The economic and social disruption due to COVID-19, the disease caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, has devastated countless people around the world. This ongoing global pandemic has not only changed the way we operate on a daily basis, but it has changed our views of many different aspects of life.

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.

At the time of this writing, we’re starting to see the much-anticipated second wave of COVID-19 infections and deaths due to colder temperatures settling over much of the U.S. and people moving activities indoors.

The art of analyzing data has made it possible to spot trends and predict the near-term future. By examining patterns and what’s about to happen, governments and businesses are making decisions on how to prepare for what people will do and where they will spend money.

We are now digging into equipment sizing and understanding the ANSI/IICRC S500, Edition 4, 2015 (S500) to improve drying performance and are starting with air mover calculations and getting the job properly sized.

For many people, discussions of chemistry are not only confusing; such conversations are actually scary. Too many individuals do not appreciate just how valuable a basic understanding of chemistry can be to their efforts as a cleaning or restoration professional. 

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.