people in the world suffer from asthma2 which is often linked with damp indoors. Chronic coughing, wheezing, breathing difficulty are the health problems which lead a person towards asthma. And asthma could be life-threatening. It just gets worse if not treated in the right way with the right amount of attention.

Other diseases that are common in the inmates of damp houses are:

Allergic Rhinitis: Characterized by frequent sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, itchy eyes, and post-nasal drip, allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory condition of the mucus membrane inside the nose. It is caused by viruses, bacteria, and allergens. Some of the external triggers of allergic rhinitis include humidity3 chemicals, and air pollution (indoor or outdoor) etc.

Skin diseases: Most of the skin infections are caused by fungus. Fungal spores are the causal agent of these diseases. To understand more, click here4.

Migraine: One of the most common triggers of migraine is the weather. Whenever there is high (or low) humidity, there is a change in the oxygen levels in the air. The air becomes saturated with moisture in high humidity conditions reducing oxygen levels significantly. As a result, it becomes difficult for the brain of the people with migraine to receive the right amount of oxygen to function properly. Result? – Unusual expansion or contraction of the blood vessels to compensate for the lack of oxygen, exerting tremendous pressure on the nerve fibres. Therefore, indoor humidity too may trigger a migraine5 headache.

Depression: Dampness and growth of fungus in poorly ventilated homes have been long associated with depression6. One should be careful about it before it takes the turn of clinical depression.

To make your life a little easy, here are some common signs of damp to watch out:

  • Damp patches – A patch is a sign of damp commonly seen on the ceiling, walls, behind the WC in the bathroom etc. Damp patches on walls are generally the result of penetration7, where water from outside gets into the brickwork through gaps and cracks.
  • Musty damp smell – The first and the foremost thing about damps are they are musty and smell bad. The freshness of a room gets evaporated with damp walls. So, always keep an eye on this.
  • Peeling and flaky paint – The most common thingin a house that has been ignored. Once you start noticing this, get a professional inspection done and get it fixed.
  • Cold in-house atmosphere – Do you wonder why your house feels cold be it summer or winter? Well, it’s the damp dude!
  • Discoloured walls – Discoloration is characterized by localized darkening of the original color of walls.

You can read this article for a better understanding of the same.

You should take proactive steps to reduce indoor air pollution because if you want to live a healthy life, your home is where you should start. Our environment plays a major role in our mental and physical well-being. So when it’s damp and dirty, it is not only creating a negative space you are living in but also and most importantly it is affecting your health in a way you might not anticipate. In such cases, it is sooner the better. Go for a professional damp inspection which will help in detecting the source of dampness with help of thermal imaging technology and take decisive action to eliminate damp from your house at the earliest.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6ar4BRDnARIsAITGzlCcwstyMyXdpFKNRukh8W-_cAg5RyBTNxmZIfqr2hyBBCbIjRM448YaArGVEALw_wcB#climate
2. https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-does-household-mould-affect-your-health-48341#:~:text=Inhaling%20mould%20fragments%20or%20spores,health%20problems%20such%20as%20asthma.
3. https://www.healthline.com/health/allergic-rhinitis#risk-factors
4. https://www.penn-jersey.com/article-household-mold-skin-conditions
5. https://blog.themigrainereliefcenter.com/humidity-and-migraines-what-you-should-know
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994167/
7. https://www.rd.com/article/damp-walls-whats-the-problem/

Understand the problems due to incorrect slope in wet areas of your home

Whenever you need to drain the water off your floors, whether it is your bathroom floor or any other wet area of your home,the proper slope at flooring helps to run the water off efficiently. Incorrect floor slope can cause water to run in the wrong direction, instead of gently sloping towards the drain.

Now a question would arise in your mind – ‘What is Slope?’

The Slope of a surface means the surface of which one end or side is at a higher level than another, a rising or falling surface.

When you install tile in wet areas, do you ensure that everything slopes to the drain? If not, let us understand its importance through this content.

Firstly, let us know the areas of home/ office where slope plays a significant role.

Slope requirement in your home or office

There are floor surfaces in an apartment or home that require slope. Each surface given below needs a different slope:

  • Bathrooms
  • Balconies
  • Kitchen
  • Terrace
  • Drains & Plumbing lines

Apart from floor surfaces, window sill and chajja also have a slope requirement. But we would be focusing on the slope at flooring. Slope requirement also depends on two factors, click here1 to know more.

Generally, there can be two cases of incorrect slope i.e slope in improper direction and inadequate or insufficient slope.

Let us discuss what problems can occur due to inadequate slope or slope in improper direction at flooring.

Problems due to inadequate/improper Slope

Due to incorrect slope, floor water will not drain easily through floor drain outlet and will lead to formation of water pocket or accumulation at a corner.

If it is not rectified in time, it can lead to following problems or issues:

  • Damp / seepage related issues in the adjacent wall or floor surface
  • Fungus issue on floor surfaces
  • Strength of Flooring & wall surface will get decreased
  • Unhealthy living conditions in the house
  • Safety hazard

Solution for this issue: We recommend review and if required, floor tiles to be relaid maintaining proper slope towards floor drain outlet and adequate strengthening with requisite type of sealant at floor and wall tile junction.

Ensuring that a proper slope is provided around the drain for water to flow out easily is very important. Good drainage in wet areas like shower area in the bathroom is a key to preventing problems related to damp/moisture, so read content related to recommended slope2 for it by Home guides.

You can also read content on How to slope a floor for drain3.

Lastly, we would like to conclude, Flooring with proper slope is ideal for bathroom floors, balconies terraces etc; floors on which water flows on frequently. You don’t need it much for areas like your living room, drawing room, or any other room that stays dry. The main objective of sloping is to protect the property from damage that is associated with incorrect slope.

We hope this content will be useful in creating awareness about the problems that may arise due to incorrect slope at flooring in wet area.

Reference links used:
1. https://nischinth.com/2016-12-28-slope-requirement-for-various-surfaces/
2. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/recommended-slope-shower-base-84127.html
3. https://www.hunker.com/13402640/how-to-slope-a-floor-for-a-drain

Why Home Inspection Cannot be Guaranteed?

Your kid falls sick (stomach-ache and fever). You take her to the doctor. The doctor prescribes medicines and assures her speedy recovery and staying fit in the forthcoming days only if certain do’s and don’ts are followed to the tee. You come back home hoping that your kid will be fine and she does recover in an expected manner. But some days later, she again falls sick and you discover it was all because of her unhygienic practice of eating lunch without washing her hands, particularly in school. So, the point is, do you get angry at your doctor that she couldn’t guarantee a disease-free, painless future for your child? No. Right? The same thing applies to a service as evidence-based as home inspection.

The team of professionals visiting your home will check each & every corner of it. Based on the current condition of the property and their understanding of the subject will provide you with a detailed report. It may be so they find your home having little or no issues at all. The report may not indicate at any immediate danger also. But will that guarantee a problem-free future for your home? The answer is ‘No’. You may still have problems arising in your home in coming future. That will not make the inspection you had recently any less effective or a failed one.

Following are the reasons why a property inspection is not guaranteed:

1. Natural calamities

Who on earth can predict an earthquake? Scientists all around the world are putting their best efforts into developing a system that can forecast an earthquake, but they are yet to build one. Imagine such a destructive phenomenon hitting your city soon after you have done an inspection of your home. You will be lucky if your home manages to stand upright, unaffected from the tremor but can you really guarantee for its zero damage? Cracks on the wall near the foundation are common in buildings where Richter scale readings are higher during an earthquake. And these can never be predicted in a home inspection.

Leave earthquake, even a ravaging storm can lash your town causing damages of small to big magnitude. Your glass windows can break; a big tree standing right next to your house can get uprooted and crash on your boundary wall causing it to come down; your balcony shade can blow away, and so on and so forth. Worse? After a heavy shower, the exterior paint1 of your house can become dull!

You cannot expect your home inspection report to predict all these things ever. The precaution it can suggest you is to repair an old part of the building or to replace a weak part with a strong one. You follow them and leave the rest of it to Nature God.

2. A Sudden renovation

Human taste gets upgraded with time. Trends tend to influence it in a big way. And what is a better place than one’s own home to manifest it! Yes, you got it right. We are talking about home renovation which is totally need-based (or home remodelling preference-based). In both the cases, you bring about major changes in your home and while doing so you may go wrong with some parts or processes. For example, you decide to replace the old tiles of your home with new, trendy ones. As your tile installer pulls the old tiles out, the waterproofing layer gets damaged accidentally.

Or, say, you gift yourself a new home theatre system for which you need to do an elaborate wall-mounting job. If something goes wrong during installation the concealed electrical wiring system of your house can get damaged. The same thing can happen during the installation of new bathroom fittings; there, you even run the risk of damaging your water pipeline. Result? – Seepage in the wall.

3. Repair work in the upper floor or adjacent flat

You get your flat inspected. And it passes the inspection with flying colours. The technicians do not indicate at any major problem looming large on your property. You are happy that your dream abode is healthy and then, all of a sudden, you start hearing a heavy sound with that intermittent shrill noise of drilling machine. To your utter surprise, you come to know that your upper floor neighbour has undertaken a renovation job! What do you? Nothing! – Because it is their flat and you really do not have any say in how they plan its repairs. But does that repair work affects your unit? Yes, it may. Any elaborate flooring repair can give rise to seepage like problems (that never existed before) in the ceiling of the lower floor.

The chance of such problematic, unexpected guests invading your home increases if the repair jobs are carried out in your adjacent flat. An unskillful drilling or plumbing repair there can make your home susceptible to cracks and seepage also. No home inspection service can warn you about such problems from before. The best way to avoid damage in these cases is going to your neighbour and requesting them to be careful about their repairing process.

4. Real-time basis and Lack of maintenance

Inspection is essentially a real-time procedure. A property is inspected at a given time under a given weather condition. This can vary after a certain time as the weather changes. Accordingly, observations made may also get changed.

One more important factor is maintenance. If you do not maintain your home properly or do not do the repair jobs as suggested by your inspection report it will not last long. Thereafter, problems will arise with every passing day, wrong usage, varying time and changing weather conditions.

5. Security breach

A professional home inspection checks for basic security issues in a home but to what level your property needs security depends on the premises and the locality where you live. For some houses, having a strong main door with an eyehole and proper locking system may be enough. For other properties, even having a CCTV at the main entrance may not be adequate. There might be a need for multiple CCTVs in every floor and sensors attached to the doors.

Times are changing. So, you better take top-level measures for your home because an inspection can never guarantee you zero breach of security.

Home inspection is a non-invasive and visual process. The professionals report what they see and what they understand from the current condition of the areas and elements. Moreover, the scope of the study is so big and they have to take so many factors – internal as well as external, into account and as well as it is real time based. Hence it is not possible to guarantee the soundness of everything over a long term. So, does that make inspection any less necessary? Well, yes, if you think seeing a doctor for the same disease within a short interval is illogical! Look at the bigger picture and you know why inspection is the best thing you can do for your home. For more information, write to info@macj.in.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.bergerpaints.com/products/exterior-wall-coatings/15/exterior-emulsions

Hygiene Caution: Check Before You Eat Outside

Who doesn’t love the aroma of freshly fried samosas on a rain-soaked afternoon? Don’t you just look forward to dining out on your special days? And what about the takeaway that you frequent on weekdays while returning home from work? Saves you the hassle of cooking, right? To be very frank, we are a generation which depends a lot on foods bought from outside. But are we aware of the health hazards that we are inviting to our life? Do we follow all the basic healthy rules while eating out?

Let’s get a reality check.

  • Who washes hands outside?
  • How clean is the eating place?
  • How is the food?
  • Do we get to know how many times the same cooking oil has been used for frying?
  • What is the source of water?

Do we care to do and/or check these things while buying food from outside? If ‘yes’ then how often? And if your answer is a scary ‘No’ then here is a list of cautions that you must pay attention to:

Wash your hands before eating food outside

Most of us don’t, do we? When is the last time you washed hands before putting that paanipuri or phuchkas inside your mouth? Did you go to the restaurant washroom and washed your hands before plunging into the Biriyani? Well, we rarely forget to take a snap of the food and post it immediately on Instagram, but the same doesn’t stand true for a simple and most basic healthy habit – washing your hand.

Do wash your hands thoroughly or use an alcohol-based hand rub to sanitize your hands before eating. When you eat washing your hands1, the bacteria and germs that are left on your fingers and palms can be transferred to the inside of your mouth. This can cause illnesses and infections. When you put your hands on those surfaces, the virus gets transmitted to your body and enters the respiratory tract causing mild to severe illness.

Check the cleanliness of the eating place

When hunger gets the better of you, you do not really care where the outlet you are buying the chaat or phuchka from is situated. Roadside shops are often located just beside big uncovered bins. On a rainy day you will even find the fast food outlets’ floors all muddy and stained. These are never the places that we should collect our foods from. But then again, what if the front is neat and clean and behind the kitchen door, it’s nothing short of hell? Do your brief research and then only gorge on the plate. After all, it’s your health that will be at stake.

Check what you are eating?

Tasty and delicious of course! – But what about its quality? Most of the restaurants heat and reheat a pre-prepared food and serve it to you as you place your order. It is true that heating kills a lot of germs but consecutive heating and cooling and reheating make the matter worse. Be it a fast food outlet or a posh restaurant, reheating is the major cooking process. Ever thought how many pathogenic germs are making an entry into your guts day in and day out?

Is there a way to avoid such food and still deal with your hunger pangs when you are outside?

Well, just be cautious about what you are ordering. Occasional binging on rolls, phuchkas, ghugnis, and chaats is okay but ideally, you should always try to hop by a cafe or restaurant that has proper kitchen setup and order for food like fresh salads and sandwiches with your choice of veggies and cheese. They are, by far, the safest fast food items to eat. You can also try grilled delicacies as they do not require reheating or oil to prepare.

Be careful about the source of water?

Even if we overlook the hazardous substances present in food and have our fingers crossed thinking that cooking kills pathogens, the problem does not end there. What about the water served to you? Where from did it come? If it is not from a sealed bottle, can you vouch for its purity? You can’t. So, carry your own bottle if you are not dining at a proper restaurant that is expected to have a water purifier installed in its kitchen.

Now you may ask that it has been so long that you are having food from outside and you do not experience any distress. Really? Don’t you? Let us correct you and say that you do, but you are not aware of it.

Health hazards and diseases caused by unhealthy eating habits

  • Obesity: Outside food, be it the street food or restaurant-bought or simple fast foods, are always high in carbohydrates and Trans fats. The starchy, complex carbohydrates make you gain weight while fat gets concentrated in the belly and hip regions. A silent killer, this obesity, will grow slowly but steadily and one fine morning, you find your dresses aren’t fitting you anymore. This particular disease makes way for other disorders like cardiac problems, diabetes and so on.
  • Hypertension: With the high-energy density as contributed by the high amount of sugar and fat present in junk food, blood pressure rises and hypertension sets in. Type II diabetes also sets in.
  • Undefined diarrhoea: The unhygienic procedure and surroundings the food is prepared in gives rise to bacteria and protozoa in the food, which, when consumed, can lead to stomach upset and diarrhoeal disorder in human body.
  • Food poisoning: With all the toxic substances in the food present, poisoning “to bantahai”. Manifested in the form of vomiting, nausea, weakness, loose motion, headache – food poisoning is quite common when you are a regular buyer and consumer of food from outside.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. These diseases might be communicable or non-communicable. Heightened levels of cholesterol in blood, increased amount of glucose, and cardiovascular risk are a few of the long list of diseases that will eventually spread inside you.

Does that mean you should stop eating food from outside? Well, certainly not. See to it if you can control the urge of eating food outside. Besides, take the following measures:

A Quick Recap

  • Wash your hand or carry a sanitizer with you whenever you have plans of consuming outside food (irrespective of the food)
  • Only choose shops and outlets with neat and clean surroundings
  • Check if the food feels cold inside and hot outside. This indicates incomplete heating. Ask for thorough heating. It’s better to have it late than unhealthy.
  • Make sure you order sealed bottle of mineral water when eating outside. Even better, always carry sufficient water with you.
  • It is not really possible to give a visit to the kitchen from where your food is coming out prepared. A lot of outlets offer the opportunity of experiencing live kitchen. It will be wise to choose them.
  • Why not bring yourself up to cooking and prepare little something (at least every alternate day) for yourself instead of relying on outside foods everyday? – Saves you money and makes you learn a skill!

Apart from this, If you are fond of eating street food then you can also read some tips for eating street food in India2 and avoid sickness.

Here’s a pro-tip on how to keep your home kitchen clean and germ-free.

Washing hands time and again and whenever handling food items is certainly one way to prevent its contamination. Consume thoroughly cooked food which has been heated at high temperature for at least 30 minutes or more.

Eat healthy and stay healthy keeping contamination at bay. Outside foods have their own taste and flavour which may be homemade food cannot match. Just be a little on the safe side and choose wisely before satisfying your tummy with junk food.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.lifebuoy.co.za/health/infection-and-prevention/health-and-lifestyles/why-do-we-wash-our-hands-before-eating.html
2. https://hippie-inheels.com/tips-on-eating-street-food-in-india-not-sick/

Tips to maintain balcony Railing of your home

Good quality & Safety are the most desired attributes for our homes. When we are standing on the edge of a balcony many of us often overlook the importance of railings.

Although many of us use railings everyday, we do not often stop to consider the significance of it for safety. We like to lean on them, but we often take for granted the fact that our railings are strong.

It is easy to assume that your railings are in good shape until proven wrong, but just like any building material, they can also fail. So today, we are here to share with you its advantages & importance and some tips to maintain them.

Advantages of balcony railings

Using durable balcony railings are crucial for ensuring all-around home safety. Some advantages of railings are as follows:

  • For Balance: When a person loses balance on a platform, they usually cling to the railing. It provide stability – which is important for children and the elders.
  • Prevention: To protect curious children and pets, railings provide a needed barrier which prevents from accidents.
  • Comfort: During wind movement, high platforms can be dangerous. Railings provide enhanced support and allow others to feel more comfortable walking in balconies.

Apart from this, in reference to affordability, balcony railings are considered to be an affordable option in comparison to costly liabilities that occur without them. In this way, these are important.

Some tips to maintain railings in your homes

After understanding about railing, maintaining the railings in your house takes a priority. Mostly mild steel railing is used in home. Some tips for maintaining them are below:

1. Check and repair rusted railing

Rust is not only a visual problem. It is said that rust is like the disease of cancer in the world of metals. It deteriorates the metallic material from inside. When iron comes in contact with air and moisture, it produces iron oxide which is known as rust.

Deposition of rust on railing corrodes the railing further and ultimately causes damages to it. So, the removal of rust or repairing a rusted railing is essential to protect the railing.

Remember, no painting protection will survive long if you do not remove rust from the original metallic surface. Hence cleaning is vital for repairing rusted railings. So for rusted railing, clean and sand off rust from affected surface and apply red oxide primer1 over it along with oil paint.

2. Ensure tightness and repair loose fasteners

After removal of rust on a railing, you should check all joint of railing using screws and bolts. If there is any loose joint, immediately tighten the fasteners with the help of a screw driver. Replace the bolts or screws if they are not sufficient to ensure the tightness of the joint of the railing. If the existing screws are not enough to tighten the joint, you should select a larger screw or a wall anchor to ensure the tight fittings of the joint.

3. Repair paint deterioration

If there is any paint deterioration, clean and repaint the affected part to avoid any type of other defects like rust too. If you feel that if there is requirement of reapplying of primer, then it can be done before applying the paint.

4. Look at the bottom portion of railing

Observe the condition of bottom portion of railing and sill. If there is some damage or cracks, repair them as soon as possible to avoid any future problems.

5. Check the gap between wall and railing

If space between wall and railing exceed more than 4 inches, then it will create unsafe condition for kids. Read: Make your home safe for kids.

Conclusion

Beware of poor quality balcony railings2 at your home or apartments. If railings are not maintained properly, they can cause safety hazard. Our objective was to make you aware about the role of railings in your home and tips to maintain them. It is important to take care of railings as soon as possible the trouble is detected.

Reference links used:
1. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/painting-red-oxide-primer-34873.html
2. https://www.commonfloor.com/news/beware-of-poor-quality-balcony-railings-at-your-apartments-18142

10 Hacks to Make Living Alone Easier for Old Parents

When parents get old, they become somehow dependent on their grown-up kids. Their physical and emotional well-being becomes a serious concern for their children, and taking care of them turns into a round-the-clock duty regardless of whether they stay with them or alone in a separate establishment. Now, it’s an obvious thing that elderly parent care cannot be completely stated. It differs depending on the general health, personal discretion, and available support system at home for the concerned seniors. However, the biggest concern is when they are left alone or unattended at home.

For ensuring safety of the seniors, we can make some arrangements at home so that their living alone becomes easier. Implementing these hacks will help us to trim down the chances of mishaps.

If you are one of those who have aged parents staying alone at home, you can use the checklist suggested here to assess the environment. Also, you can take other necessary steps to make it safer for your old parents.

1. A useful “to do” list to prevent falls

Seniors mostly suffer from balance and reflex problems. As a result, fall-off risk for them becomes a major concern. Making the home fall-safe is the best way to avoid any such accidents. You can try a few safety tricks:

  • Keep the floor free from clutter.
  • Discard the furniture that occupies a large amount of space on the floor.
  • Arrange non-slip footwear for your parents.
  • Don’t use extension cords across the floor.
  • Restrict the use of throw rugs on the floor.
  • Check if the floor tiles are too slippery and find out the reason why they are so.
  • Check for any leakage in the basin areas of the living room or kitchen. Get them repaired soon to avoid unnecessary flooding.

It is always desirable that our parents do not have to climb stairs to get some fresh air. They should have the privilege to enjoy nature in their balcony or lawn garden. If that is not feasible in your case then make sure the staircase has strong handrails to give support.

2. Keep emergency numbers reachable

Keep the mobile phones of your parents up to date in terms of saving the phone numbers, whom they should call in case there is an emergency in your absence, and that they never run out of balance. These numbers must include the contacts of the local police station, electric supply call centre, doctor’s number, phone numbers of the nearby home delivery food centres and similar other utility service providers including yours in the emergency dial list.

Arrange for them in an easy-to-operate basic mobile phone that they can handle easily. The handsets must be sturdy as well as offer longer battery standby time.

3. Maintain fire safety measures

A fire accident can cause severe disorder at home and it is highly traumatic, especially, for the seniors. Some of the prevention you must ensure are:

  • Use appliances with the best safety features. Get the servicing of AC machines, geysers, kitchen appliances, etc. done by authorized service centres at regular intervals. That will help you stay worry-free about their optimum functionalities.
  • If possible, install a fire alarm, where the smoke detector will keep your parents and the immediate neighbours alert.

4. Take care of the bathroom

A slippery and difficult-to-access bathroom is a real-life hazard for senior people. If you want to minimize the bathroom hazard for your aged parents, few safety measures will surely work.

  • Use non-slippery marble/ tile flooring.
  • Install grab rail beside the toilet seat and near the shower so that the users can maintain their balance better.
  • An exhaust fan or dehumidifier will help keep the bathroom floor dry.

Again, check for any leakage in the plumbing line to avoid constant dripping of water from taps and resultant flooding of the bathroom floor.

5. Take care of the bedroom

You may not have the idea that in your absence, your parents spend major time in taking rest or enjoying napping. Therefore, you must make their bedrooms safe enough. Some of the suggestions are:

  • Change the soft mattress into a hard one on bed. This will help in managing their joint pain.
  • Install a night bulb in the bedroom. Some good bedroom lighting options are wireless motion sensing lights, touch lamps, automatic night lights, etc. For advanced lighting solutions, click here1.

6. Arrange lights for safer movement at night

The arrangement of lights is important for the easy and safe movement of the seniors inside the home, especially at night. Check these points:

  • Use bright lights, because your parents may not have a bright vision.
  • Always stay alert for the lights in the rooms of the seniors. If you have a care taker for them, then get batteries and bulbs checked at regular intervals. If any of the bulbs or tube lights are not working properly, get it changed immediately. Trying to light a bulb and failing to do so might make them nervous. They may also collide against a wall and hurt themselves.
  • Preferably make them two-way switch arrangements.

Additionally, if possible install a high-capacity inverter as a backup plan for power cut.

7. Modify the kitchen

In the kitchen, keep things within the reach of the elderly people. Some of the suggestions are:

  • Keep hazardous materials away from general access.
  • Arrange for a microwave oven for heating foods. The use of a gas oven may not be safe for your aged parents.
  • Install easy-to-operate faucets in the kitchen so that they can open and close the taps without putting too much effort into it even in your absence.
  • Keep adequate storage of foods and that too within easy access; aged people may feel the urge of having foods/ snacks in odd hours.
  • Check & Discard food items with an expired date, at least, once in a month.

8. Take care of the overall safety

This is crucial for stay-alone seniors. The main entrance should be absolutely secured, preferably with a double guard system in the form of a collapsible or grill gate fitted outside the wooden door. The lock system, the eye-hole everything should be in place and functional. Please click click to get more useful tips on safety enhancement at home.

9. Ensure electrical safety

Electrocution can be another dreadful accident. Keep your aged parents safe by following these electrical safety suggestions:

  • Check for any fault in the concealed electrical wiring system, switches, and fuses. How do you do that? Hire a professional electrical inspection company. They will warn you if something is wrong in the line.
  • Always use shockproof fixtures.
  • A damp house welcomes a myriad problems. Dampness near a switchboard or big electrical appliances can be a major source of accident. So, get your homes inspected and find a solution for damp.

10. Keep communication

Regardless of your frequency to return home, call your parents at least 2-3 times a day. Also, always attend their calls as a priority no matter how busy you are. It is advisable to keep handy the phone numbers of their nearest neighbour, a caregiver at home, or the security person of the building.

Also, make a few habits like

  • Taking care for their banking needs.
  • Taking regular care for their laundry so that they can feel relaxed.
  • Explaining them about the recent scams possible on the phone: once they will get to know the problems, they will not respond to any scam call.
  • If you have any outside assignments, communicate with them frequently so that they stay emotionally pacified and worry-free.
  • Arrange for their regular health check-ups so that your parents stay fit.

Check the availability of their regular medicines at home and keep a first-aid box ready with SOS medications.

Well, these are a few 10 hacks you should maintain to keep your aged parents safe and worry-free at home even in your absence. Sometimes, a situation may demand some more precautions. In that case, you have to enhance the security & safety system of your home. In general, precise care about the daily amenities and sincere care towards their well being can keep your parents happy and protected.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.lighting.philips.co.in/consumer/home-lighting-innovations

Working Parents – Better Beware of These Home Safety Matters

We all cherish the delight that our home is sweet, but how of many of us are sure about its safety? This is a reason for constant worry among working parents, especially those who have to leave their children at home in their absence or under the supervision of grandparents or paid caregivers. If you are one of them, let us check the issues you should be careful about so that you can make your sweet home a safe house also.

Fall off is a major risk

When you are not at your home and your workplace is far off, an accident is the most disturbing issue you may have in your mind. This accident may happen in many ways. The injuries due to falls are one of the most frightening problems applicable to elderly as well as children. In fact, in your absence, the problem of slip off can be a dreadful thing. Some safety measures can be pre-arranged:

How can you try to prevent a fall?

  • You should stabilize the staircases. This is easier said than done, especially, if the steps are too steep. Installing handrails is the easiest way to minimize accidents in that case and maintain gaps between railing properly. Further, the staircases should be cleaned regularly so that they don’t get greased due to regular use.
  • The fall-off accidents may occur in your bathroom also. Generally, it is a moist place, and constant access to water makes it more accident-prone. Try to keep the area dry as much as possible. Install anti-slip marble or tiles on the bathroom floor, and if budget permits, install a shower cubicle so that the entire area of a bathroom does not get moist.
  • Repair leakage if any in the bathroom or kitchen so that the floor is kept dry as always.
  • Ask your kids and their caregivers not to keep the toys scattered. The scattered toys can sometimes become the trigger behind a fall off.
  • An unattended rooftop/ terrace/ balcony can be dangerous for kids. If your kids stay at home in your absence it is advisable to restrict their entry to these areas. Keep the terrace/ balcony gate locked and place the key out of their access.

Minimize the risk of fire accidents

A fire accident can be really fatal. It may happen for many reasons. Therefore, you must build your home in a way where the chances of fire accidents get minimized.

  • Keep matchboxes and gas lighters away from your kids’ access.
  • Keep knob of the gas cylinder off after cooking, so that it protects them from accidents.
  • Keep all the appliances unplugged when not in use.

These safety measures will help you to reduce the risk of fire hazard, at least, in your absence.

Keeping them safe from strangling and choking

Kids often watch television shows and movies of superheroes and in the absence of their parents try to attempt those heroic stunts alone. These trials can be extremely fatal for the playing kids. Some of the precautions you may implement are:

  • Do not keep any type of cords within the access of the kids.
  • If there are blinds in the room for decoration, try to wrap them up, where kids cannot access them by their effort.

Choking hazard is another nightmare that keeps troubling parents of toddlers when they are away for work. You must instruct the caregiver at home to strictly put the items that may cause choking away from the reach of your children to minimize the chance of such hazards.

Door locks should be child-safe and secured

In most Indian homes, nowadays, two-way locks are used so that the working couples can enter the home safely and easily. But care should be taken in installing the lock in such a way that the children can open it and they cannot tamper it. Also, train them adequately so that they do not lock themselves outside, while the keys are left inside.

Also, you must explain to them about the danger of allowing strangers inside the home when parents are not around. Ensuring the safety of the entry door is one of the crucial safety protocols you have to maintain at home.

It is always wise to buy good quality locks. You can buy both the window as well as door locks. Also, make sure that the windows have grills so that the kids do not fall while leaning on them.

Check Window Size for Safety

Windows of long size with low window sill height can create a safety hazard for kids. Read the post to know more about this and its solution.

Prevention from electrocution

Electrical safety is paramount for any home, whether you are leaving kids alone at home or not.

You should service your electrical wiring and appliances periodically so that there is the least chance of short circuits. It is even better if you get an electrical inspection done because you never know what is wrong inside the concealed wiring of the house. The presence of moisture inside it can lead to horrific accidents. Using branded switches and plugs and circuit breakers in the electrical wiring system can minimize the risk of electrocution and/or fire hazard to a significant extent.

Install security camera surveillance

If possible, you must install a CCTV camera surveillance system in your home, especially, if you have to stay away for a long time and on a regular basis. You can integrate the camera with your phone so that you can monitor your home remotely.

These are the general safety tips for your home. Implement them and check their functioning from time to time. In addition to all these safety features, you must also maintain regular communication with your kids and the rest of the people at home, so that they can immediately inform you about any irregularity.

Regular maintenance of the safety arrangements, proper training for your kids about the importance of security, and regular communication with them can help you in preventing any untoward incidents. A thorough check of every corner of your home will put all your worries to rest. It is rightly said that a stitch in time, saves nine. Awareness about these issues can help you keep your kids safe at home when you are away at your office or traveling for work.

New Home? 7 Things You Must Do During the First Week

The joy and excitement of moving into your new home is something different. The mere feeling of living in your very own heavenly abode is enough to cause butterflies in the stomach! While the whole moving in process is a lot of fun indeed, it is not devoid of tonnes of to-do tasks, all of which are necessary things to be done before you can even begin to enjoy the feeling.

Here we bring to you 7 most important tasks to complete in the first week of your moving in so that you can relax and live happily ever after.

Things to Do in the First Week of your New Home

1. Turn on the Utilities if not done yet

You should have arranged the connection of the main house utilities before the move as it is an important step, but if you have not done yet for some reason then do it without delay. Naturally, the first utility companies to call are the power and water providers – things will look much brighter, easier and smoother once you have electricity, gas and running water in your new house.

2. Get a TV, Telephone and Internet connection

Let us face it electronic media is now a part-n-parcel of our life. You would need them particularly if you have kids, to engage them while you unpack and arrange items in the house. Even otherwise, they are a good way to relax after a few hours of tiring yourself out. And telephone and internet connection are also important for communication and you can shop through the internet, pay your bills etc.

Again, be careful about where you are installing the TV set or other. There will be walls adjacent to bathrooms and other areas with possibilities of damp or moisture intrusion. Avoid those places to reduce any chances of electrical hazards in the near future.

3. Share your new address and check security essentials

Once you are sorted on getting all the essential utilities in place, it is time to update your new address in all the important places it needs to be. Do not forget to share it with all your loved ones too.

Coming to the home itself, assess how do you find the security facilities there? Are the main gate of the building and entrance of your flat in their desirable states? Check for any issues in the door locks, doorbell, and other small things like an eye hole. To ensure further safety and prevent intrusion of any kind, you may consider installing CCTV cameras, motion sensors etc.

Pro tip – Remember to change the locks: This is very important if you are moving into a resale apartment. You never know who all has the key to this house. Your safety in new home is primary. Even if it is a new apartment, the keys may have been with the builders’ staff (painters, construction workers), so why take a chance? Also, now is a good time to call a locksmith before you begin your new life.

4. Sort out what you need and don’t need

Believe us, now is the best time to do it – you may never find time again once you settle down and start your everyday routine. It may be anything from clothes, kids’ toys, utensils, or even important documents (some of them only seemingly important). Set aside the ones which you think are not needed anymore and arrange the rest of the documents neatly in files and folders. Label and organize them so that you can find them easily when needed.

5. Clean up or hire professionals

A new house is not necessarily free of dust or stains. You will need to tidy up the place and make it suitable to start living in. If you find it difficult to manage everything yourself, hiring professional cleaners might be a good idea. They will take care of every wall, cabinet, and bathroom, damp stains there and literally spruce up your place to turn it to brand new.

Now here is a catch – if you come across any damp spot or seepage in any corner of your house, be alert. Is it just a simple water stain? Ask yourself. Removing the stain can certainly be a good idea but you must try to know the cause behind it. And for that, you must rely on a professional who are experts in damp inspection.

6. Arrange for help in unpacking

You will surely need one if you have kids around but even if you do not, it is fun to call friends and family to help you unpack. Doing it together helps you all bond up and makes things easier on you too, allowing you to take a breather and not tire yourself out unnecessarily.

7. Get a home inspection done

A professional home inspection is always a better idea to proceed. This should be the one of significant task on your checklist because it is extremely important to ensure that your new house is healthy. You have already spent a huge amount of time, effort, and money on home buying. Why spend more on fixing it up later? Home inspection would identify the exact problem areas so that you can get them rectified by the builder itself if it registered under RERA, before even moving in. These issues can be related to any corner of your home, any component, and of any magnitude. There can be a persistent damp problem, an error in the slope of floor, poor quality window and door frames and locks, rust-prone bathroom fittings, or a problem in the circuit breaker etc. From inspecting electrical wiring system and switches to checking lofts and balconies, plumbing systems, a home inspection does everything that is crucial for your hassle-free living.

Curious, how a home inspection can save you time and money? Here you go.

If there is any concealed leakage/ seepage problem, you can hire professionals who are expert in thermal imaging technology.

Additional tip: If you are planning to do interior designing of your house, start doing the research now. But before hiring an interior designer, don’t forget to get your house inspected professionally for better results. Only a healthy home can showcase a good decor perfectly.

The professional home inspectors will come over, inspect your property and help identify any potential damage. They will check for damp or other issues your house may become a victim to a few years down the line. In the case of resale properties, an inspection is a must because you don’t know how the earlier owners would have maintained the property. But don’t ignore inspections in new homes too as problems start surfacing there only after a few months.

Conclusion

Our objective was to make you aware about the important things/ task to be done in the first week of your home.

Moving in can be quite cumbersome but enjoy the fun and don’t forget to maintain your home well.

Learn why to have Home Inspection before Interior Designing?

“So, you bought a new house? Congratulations! Now you will go for a chic interior designing.” – Sounds familiar? But, “Hey, you got a new house for yourself? Go hire a home inspection. Interior designing can wait” – admit it, you have never come across such a suggestion, and this is exactly where we need to change our mindset. A newly-built home, an old home lived or left vacant for years – nothing guarantees a property’s sound health. And if it is not in its pink of health you cannot make it look good externally. This is true for the house you have been living in for years, as well. If you want to give your beloved nest a makeover, you must get it checked by a home doctor first. Once the doctor (home inspector) says your home is perfect, health-wise, go ahead and deck it up! Only a healthy body can flaunt the best of styles, right?

Here are 6 reasons to opt for home inspection before interior designing making it more worthwhile:

1. No damp, no damage, no blame

Implementing home inspection at your home will easily identify areas where you have high dampness. It could be your roof or wall or places you least expected. With the appropriate measures suggested by professional home inspectors, damp removal will follow. Now when your chosen interior designers set forth for making your house more aesthetically appealing, they will find everything in its place.

Very commonly the blame of a broken tile, a chunk of plaster missing from the wall, and discoloration, etc are conferred upon the interior designers and the team working on it. This is not only unfair but also illogical. In fact, it is the interior designing team that faces the music after taking up the job. No solution to fix damp problems1 seem to work. No wallpaper or installation gets fixed on the wall in a secured manner. There is always a risk of shelves and cabinets falling off the wall due to its damaged texture. Simple Plaster of Paris and multiple coats of paint are wasted just to make a damp wall look proper. What is your situation then? You are like a fish out of water clueless about the end result and cost!

Inspecting your house will settle a specific quality baseline. So, once the designing work starts, no scope of blaming due to damage can arise.

2. No delay in deadline

Of course there is a strict deadline for any work and neither home inspection nor interior designing is any exception. Once interior designers are at work and one or another problem with your building arises, their work will be delayed. If the home inspection team identifies the problem areas beforehand, you can repair them on a priority basis also.

Always keep in mind that if your home has not been inspected earlier and the designers find a damp spot here, an electrical defect there, those things need to be repaired first and that will actually postpone the expected date of completion of the project. As a customer, you also have to cough up extra money. Moreover, it will be quite inconvenient for you as well living in a temporarily messed-up house. A home inspection before interior designing is thus helpful in sticking to the deadlines.

3. No baffling budget

Well, let’s face it. The interior designers are supposed to perform only what they have been assigned. Now, if you present them with a faulty home in desperate need of inspection and they have to repair more than designing, things will not remain the same. The budget will increase, quite obviously.

Had you asked for a home inspection prior to stepping into interior designing, you would have known what your home has in store for you. Don’t get surprised if the interior designers ask for more on finishing their work than what they had asked for at the start of the agreement. In short, you need to allow the designing team to stick to their core competency. Or else, bear the extra costs.

Going for interior designing post a successful home inspection is a wiser choice if you do not want a hole in your pocket or get your mind baffled by the final bill amount the designers present you with.

4. Waive off wastage and rework

When you put home inspection to work, you can identify seepage or dampness issues quite early. In this context, let us just remind you of a small thing. It doesn’t matter whether your home is brand new or quite old. Dampness and other issues like leakage in the open or concealed piping system, overhead tank, moisture intrusion from window frames can occur at any time. If you skip an inspection, the nuisances will come up later when you have already finished designing the interiors of your home. It will spoil the furniture, expensive fixtures in your bathroom, heavy wooden work on doors and partitions, appliances set up you have so long craved for – everything. Result? Rework. The interior designers have to start from scratch again and redo what they had already done earlier. Wastage will also follow.

You can avoid all these things with home inspection prior to interior designing. Even if the designers recreate the same style for your home after putting down their previous work, there will be some issues with quality. Do not take risks with the design deliverables. Instead, call for a home inspection service today.

5. No damages during interior designing

An interior designing team is unlikely to know from where the concealed plumbing line or electricity line of your home is passing. So, they can install a design material or cladding at a place unknowingly damaging a part of it. Later on, you will have to face the consequences. A home inspection prior to interior designing can advise you on where not to install a decorative item or fixture. For example, on a wall adjacent to a wet area like the bathroom, it is meaningless to mount wallpaper. Sooner than later, it will start coming off due to seepage and dampness in the wall. An interior decorator would not be able to foresee this problem. It is only after a home inspection team points it out that you can tell your interior designer, “See, this is what my home inspection report card says. Let’s not plan any elaborate makeover for this part of the house.” This way, you can avoid further damage to that space and save money on something that will not last long.

6. Advantages for the interior designers

It is always easy to put the blame on others, isn’t it? If you are a part of the interior designing team you will more frequently come across accusations that your team has not given their best. Some months or days after you completed a project, you will receive complaints saying that the designs on the wall are coming off, the appliance set up has not been perfect, and so on and so forth. An unsatisfied customer actually leads to a loss of reference. They are not likely to recommend your service to others. It’s your business which will face problems though there might not be any fault of yours.

Insist your customer for a thorough home inspection before you start your work of designing in the house. This way you can avoid brand dilution as the faults will be identified well beforehand.

To know how a home inspection can help you in your interior designing project, click here.

Both home inspection and interior designing go hand in hand as they share the common objective of ensuring the following:

  • The functionality of your home and its components
  • Health and inherent beauty of the home
  • Safety and security of the inmates
  • Longevity of the property

So, go ahead and do up your dream home by professional interior designers BUT only after a thorough home inspection has been done. Do not let your home face even the slightest of nuisances. Also, update yourself and be aware of how to take care of your home and bid farewell to damp and other damages permanently. Here is a fact sheet that gives you all the trivia on home inspection – read more to make the best decision before investing in interior designing.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.houzz.in/magazine/how-to-prevent-and-treat-dampness-in-your-home-stsetivw-vs~114996043

Primer : Is it necessary to apply it before Painting?

Painting any surface basically serves two purposes. It enhances the beauty of walls/ structure and also protects the surfaces of the structure. Before painting any surfaces, the application of primer is recommended. Some question arise, like – Why primer is required? Can’t we do away with primer by applying one more coat of paint? For a layman, the difference between the two is not easily understood as both look similar.

Before painting any structure, you should know the difference between primer and paint. Paint and Primer both are different products, though they look like same. They have a different purpose, function and constituents. We would first explain the primary difference between primer and paint.

Difference Between Primer and Paint

Primer

Primer is paint but without pigments, it primarily consists of resins. Primers are designed so that they create a bond with the sub surface and also with paint, to create a uniform surface which is suitable to receive the paint.

Function of Primer

Primer penetrates in the porous surface and seals the surface to ensure better coating and adhesion. It also hides imperfections and provides an even, smooth, and stable foundation for the paint. It is a problem solver providing good coverage.

Paint

Almost the major constituents of paint remain same as a primer, plus paints contain pigments, which provides the colour. Paints contain different types of additives than primers. These additives perform a different function like providing bond and adhesion, quick drying, durability, etc.

Function of paint

Paints add colour and shininess to the surface. They make the surface finished and provide protection. Pigments in paints also help in hiding the surfaces. There are many constituents added in the paint so that it dries quickly and it gives durability, i.e. life to the paint.

If the paint is applied to an unprimed surface, it may crack, peel off within few months. For paint to last long, priming the surface with the right primer is important.

Now, We jump into a commonly asked question i.e. Is it necessary to apply Primer before painting?

The primer as the name suggests, is the primary layer that is ready to receive paint. It is nothing but paint without pigment. It improves the adhesion of paint and thereby increases durability and life of paint film. Apart from this there are other uses of primer:

Primer before paint is like the base of your paint job and can be used on wood, plastered wall, concrete, etc. Applying primer coat over new surfaces reduces the amount of paint being absorbed by the basic surface. The primer will help you in hiding joints and other small defects, when it is applied to surfaces. Basically it is paint without pigment, it serves all the functions of the paint at a lower cost, as it is the pigment which increases the cost of paint. If primer coat is not applied, you might have to apply one more coat of paint, which of course will increase the cost. It increases covering capacity of the paint and thus decreases the overall cost of painting.

If suitably applied, primer will enhance the life of the paint, and also improve the appearance. Therefore primer before paint is absolutely necessary.

Some tips for Primer Application

  1. It is essential that the primer should only be applied to dry and clean surfaces. Before the application of primer coat, the surfaces are smoothened by sand paper and dust is removed.
  2. After the primer coat application, to ensure proper drying of the primer, the surface should be painted after a few days.
  3. The surfaces that have deteriorated should be cleaned properly before the application of primer.

And follow the instructions as per manufacturer’s specification.

Proper interior and exterior surface preparations combined with primer will build an effective barrier against stains and moisture and promote full adhesion of the paint. Primer is thus very useful as it reduces the cost of overall painting and also increase the appearance and life of the paint.