When we think of contaminated contents, perhaps your thoughts turn to the contents team in Texas that cleaned up everything in the home of the Ebola-infected man who lived there. But the truth is that contents managers consider virtually every job to have some level of contamination.
Where there is fire, there is smoke. Where there is smoke, there is contamination that needs to be removed.
Where there is water damage, there is the potential for mold, greywater, sewage, etc. And the contents teams must be ready to work with it all. We recently read of a case in which mushrooms were found growing in one room of an unused office building and mold was discovered growing in the carpets of every other room and hallway. Surprisingly, the restoration firm (which included a leading restoration expert who is the chairperson of the Environmental Council for the Restoration Industry Association (RIA)) opted to restore the carpet, and clean the mold from it. As it turned out, the experiment was successful.
The contents pros are always looking for cost-effective alternatives – some even amaze us! Mold can be removed from carpets with special techniques and skills. But it is no place for amateurs.
Contents teams have noted that improperly trained structural workers sometimes distribute contaminants throughout the house with fans and HVAC units.
In an article for R & R Magazine, Mark Gibson pointed out, “…it’s very common for families who escape from a mold-polluted residence to cross-contaminate their new place of residence to which they move by carrying the spores on themselves, clothing, and possessions.”
In a similar manner, smoke particulates cling to everything as well. If you aren’t sure about that, just walk through a house where the fire has long since been put out, then go to lunch with a friend – it is most likely he/she will comment on the fact that you “smell like a campfire.”
Contents teams remove soot, smoke odors, mold, and other harmful substances from walls, clothing, furniture and more. The structural teams often use ozone to get the odors out (which harms many, many objects that it touches). Contents teams restore virtually everything they touch, and yes, they might even use ozone, but only on select items and only after they have removed a client’s valuables to a safe place (hydroxyls have become a favorite odor-reducing alternative to ozone).
Contents valets restore, and we avoid cross-contamination because we don’t like cleaning everything twice That is how we improve your bottom line on practically every assignment.