Electronics and electric appliances are part of daily life. Desktop computers, laptops, game consoles, televisions, phones, printers, tools, toys, and much more are found in nearly every home and business. When it comes to fire, water, and mold damage, these items cannot be ignored.

There are many obstacles, hazards, and perils we encounter on job sites as cleaners and restorers. Whether it’s the homeowner’s dog trying to bite you, the hoarder who has trash stockpiled for years, or the wonderful smell of sewage on a category 3 loss, the seasoned veterans of our industry have seen and experienced things that the average citizen can’t even conceive in their wildest imagination.

To clean or not to clean: that is the question. Every cleaning job is unique and must be approached as such.

The Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) is excited to announce that the 2019 CIRI Science Symposium will be held July 15-17 at Miami University in Oxford, OH. The theme for the 2019 symposium is “Connecting Research to Practice.”

It seems like almost weekly we turn on the news and hear of some type of natural disaster. An earthquake, hurricane, tornado, flood, severe weather event, or a wildfire seem to be causing devastation in some part of the world. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives are affected every year.

Are restoration contractors unethical for making a profit? Absolutely not. Good restoration professionals are not "ambulance chasers". Profits make it possible for the training, equipment, and professional personnel needed to be there for people when they are needed the most. Annissa explains more about it in this week's Ask Annissa. 

Libraries, courthouses, police evidence rooms, universities, museums, law offices, financial institutions – they all have one thing in common: paper. Whether it’s boxes of vital records, archives, books, or paper files, maintaining these documents is essential to their respective operations. 

The IICRC would like to welcome Brandon Burton as its new Standards Chairman. Effective Jan. 1, 2019, Burton took over for longstanding Standards Chairman Howard Wolf.