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Alpine Air
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Where to rent air scrubbers or HEPA filtration equipment?
Alpine Air Corp. delivers to the following cities in Southern California. Our technicians will assist you with the set up of these machines.
These are also the Service Areas for
Mold Removal Estimates & Inspections
DIY "Mold Removal"
on a BUDGET!!!
Part TWO
Hot Topic of the Week – How To Remove Mold Safely on a Budget – Part 2
In the previous article we’ve discussed the purpose of ‘Hot Topic of the Week’, as well as covered the basic materials you may need in order to perform a small scale Mold Removal in a safe manner. Now that you’ve gathered the basic equipment and other items needed to perform the task, it’s time to get started. In this article we will cover the meaning of cross contamination as well as proper containment procedures. In subsequent articles we will also discuss equipment set up, PPE as well as mold and water damaged material removal and much more.
Avoiding cross contamination is priority number one when working on a specific part of your home; but what is cross contamination and how can it be avoided? In regards to mold, cross contamination can best be described as the presence of mold spores in an area that was mold free prior to and because of the disturbance of mold spores in affected areas of your home. When a material containing mold is disturbed – in other words, touched, shaken, cut into etc. – the mold spores are released into the air and can travel to another area of your home, thus spreading into previously mold free areas and affecting them in the process. This in turn could cause a relatively small job to become much larger and when on a budget, it is especially important to take preventive measures that will save you a lot of work and money in the end. The best way to prevent cross contamination of mold spores is to set up a proper containment in the area where mold affected materials are to be removed.
A common area in the home where mold can develop, for example, is on wood and drywall surrounding a window with direct outside access. When containing an area where you will remove mold, it is important to keep in mind that the entire room - rather than just the immediate area - where the mold affected materials will be removed, should be considered part of the ‘work area’. To contain the work area an ideal set up would be as follows:
Secure plastic sheeting on the OUTSIDE of the window
Form a containment INSIDE the room around the window, making sure to allow enough room to stand up right and place a negative air machine immediately in the tent area, you may add a zipper for the tent’s entry
Secure plastic onto room’s doorway and add zipper for entryway
Lay plastic sheeting on the floor from wall to wall within the room as well as a “walkway” from the work area (if there are multiple work areas, the walkways should connect between work areas and be secured onto the floor with proper adhesive, these are the only places you should step on during mold removal) and ultimately leading outside
Cover all vents and outlets as well as all areas through which air can escape with plastic sheeting, these are what is referred to as ‘critical barriers’
Place a Negative Air Machine inside** containment during removal, with flex hose attached to exhaust side of machine. Exhaust flex duct must run as far away from containment entrance as possible (preferably outdoors), ensuring air will not return back inside containment. (**If work area is too small to fit the machine INSIDE containment, you will also need a manifold and flex hose for the intake side of machine. Intake end of Flex duct must run towards and be secured into a cut out in tent wall just large enough to fit diameter of flex hose. The machine itself will be just outside of containment and exhaust flex hose will run far from containment entrance as stated above.)
In next week’s article we will continue this topic and introduce you to a scenario in which we will cover how to conduct a small scale mold remediation. See you then!**
**If you have any immediate questions about your project or if you would like a quote for rental equipment we carry, please feel free to give us a call:
TOLL FREE 1-888-623-8690
