Prior to 1980, many building materials manufactured in the U.S. contained asbestos. 

When we are called out to a water loss, we don’t know what we will encounter.

This R&R Q&A features a topic that’s gotten even more popular since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: duct cleaning. Today, extensive cleaning and disinfection services often include the HVAC system, which has prompted some restoration contractors to add duct cleaning as an additional service.

Mentoring owners of small businesses in the indoor air quality industry (IAQ) is what the National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors (NORMI) has been doing for more than 16 years. It is true, the organization is a training and certifying trade association, but it's not just about getting certified—it's about building a successful business. 

Many people in the environmental industry have heard of the terms “sick building syndrome” and “indoor air quality” (IAQ), but substantially fewer understand the concept of “building bake-out”. 

The fundamental idea on containment is simple: keep one or more contaminants in or out of an area. Quite literally, a containment is an isolation system.

As we seek to return to normalcy without a vaccine, COVID-19 confronts us with a troubling reality. We spend 90% of our time indoors in the U.S. and Europe, and scientific evidence indicates we are nearly 20 times more likely to be infected by the virus indoors than outdoors. 

How many times have you shown up at a job site only to find your containment has stopped containing? Sometimes it’s the tape coming unstuck, sometimes the homeowner has been poking around, and sometimes all you get is a collective “I don’t know” along with the ever-impressive shoulder shrug.

Let’s talk contracts. To what degree do you guarantee and warranty mold remediation? How do you balance your services with your legal (and moral) obligations regarding mold clean up? A look at your contract terms should match up to your verbal promises made to the client. So where are you?