You know how everybody assumes flooding and/or spring flooding is caused by massive rainstorms, hurricanes, swelling rivers or water runoff from the hills above…well I am here to tell you that way more spring floods are caused because you forgot to take the hose off the outdoor hose bib last fall…. And I would know because I have spent the last 30 + years mitigating and repairing the damage caused by the above-described scenario. Not to mention the fact that HYDRACLEAN Disaster Restoration Services deploys catastrophic loss crews through-out Canada when mother nature doles out devastatingly read more

Part 2 – SILICA
The safe removal of hazardous materials should be carried out by a qualified contractor such as HYDRACLEAN Disaster Restoration Services or an equally qualified contractor in your area in accordance with regulatory safe work practices.

SILICA DUST or Crystalline Silica / Concrete dust is Commonly found in cement products like cement leveling compounds, tile thin-set, tile grout, floor tiles, wall tiles, concrete floors, concrete foundation walls, cinder blocks, Bricks, paving stones, and most concrete products. Silica is also used for grinding and polishing glass and stone.

Silica read more

Part 1 – ASBESTOS
The safe removal of hazardous materials should be carried out by a qualified contractor such as HYDRACLEAN Disaster Restoration Services or an equally qualified abatement contractor in your area in accordance with regulatory safe work practices.

Common Hazardous Materials found in Buildings.

ASBESTOS Is commonly present in building materials used in construction right up till 1990. Asbestos fibers were extremely common in building materials found in homes, buildings and schools and were outlawed in Canada and the United States by the year 1980.

Building materials that may read more

One of the least expected but most affected materials in your home after being exposed to standing water from a sudden and unexpected water escape are the walls. Often people think that the flooring like carpet laminate and hardwood are the only affected materials, On the contrary this is simply not the case.

Most walls are constructed using 2×4 lumber and/or steel framing studs, these walls are then covered with drywall/sheetrock (gypsum board) and finished by taping and mudding seams and painted to finish. The drywall/sheetrock is extremely absorbent when exposed to standing water, in read more

Drying Contents

Important Safety Note: Contents affected by unsanitary water sources such as sewer water and overland flood waters (Category-3 water) should be Disposed of except in some cases where decontamination is possible. Decontamination is only recommended for nonporous materials like glassware.

Like in most cases of water damaged/wet materials, contents should be dried as soon as possible. Doing so will drastically increase your chances of salvaging these effected contents. In most cases waiting 24 hours may be too long depending on the type of materials.

It read more

Formulating a drying strategy with a combination of procedures and drying equipment. For carpets lay the materials down flat and in place. Its good practise to spray a surfactant free (non-soap) disinfectant on the carpet backing when possible (do not spray a disinfectant on the face pile). Set up drying fan(s) and dehumidifier(s) as required to affect drying before the carpet has a chance to go sour. Glue-down cushion backed carpets will require more disinfectant than a non read more

A moisture survey is essential to discovering the extent of the affected areas once the obvious affected wet materials and water has been removed. Once the standing water has been removed it is important to recognize what contents and building materials have been affected.            

This can be determined by performing a moisture survey. The human sense of touch is not affective in determining which of the building materials are wet. read more

Water damage to building and contents happen frequently and are not limited to natural disasters as often as they are thought to be. In the majority of cases water damage is caused by broken pipes and plumbing fixtures.

Safety Note – It is important to note that water containing sewage and/or other contaminants like oils and fuels, or water that originates from over land flooding or water from rivers should be left to be cleaned up by professional restoration personnel as this type of contaminated water is known to be hazardous to human health.

1. The first thing that one should do in the case of a sudden an unexpected water escape affecting the inside of a building like your home or your business is too extract standing water, this includes extracting water out of materials like carpets furniture and contents. It is extremely important to extract standing water as soon as possible to limit the migration of water through building materials and contents. The longer water is left on surfaces the more materials will become affected as water migrates and in almost every case this translates into more costs and damage.

Water can be extracted read more

Please note complete decontamination of facilities and implements is widely known to be not possible, however sanitization through disinfection techniques to remove contaminates both visible to the human eye and microbiological (not visible to the human eye) will be extremely effective resulting in sanitization level clean.

HOW TO SANITIZE AN INDOOR FACILITIES AND/OR LIVING SPACES

1. Sanitation staff Don the appropriate personal protective equipment prior to entering building/ facility.
2. Pressurizing the building using HEPA cabinet Air scrubbers/negative pressure machines are to be installed to create positive pressure inside therefore pushing air to the outside during decontamination.
3. Removal of contents are required to a secure airlock containment and expose all surfaces to be sanitized.
4. Prior to commencing cleaning procedures air scrubbers are set up and strategically placed throughout the indoor space to pick up dust and airborne contaminants that will inevitably be introduced to the air as a result of mechanical cleaning procedures.
5. A thermal fogger is used to affect all surfaces using a registered anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal registered disinfectant. Disinfectant compounds are left to dwell so to ensure broad spectrum microbiological sanitization according to the surfaces and contaminants Being sanitized.
6. Mechanical cleaning follows thermal fogging to physically remove protein-based buildups, dust, dirt, debris and microbiology. Mechanical cleaning agents are used and are a registered disinfectant with surfactant properties. 
7. A detailed inspection of all surface with the aid of tools such as blacklights and surface testing equipment are implored to Quantify results.  
8. Upon satisfactory completion of the mechanical cleaning processes, hydroxyl generators are added and strategically placed along with HEPA cabinet air scrubbers to cycle the air for a period of time which along with the specific number of equipment required is determined by the cubic footage of the occupied space.
9. Once satisfactory results are achieved the air scrubbers and hydroxyl generators are removed by service staff who are required to DON personal protective equipment prior to entering to preserve sanitation levels to retrieve equipment. Equipment is decontaminated outside of the facility under pop up tents (if required by weather conditions) and loaded after being sanitized onto our service vehicles.  

HOW TO SANITIZE CONTENTS OF AN INDOOR FACILITIES AND/OR LIVING SPACES

1. Sanitation staff Don the appropriate personal protective equipment prior to entering building/ facility.
2. An airlock decontamination facility/area is set up to serve as a sanitized space for contents decontamination. In most cases it is more economically feasible to establish this decontamination area inside the indoor facility where the contents are kept, but it is also sometimes required to erect a temporary decontamination facility adjacent to the indoor environment being serviced to extract the contents for decontamination.
3. The decontamination facility is positively pressurized using HEPA cabinet and air scrubbers to prevent the possibility of cross-contaminated air space’s from entering the airlock decontamination facility. Once this area is established and deemed operational contents are extracted from the indoor facility and decontaminated in an assembly line type cleaning process. Decontamination cleaning, Drying, inspection and boxing of sanitized contents are performed to secure contents until restocking of contents to the facility can be safely implemented. Contents are placed in an area so that they can be affected by hydroxyl generators to secure and ensure that they remain sanitized and can’t be contaminated prior to leaving the decontamination facility.

SERVICE STAFF CROSS CONTAMINATION PREVENTION

1. After DON-ing personal protective equipment, and while suited in the same, service staff are physically decontaminated to sanitized by showering in a registered disinfectant solution as previously described in this document, to ensure that they are not able to cross contaminate service areas and or contents.  
2. Once decontamination procedures are complete, service staff prior to DOF-ing personal protective equipment are decontaminated to sanitized by showering in a registered disinfectant solution as previously described in this document, and allowing the appropriate dwell time on the surface’s of the personal protective equipment to affect sanitization prior to removing personal protective equipment.

It is important to understand that common variations of indoor facilities / living spaces may dictate read more