It's a great day here in Orem, Utah! The great news is that the Rocket Girls were awarded 4th place at the school Science Fair. They now move on to the District level. There is no doubt that we are very proud of Jessica and her friends!
Fellow Utah Inspector Chris Burkhart sent me a copy of his new computerized report and I was looking it over. He is using one of the many software systems that use Microsoft Word as the base software. His report easily opened up on my computer in Microsoft Word. I was navigating through the report thinking that something was not quite right..... Then it hit me..... I could change his report at will and re-save it.... I immediately called him on the phone to discuss the issue with him.
One of the big selling features of his IT reporting system was that he could very easily attach his file to an e-mail and any client with Microsoft Word could easily open it..... Chris had heard me discuss the advantages of the Adobe Acrobat program and thought that this process was needed for the 3D Inspection System only. He did not want to have to buy 3D and then spend more money on Adobe Acrobat as well.
REALITY CHECK - The last thing we want to do is send a report file to an Agent or disreputable person and allow them the ability to easily modify what we report on. This would be unethical, but I can envision a seller who gets their hands on my report after their deal falls through and they just modify or soften a few of my comments to downplay the impact of my report. Better yet, they could just delete that section of the report. That would be an Inspector's nightmare.
Sending your reports in a Microsoft Word document allows them to do just that. This is where Adobe Acrobat comes into play. The software works with any program, not just 3D Inspection software. It converts the file to a PDF format that can have the security features enabled that make it so that changes cannot be made to the document. If you are producing computerized inspection reports and you are sending them via e-mail, Adobe Acrobat is a must. The normal "price" for Acrobat is $229, but as I have shared here many times before, you can get it for $149 at the www.Alamode.com website.
Your Name:City: State:
Please include your name or I don't know who it is from...
Thanks for the great info and reminder about updating anti-virus software. I have Norton on my computer, but I know I don't update it often enough. Fortunately I've only gotten one one minor virus (several years ago), which is why I tend to get complacent about updating Norton. The new computer that I ordered from Dell (being shipped today----Yea!!!) will have Windows ME on it, so I'll make sure the "Update" function is operating. Gary Holzbauer - Junction City, Oregon
Hi Michael, Yes, I have a virus story to tell... I had McAfee (older version) and it became a trouble spot for me. It was not acting the way it should, and I did not have help close by (Cathy is off to UofW) so I deleted it. I was fine for a few months. Then there was someone who sent a chat line note concerning a virus attach he had weathered. I went out and purchased the newest McAfee and had the help of daughter Cathy to install. Guess what...I had 2 "JS" viruses sitting in the wings waiting to pounce. What a surprise as I am very careful not to open anything from anyone I do not know.
Well, I was fine until 2 weeks ago. I began having startup and e-mail errors. Cathy said to Scan for viruses. I thought this was an automatic thing. NOT! It must be set up. So, to my surprise, I had 3 viruses; "JS", two versions and a startup type virus that caused the startup errors. Well, again, I have not opened up anything. For all to know, some of the viruses attach to e-mail but are not attachments. They just sit on the sidelines for a period of time and then self start. I now scan twice a week. I have set the system to autoscan. The one issue is that I have set the system up for autoscan of e-mail but the "status" card says it is not enabled. I'll solve that one. Everyone, be sure to check yours out and if you do not have a virus software, get one. It's like crawling without a mask, folks. Why go unprotected when there are known cures. Have a good day and see you all in April! Good Inspecting! Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
I have Norton protection, but have never updated it or my Windows 98. I'm not sure what you mean when you say the Windows 98 button in the upper corner of your screen. Please tell us more. Also, walk us through the updates that you can download from the internet. Thanks, Michael. Ron Cloyd - Klamath Falls, OR
I think that Ron's honesty about his lack of knowledge about updating virus programs is pretty reflective of the MMM readership as a whole. We inspect very well, but we let a lot of the other areas slide unless something goes wrong. So for Ron's help here goes....
There are two major anti-virus programs on the market...... Norton and Mcafee. Both are big because they are the best at updating in the war against new viruses. These viruses are being created daily to crash PC's around the world. Now that we all e-mail everything they have found that this is the best way to transmit their viruses. Some viruses are immediate in their destruction, but others lay dormant to attack at a later date. Jim Corbin's situation above is a perfect example of dormant viruses.
If you buy an anti-virus software it is designed to handle any virus known up until the software's creation date. But since there are thousands of viruses that have been created since your original purchase, the software is pretty much worthless unless you update it. Some softwares require that you sign up with annual payments that allow you to upgrade at will. Some come with the first year of updates for free. The bottom line is that if you are reading the MMM, you are receiving e-mails and thus susceptible to an infection. If you don't know what the status of your software is, contact the software company and ask them.
Both Norton and McAfee have websites that let you upgrade your software with the newest weapons to combat the most recent viruses. McAfee updates their program every Thursday, but your machine is not updated unless you read the documentation and figure out how to have it immediately update itself while you are online. With McAfee, I just go to my START menu, then PROGRAMS, then MCAFEE VIRUS SCAN CENTRAL. From there I click on UPDATE. From their website and while I am connected to the internet, they tell me what version I have and then direct me to download the latest DAT file. I am doing this while I type and the current DAT file was put out on February 22 and it is titled 4124. The file is 1.4 megs and it gets downloaded as an EXE file into my MY DOWNLOAD folder. This will require me to then go into the MY DOWNLOAD folder when it is done and double click on the 4124xdat.exe file. An EXE file is a self extracting file, which means that after I double click on it the file will do everything it needs to automatically...... Simple. That's all there is to it..... Now I have the confidence that I have the most recent virus weapons to keep my computer clean. I hope this helps!
Chris Burkhart from Utah also had a technical question earlier in the week. He was inspecting a brand new home and the hot water was a very milky or airy color. This was identified and the faucets and only on the hot water side of the system. The unit was a gas fired A.O. Smith unit and everything seemed to be installed correctly...... So why the milky water??? I suggested that he either call A.O. Smith or visit their website and that if he found an answer I would like to hear what it was so that I could share it with all of you. Chris called me back and said that the A.O. Smith technical department was extremely helpful and said that the answer was posted on their website under the water heater "Frequently Asked Questions" section. I logged on and sure enough, the answer was in the Technical Bulletin #24 just like Chris said......... http://www.hotwater.com/
SYMPTOM - When water is drawn from the hot tap, it appears to be milky. After allowing the water to stand for several minutes, the water will clear.
CAUSE - Gases such as oxygen, chlorine, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and others are soluble in water. As the pressure increases, the amount of gas that water can hold in a solution decreases. When air and gases are forced out of the heated water, the problem may be evident in one or both of the following ways:
In addition to the gases released from heating water, the anode rod (factory installed) maintains an invisible film of free hydrogen on the entire heater surface. This keeps the metallic ions at the cathodic area from going into solution which in turn protects the tank against corrosion. This is most active when heaters are less than one year old.
THE FIX - Milky water caused by dissolved gasses can be much reduced with aerated faucets. However, sometimes milky water cannot be cured entirely.
NOTE - Air and gases precipitating out of water are not harmful, and these reactions will reduce in time.
I found the final NOTE above to be hilarious after reading the next news story.....
This story has been floating all around the internet on the different Inspector forums and I thought that it deserved to be shared here as well. I hope that you enjoy it. Ask yourself while you are reading it..... What if that was me Inspecting this unit?......
That's the call a fire department received last winter from a base-housing inspector. The inspector had been doing normal bi-monthly checks of vacant units when this happened. The inspector's usual procedure was to run the cold water in the kitchen sink, turn on the dishwasher, go upstairs to flush the commode, and run the water in the bathroom. About three minutes after she started the dishwasher, it exploded. The blast propelled the dishwasher (which was installed under the kitchen counter) across the kitchen. The cabinets, plumbing and walls were damaged. The concussion splintered the face of the rear door to the housing unit and blew it open, destroying the lock. Pieces of the dishwasher and cabinets were scattered over 20 feet. The access panel to the attic on the second floor was dislodged, and the front door was blown open and damaged.
At first, investigators thought water in the "S" trap had evaporated, allowing sewer gas to seep into the dishwasher and explode. The next day, Navy Occupational Safety and Health (NAVOSH) technicians tested all kitchen-sink drains in vacant units for signs of sewer gas. The results were negative. During the course of the investigation, a maintenance worker in the housing department pointed out a paragraph in the dishwasher-owner's manual to the NAVOSH specialist. It read, "...under certain conditions, hydrogen gas may be produced in a hot water system that has not been used for two weeks or more. If the hot-water system has not been used for such a period, before using the dishwasher, turn on all hot-water faucets and let the water flow."
The safety specialist returned to three of the vacant housing units and ran the hot water to test for emission of hydrogen gas. The meter readings went off scale in these units. Then he ran hot water in three occupied units and got zero readings. When he ran hot water in an upstairs bathroom in the unit where the dishwasher exploded, he got an extremely high reading. After NAVOSH personnel made several calls to the Frigidaire Company about the incident, a person from their legal department returned his call and told him that Frigidaire was sending two engineers to investigate the exploding dishwasher. The engineers and NAVOSH personnel tested hot water in two vacant units. They placed clear garbage bags over the faucets to sample for gas contents. The first test resulted in the bag filling with about one to two quarts of water and a cubic foot of gas. They suspected the bulk of the gas was a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, which was generated by electrolysis in the hot-water heating systems.
One of the engineers explained that there is no way to stop hydrogen gas from forming in hot-water heaters because of the metals used in constructing the tanks. Hydrogen gas isn't soluble in water, so it remains in the water-heater plumbing system as a gas under pressure. In most homes, the gas will migrate to the upper levels of the house, where it harmlessly is expelled from water faucets there. However, occasionally, it can end up trapped in the plumbing lines. In that case, when a lower level faucet (or dishwasher) is turned on, the gas is pushed through the outlet rather than finding its way to the upper level. Hydrogen gas has one of the broadest flammable ranges of any gas. Just about any mixture will be enough to result in an explosion.
The engineer theorized that the gas was forced through the dishwasher, and the timer or starter relay had enough heat to ignite the gas. However, the dishwasher was destroyed, which made it impossible to determine the exact source of ignition. The engineer said this was the first time he had heard of a dishwasher exploding, but he had heard stories of small fires at faucets because people had cigarettes in their hands when they opened a hot-water faucet that had not been opened for some time. Later, in a telephone conversation, he told the NAVOSH person that he had talked to a few old-timers in the water-heating industry, and one of them had reviewed a mishap about a washing machine blowing up in the '60s.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU - When you move into a house or apartment that has been vacant, hydrogen gas may have built up in hot water lines, which could cause an explosion. The same is true when you return home from a vacation or open up a vacation home that has been shut.
ORM LESSON - Appliance manufacturers can do nothing to prevent this type of thing from happening again, but you, as a resident or housing inspector, can do a short ORM assessment to prevent such a recurrence. You need to know that hydrogen gas can accumulate in hot-water systems that have not been operated for a period of time. You figure the risk of something going wrong when you turn on a dishwasher to either check it or operate. If you have been using it daily, there is hardly any risk. When you go to start the dishwasher, ask yourself how long the unit has been vacant. If it's more than a couple of weeks, you need to think about getting rid of the gas before you turn on the dishwasher. If you suspect hydrogen gas may have built up in the hot-water system, flush it by turning on all hot-water faucets in the building and letting them run for several minutes. And don't smoke while you're doing it. Make it a habit of doing this every time you inspect a building. If you live in the home and are away for a vacation, do this every time you return home.
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It is obvious that the EIFS is not properly finished at this vent and creates a situation where moisture can be a problem with the exposed sheathing. The PVC/Galv. vent is probably for a high efficiency gas water heater??? It lacks proper termination which can cause condensation from the flue to be in contact with the exposed sheathing. Recommend proper termination of vent be provided that gets it away from structure (a 90 degree PVC elbow) and exterior EIFS be properly finished by a qualified contractor. Tom Burnham - Ashland, OR
Water heater exhaust is venting warm air onto unclad sheathing and sill plate. This has potential to cause condensation build up on the sheathing. Furthermore the water heater vent was most likely installed after the EIFS, so the edge wrapping that previously existed has been cut out and removed. Recommend repair by a licensed EIFS installer and redirecting of the exhaust vent. Nathan Buckley, Klamath Falls, OR
I received the following e-mail question this past week..... What would be your reply???
I have two small children in my house and have a concern about there safety due to the breakdown of the dip tube in my hot water heater. If this material is breaking down and passes though the aerators is it toxic at any level. My youngest is 5 months and as you may know they are easily effected by chemicals. I have searched the net with little success and hope that you can help me. Thanks! Ira & Davina Sweet
Name, City & State: Please include your name or else I don't know who it is from.
Have you ever encountered one of these water heaters???...... If so, was it just an auxiliary heater or a primary heater???
I haven't seen one of this particular model, but I have a French made Aquastar in my own home that we use as our primary water heater during the winter months and backup to our solar water heater during sunny weather. It works very well. I have seen other Aquastar models installed in a few other homes, all as primary water heaters of solar backup. Gary Holzbauer - Junction City, OR
I've not seen one of these, to date. I'll watch. Sometimes, just after reading one of these notices, I will run across the item mentioned. Great stuff! Thank you for sending them. Have a good day! Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Never seen one! How does one print only this page or part of the MMM off for future reference? Ron Cloyd
This is a very good question Ron..... Since I know that you are computerized and that you have made the investment in the Adobe Acrobat software it is very simple to save the MMM. Just click on the print icon and when it prompts you for which printer to use, select the Acrobat Distiller driver. You must be online and it takes a few minutes for the Distiller software to fully recapture the webpage, but it will then open up the page in Adobe Acrobat. You will notice that the yellow background does not transfer over, but everything else does. In this format you can choose to print out any page you desire or save the PDF file on your machine for future reference. This process will work with any website!!!..... Good Luck, I hope this helps.
NEWS from CPSC .... U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission .... Office of Information and Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE .... February 22, 2001 .... Release # 01-092
CPSC Contact: Ken Giles .... Brinkmann Recall Hotline: (800) 675-5301
WASHINGTON, D.C.- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), The Brinkmann Corporation, of Dallas, Texas, is voluntarily recalling about 79,000 outdoor solar lights for repair. The beveled lens on the solar light can act as a magnifying glass. When sunlight passes through the lens, nearby combustible materials, such as mulch or dry grass, can catch on fire. CPSC and Brinkmann have received five reports of grass and mulch fires caused by these solar lights. No injuries have been reported. The recall involves the outdoor Endura "Contempra" solar light with a beveled lens ring around the middle. The light is black and clear with a solar panel on top, and is mounted on a black stake. They were sold in single, two, four and six packs. Home, hardware and discount department stores nationwide, as well as mail order catalogs, sold these solar lights from February 1998 through December 2000 for between $20 and $85. Consumers should stop using the recalled solar lights immediately, and contact Brinkmann Corp. at (800) 675-5301 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday to receive a free repair kit.
We will file this photo in the "I did not realize that this was wrong" file, or better yet, the "My ignorance is showing" file.
Thanks to Noel McShane in Georgia I have once again learned how much I still need to know. Take a look in the photo and list the main thing that is wrong in the attic of this brand new Atlanta area home.
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