Steamatic of Sacramento Healthy Home Blog

Cleaning up sh**! What property managers need to know

Having a sewer backup or a toilet overflow at one of your properties stinks ─ literally or figuratively.  But with some basic knowledge about cleanup you will come up smelling like roses. Clichés aside, the best way to clean up contaminated water is following the standard of care outlined in the S500 water damage standard.

 

Here are the four steps.

 

1. Unsanitary water is a health hazard. Make sure your restoration contractor or custodian wears protective gear and keeps people away during the cleanup. Depending on the size affected, containment with negative pressurization may be warranted.

 

2. Know that using air movers for the initial drying will spew unseen contaminants into the air. Use dehumidifiers instead!

 

3. Realize that porous materials like drywall and carpet that have been affected by the black water should be cut out, not cleaned. Non porous surfaces like tile floors should be cleaned with hot water before anti microbials are applied.  

 

4. Once the dry down is finished, have the job site sampled for the presence of E Coli and fecal coliform. This is an inexpensive test for quality assurance. The last phase is the build back if replacement of drywall or carpet is required.

 

As with any water damage repair, doing the job right is good risk management. And, given the potential of bacteria contamination on top of mold growth, it will save money in the long run.

 

As a preferred vendor for the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District for more than 10 years, Steamatic of Sacramento has more experience cleaning up sewage than any restoration company in Sacramento.

 

Company owner Charles Cassani also teaches water damage restoration classes to insurance adjusters and property managers. With 38 years in the business, there isn’t much he hasn’t seen. Feel free to email him or to phone him for advice.

 

Steamatic of Sacramento’s 24-hour number is 916-386-8191. The website is here:

Molecular Cleaning and Other Interesting Facts

OK - I can't stop relating everyday events to cleaning and restoration.  After 36+ years, it just happens.  Every day, around my home and office, I am reminded of what I have learned in my career; no escaping the connections.  Soon, I will produce a "White Paper" on the subject.

Yesterday, I was in a condominium in Sacramento.  Nice unit, many late model cars and very pleasant surrounding open spaces to enjoy the out of doors.  I was on an assignment as a Consultant to determine the need for mold remediation in a pristine, empty two-bedroom, lower-level unit.  The carpet and pad was pulled and piled up revealing large cracks in the slab.  There was a core sample hole in the middle of the living room floor, drywall and baseboard were removed from several areas under two south-facing windows and some walls throughout the unit.  Supposedly, the unit was sold to a new owner who was not informed that the unit had previous water damage and mold amplification.  One could never have guessed this based strictly on the appearance of the space.  Yet, the issue was discovered simply and now, officially, by costly expert investigations, destructive testing and environmental sampling.

Visual observation of mold appearing at windows, near water reservoirs (think water closet or toilet tank) and along baseboards on a regular basis may indicate high interior relative humidity.  Often, it is the ill-health effects of microbial mycotoxins in the occupied space compared to the lack of same outside of the space that may alert the occupants that something is amiss.  Both parties are now locked in litigation to determine who will assume what financial responsibility and both parties are spending gobs of money to prove their case.  The bigger picture for me, as an Expert in this field, is you can't fool Mother Nature regardless of the appearance of the structure.

There are obvious indicators that this unit is problematic based on the simplest of observations; the surrounding land slopes toward the slab foundation on the south exposure that receives the majority of the weather.  The core hole reveals a proper slab construction with vapor barrier in tack.  All other simple observations point to a slab moisture problem throughout the entire space, some worse than others.  There are major cracks in the slab that have been filled previously - someone knew of the problem and tried to fix it but this was not properly disclosed at the time of the sale.  I have no direct knowledge of what I am about to say, but you think the neighbors who watched all of the attempted corrective activities might someday mention that to the new owner?  Duh.

So what does this have to do with "molecular cleaning and other interesting facts"?  Not much that you would understand - I just needed to try a catchy by-line to garner your attention.  Let me know if it worked and watch for my "White Paper" on the SOS web site (www.steamaticofsacramento.com) to get the real story of molecular cleaning and other interesting facts.

New York City Mold Guidelines Review

The City of New York has a large issue with mold in both private and public housing – about 15,000 complaints a year are received.  Most readers may not know that the original guidelines for cleaning and remediation of mold originated from the NYC Department of Health in 1993.  Under consideration, are the guidelines for cleaning and remediation [1]of different levels of mold contamination: Level I: Small Isolated Areas (10 square feet or less); Level II: Mid-Sized Isolated Areas (10 - 30 square feet); Level III: Large Isolated Areas (30 - 100 square feet).  Each level, one through three, has different recommendations for the containment, cleaning and protection of the building occupants and the workers performing the remediation. 

You may be wondering why the square feet of mold contamination is the measure of difference between the cleaning and remediation guidelines.  There is a simple but not well understood explanation: the dose-response relationship between the volume of mold present and the potential danger to building occupants and remediators is the critical to the medical and scientific communities.  The more mold present, the greater the possibility of allergy-type reactions.  The question at hand driving the review is the amount of mold stated in each level of the guidelines.  Many feel that the amounts are too liberal and need to be revised.  This is a sticky issue for those affected and the medical and scientific communities.  Normally, medical and scientific advice is driven by epidemiological studies – scientific and medical studies of the causes and transmission of disease and health issues within a population.  Mold-related health effects are not yet verified by epidemiological evidence and therefore, rest on individual interpretation of the medical and environmental science practitioners.  The common divide exist: those who claim medical affects (to the bizarre) and those who claim there is no evidence that the problem is specifically related to the presence of mold and the mycotoxins that cause the health issues (to the bizarre).  What’s at stake is a great deal of money – and that should surprise no one who understands what drives change. 

Case law has made a difference in this arena.  Landlords who pay large settlements, personally or through their insurance carriers, now find it cost effective to be more pro-active in managing their properties to prevent mold.  Water is the real issue.  Buildings leak or accumulate moisture from occupant use.  Construction defects are the real culprit and much of the current scientific evidence indicates that moisture (wetness, especially as droplets of condensed or absorbed liquid, or in a vapor) in the built environment presents more potential for medical issues than any other single factor.  Water causes most things to grow, including mold and bacteria.  The fix is simple – stop the water or water vapor (above 60% relative humidity – Rh in the abbreviated form) and eliminate the associated or presumed health risks, some known and many unknown. 

Meanwhile, get to know a qualified restoration specialist[2] who has the equipment to assist you in finding and fixing water intrusion and elevated relative humidity (Rh).  Consider this as part of the annual physical maintenance of your home. It will save you thousands of dollars in potential damage to your home; prevent a real estate disclosure that can kill a sale; and provide maximum comfort and health for you and your family.

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[1] Refer to http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/epi/moldrpt1.shtml for a complete copy of the guidline.

[2] Consult the Restoration Industry Association’s list of Certified Specialist at http://www.restorationindustry.org/omnisam/memberdirectory_custom/search.cfm

News - Water Intrusion & Health

There are a number of organizations that research and develop standards: ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials); ANSI (American National Standards Institute); ISO (International Standards Organization) and others.  The inclusion of International standards is a sign of our world trade opportunities that require more than "American" considerations in the development and publication of standards.  Standards are intended to be guidelines and methods of assessment for quality control and risk management.  There is a large number of these standards that deal with water intrusion into buildings.

ASTM has approved a new standard for the Practice for Assessment of Vapor Intrusion into Structures on Property Involved in Real Estate Transactions - E 2600.  It is no surprise to this writer that this standard addresses the mired of legal issues regarding real estate transactions where both the seller and the broker are sued for alleged vapor intrusion issues that affect the health and well being of the new occupants.

In 2007 a study at Brown University found a "statistical link between depressive symptoms and indoor fungal growth (mold) and dampness."  The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health, October 2007.  Studies by other health professionals over the past decade support this conclusion.  So what is the link between water damage buildings and depression?  According to the study; 1) A perceived lack of control over one's environment, and 2) An association between chronic respiratory distress and depression "because of their ailments."

Another study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicates a link between cardiovascular disease and indoor air pollution.  Water intrusion in structures is the primary cause of indoor air quality.

More and more epidemiological evidence supports the conclusion that water in structures, in any form, requires assessment and corrective measures to protect the physical and mental health of the occupants.  S.O.S. knows this from first hand experience and we have the knowledge, tools and resources to assist occupants in this area.  Refer to http://www.steamaticofsacramento.com/faq.html for information regarding equipment and methods used for water intrusion testing.

The above information was condensed from the publication Indoor Environment Connections (http://www.ieconnections.com), Volume 9, Issue 7 – May 2008.