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I love strawberries! So imagine how excited I was to start seeing them at the grocery store this spring; red, juicy, and on sale! I rushed to make my purchase anxious to bring them home for breakfast the next day.

The next morning I head downstairs in anticipation of having my newly purchased strawberries for breakfast and dang, almost half of my strawberries have succumbed to mold. How can that be, I just bought them yesterday and they looked fine in the store. It appears that if one of them starts to mold it quickly jumps over to the next one and the next one. I discard the moldy ones and vow to try and find a way to extend the life of my precious strawberries.

I had heard of Debbie Myers Green Bags on TV and so while walking through Target I decide to try them out. The green bags claim to extend the life of fruits and vegetables. I wondered how that works. After reading the box, I find that all fruits and vegetables give off a gas called Ethylene. The bags work by absorbing the gas thereby delaying the growth of mold. Neat, huh. So, I head back to the store, pick out the best looking strawberries I can find and head home with my strawberries and green bags. I place the strawberries in the green bags in the refrigerator and wait. The next day they are just fine. Definitely in better shape than if I had left them on the counter. The following day they seem ok also but not quite as juicy.

Well, I can’t say the green bags were the magic pill I was looking for but they did increase the life of my strawberries and saved them from the dreaded mold. If you are searching for a certified mold inspector, contact Executive Restoration at 704-545-0098 or visit online at www.gotmoldinnorthcarolina.com

Dishrag or sponge? What do you use in the kitchen to wipe your counters, stove, and refrigerator? Some people are fanatics about germs and have a definite preference. I personally like to use the 3M sponges with the yellow on one side and green scouring pad on the other. The only problem with this is that after about 2 days, the sponge starts to smell bad. Well, those sponges are not cheap so I decided to try and find a way to sanitize them.

The first recommendation was that I put them in the dishwasher with my dirty dishes; this method appears to kill about 99.9998% of the bacteria found on a sponge. Make sure and allow the sponge to go through the whole wash and dry cycle. The next method recommended is zapping the sponge in the microwave. The key element here is to make sure the sponge is wet. If you put a dry sponge in your microwave, it could very likely start on fire. Allow the sponge to stay in there for a minimum of one minute, if you want to have better results, microwave the sponge for two minutes. By increasing the time you can kill up to 99.9% of the microbes.

Either way obtains about the same results. I prefer the microwave method as it’s much quicker. Happy cleaning! If you are searching for a certified mold inspector, contact Executive Restoration at 704-545-0098 or visit online at www.moldinspectionscharlotte.com

Have you ever opened the refrigerator in anticipation of something delicious only to pull it out with mold on it?  Do you love eating mushrooms?  Ever wonder what makes bread rise, the magic ingredient is yeast.  Mushrooms, molds, mildew and yeast are all considered fungi.  Fungi have to take in food materials from the bodies of living or dead plants or animals to survive; they have no roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or seeds as most plants do.  Fungi thrive in dark places, such as underground caves, dark closets and between walls; they don’t need light to live.

When you refrigerate food, it prevents bacteria from growing, but it won’t prevent mold form growing on fruits and vegetables, or on your favorite cheese.  Found everywhere, fungi are in the air, soil, and water.  To date, about 100,000 different kinds of fungi have been classified.  Mycology is the study of fungi and the scientist who study fungi are called mycologists.  Mycologists believe there are another 200,000 fungi waiting to be named.

Fungi play a critical role as important recyclers in nature.  By the process of decomposition, they break down dead animals and plants into simple compounds that are returned to the soil.  Plants in turn, can use these compounds to grow.  Believe it or not, fungi and bacteria are the main decomposers of organic matter on our planet, their role is critical.  Dead plants and animals would pile up and cover the earth and their chemicals could not be reused if they were not composed and recycled by fungi.  Fungi allow their nutrients to be returned to the soil and water for other things to use.

Contact the experts at Executive Restoration (704) 545-0098.  They can answer any questions you may have about mold, or visit us online at www.gotmoldinnorthcarolina.com.