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Scheduling Clearance Testing:
Timing:
Schedule clearance testing no less than 48 hours after the completion of the final wet wiping.
This allows sufficient time for any remaining airborne particles to settle.
Pre-Testing Conditions:
The project should exhibit a fresh smell, free from dust and debris.
AFDs and dehumidifiers should be clean and equipped with fresh filters.
Day of Testing Preparation:
Always Meet The Hygienist At The Property.
If the Mitigation Manager can not make the appointment, then send a crew leader familiar with the project.
This keeps testing clear & honest, as some IH/CIE's will take steps to insure that the project fails for the purpose of charging for additional testing fees. This is minimized when there's a witness there.
This allows Mitigation Managers &/or Crew Leaders to get an opportunity to see & understand the testing criteria, & how testing is performed.
Document everything that was observed.
Pre-Arrival Inspection:
Arrive at the project site at least one hour before the IH/CIE or any other personnel.
Conduct a thorough inspection to ensure:
Containments are secure and intact.
All equipment is operational and running.
Ensure there are no unforeseen issues or surprises.
Surprises should be evaluated, if it's likely to cause the project to fail or be flagged, contact the IH to reschedule 24 hours out.
The Inspection:
The IH will generally conduct a walk through inspection of the property looking for quality of cleaning & workmanship.
This is when they flag projects.
They're looking for evidence that the contractor didn't follow the protocol, or took shortcuts.
They're using all of their senses;
Visual: they expect the project to look neat and orderly. They're looking for clean drywall cuts, no remaining bits of debris, dustless environment. They'll look for evidence of clear sealers & dirty filters in AFDs.
Smell: they're looking for musty smells, they're looking for the heavy smell of disinfectants, and they're looking for odors associated with unapproved products such as bleach.
Touch: They'll often rub surfaces to ensure that there's no dust on horizontal surfaces.
Hearing: they'll want to talk to you about the project, how it was handled, what challenges arose, and how they were handled.
IH's may have a preference to air filtration while testing;
System Running Negative: do not ever agree to testing while a AFD is running negative pressure. Too much potentially contaminated air is drawn into the property.
System Running Neutral: This is desirable, as it's continuing to run and keep the air processed in the areas.
AFDs switched off: If they wish to test with the AFDs off, they're going to have to come back the following day to complete testing.
If an IH switches your AFDs off without discussion first, they just forced the project to fail. This must be mentioned to the IH, and management about what happened to protect the employee from accusations of poor cleaning performance, and the cost of the retest & recleaning charged to the contractor.
Switching an AFD off unexpectedly without the proper shut down sequence, decompresses the filters allowing debris trapped to be released back into the atmosphere. It will very likely never pass if tested immediately following.
If there aren't issues, the IH will grab their gear out of their vehicle & start their testing.
Outdoor Sample: The first Air Sample
This gives them a fungal count to compare the interior to. There really is no rule regarding counts indoors vs outdoors. It's independant between each IH, and they'll normally have a good reason for why their method is smart, and everyone else's methodology is stupid.
Indoor Contaminated Area Samples: Generally 1 per work area
This will give them a fungal count associated with the previously contaminated rooms to confirm successful cleaning.
Indoor Unaffected Area Samples: Typically Just 1 area, likely the same area as before remediation.
The purpose of this is to ensure that particulate from the remediation hasn't contaminated the unaffected areas, suggesting a breach in containment, poor remediation procedures, or an AFD malfunction.
HVAC system samples: These samples test to see if the interior of the HVAC system is contaminated, there's a few methods of testing.
Tape Lifts: which are essentially sterile scotch tape, that's pulled off a roll & contacted to a surface. These samples are typically attached to a microscope slide, or carefully back onto itself & put into a sample bag.
Swab Tests: these tests are basically sterile q-tips, stored in a plastic tube with a cap, that are used to swab a questionable surface, and then retracted back into the tube & the cap reset.
Air Tests: this is unusual, as most of the time the HVAC system isn't energized during testing. The area that the cassette cartridge can sample from is pretty limited. The previous 2 methods are more accurate & practical. The only reason a IH would do air samples inside a duct system is because they don't have either of the other 2 methods available.
Typically they'll insert the testing head into the selected duct while the pump runs. The results from this testing method is often flawed due to where the air is pulled from. The IH or CIE will likely be standing on a ladder with their arm contorted for an extended period of time. Depending on the ducts diameter, the apparel that the IH is wearing, and the depth of the testing cartridge in the register will lead to varied results.
Wearing a coat with their arm buried to the shoulder: this will likely block off the airflow from the room side of the register, causing the cartridge to pull air from within the duct system.
Wearing a t-shirt with the cartridge in the register box: this will likely pull the majority of air from the room side of the register, and very little from the interior of the duct system.
The system running, with the testing cartridge at the register: this will almost entirely test the air coming from the system.
Each air sample should be collected at "chest" level. Particulate stratifies in the air, so it's cleaner towards the ceiling, and more dense at the floor. Chest level is what's referred to as the respirable range.
Some IH's will set their testing rig close to the floor, to encourage the project to fail the air test, leading to a need to retest.
If this is observed, take a photograph, and confront the IH regarding why they're testing so low to the ground.
Each sample collected must undergo a stringent chain of custody tracking.
The IH must document the following:
Time & Date the samples were collected.
Who collected the samples
How much air in terms of volume passed across the aerocell cartridge. (it's mathematically figured based on the pumps air flow x run time.)
Where on the property each of the samples were collected.
What the outside conditions were. Eg: Raining, Snowing, Humid, ectra.
Because they typically don't have a microscope available in the field, and it's also fairly frowned upon to conduct their own lab work, they'll ship the samples collected to a lab for testing. So unfortunately it takes a few days to get the results back.
The testing associated, is based on species of mold present, and the counts of each observed within the cassettes.
The IH will typically call the contractor to let them know verbally what the outcome of the testing is.
They follow up with a written report including the lab results.
Fogging Prior to Testing: Myth vs. Reality:
The Myth:
Fogged application of disinfectants prior to the IH/CIE's arrival improves clearance testing results by killing airborne mold spores.
The Reality:
An application of water or a deodorizer would yield similar results.
The increased humidity causes microscopic airborne particles to become heavier and settle onto the floor, where they tend to stay, till acted on.
The Ugly Truth:
Many disinfectants are not approved by manufacturers for fogged application.
Most disinfectants require 10+ minutes of dwell time for effectiveness, which is rarely achieved during fogging.
The Takeaway: Fogging does not effectively kill mold and may actually violate federal pesticide regulations.
Post-Testing Outcomes:
Passed:
Congratulations! The project has met or exceeded clearance standards.
Proceed with dismantling containments, removing equipment, and initiating subsequent project phases.
Failed:
What this means:
The IH/CIE's visual inspection was satisfactory, but lab results indicate further cleaning is required.
The restoration contractor is responsible for retesting costs and labor associated with recleaning.
Client Responsibility: In most situations, if the project failed, the Client has no financial burden for the project failing.
However: If the contractors &/or IH's recommendations were not followed, and proper documentation(signed an ROR or, refusal of recommendations) is in place, the client will be responsible for whatever work caused the failure, recleaning as well as the IH's retesting costs.
Contractor Responsibility: Contractor must follow IH's recommendations to remedy the failure, reclean the property, as well as pay for the IH's retesting fee.
Flagged:
The project failed the visual inspection prior to air sample collection.
This is an incredibly embarrassing situation, suggesting that it's so bad, that it's visibly obvious.
This indicates non-compliance with the IH/CIE's protocol or visibly inadequate cleaning.
Extensive cleaning may be necessary to prepare for retesting.
The restoration contractor is almost always responsible for retesting costs and recleaning labor.
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