After you have found an environmental problem at your property, you take the next step to resolve it. After contacting a professional to remediate the problem, you might even breathe a sigh of relief. However, sometimes the help you request can lead to dire consequences. In a previous blog, I discussed environmental horror stories from
Halloween is quickly approaching, and what better time to talk about the things that go “bump” in the night. Most of us have heard plenty of stories of witches on their brooms, dancing skeletons, and ghosts rattling chains in the attic of a Victorian home. Could these scary stories have explanations beyond the paranormal or
Have you ever wondered how asbestos is safely removed from a property? Asbestos abatement also known as asbestos removal is an intensive process. To be clear, Indoor Science does not offer asbestos abatement or have financial ties with abatement companies. Earlier in my career, I worked as a project manager overseeing asbestos abatement at schools
A musty odor can be a telltale sign of a mold or moisture problem in a home. Perhaps in your own home, the odor was what prompted you to schedule a mold inspection! Once the mold is discovered and remediated, the odors will likely go away. But what happens when that musty smell lingers in
One of the final stages of asbestos abatement is to have an independent consultant do “clearance testing”. Before clearance testing is performed, the asbestos was identified by a consultant and it was abated by a licensed asbestos abatement contractor. Clearance verifies if the abatement work was properly done and the level of airborne asbestos is
Am I getting enough ventilation to reduce COVID risks? Short answer: probably not. Unfortunately, the long answer is very technical. But here it goes… Although it is now widely recognized that COVID-19 can spread via the airborne route and that ventilation is extremely important, we still don’t know how much ventilation is enough. In this
The words “toxic black mold” could strike fear in the heart of any renter, homeowner, or contractor. At one point or another, almost everyone has heard a horror story, read a headline, or watched a talk show about the negative health impacts of the infamous “toxic black mold”. At Indoor Science, we frequently get requests
Living in the 21st century, it is very likely that you have seen a commercial or advertisement about asbestos-related illness or lawsuits. While the term asbestos has mainstream recognition, many aspects of it are not generally understood by the general public. Many will ask how does asbestos form? What does asbestos look like? In this
What happens after you have a failed mold remediation? In addition to having the hassle of performing mold remediation in your property (not to mention the expense), some clients wisely decide to spend the extra time and expense to have a mold inspector verify if the remediation was successful. This is to ensure that the
There are also state and municipal level requirements for asbestos inspections and abatement work. While mold licensing is mandated in a few states such as Florida and New York, every state often has a form of asbestos licensing for workers and inspectors.
In the United States, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the federal agency that has the authority to issue and enforce workplace health and safety standards put in place to protect workers. OSHA was formed in 1971, as a result of the OSH Act being signed into law in 1970. OSHA has standards in
One common misconception that we hear from clients is that asbestos can grow in a property. While some environmental contaminants such as mold or bacteria can grow within a property, asbestos can not. The term asbestos refers to a group of minerals that are inorganic and naturally occurring. In this blog, we will discuss how
Dust in a property is normal and inescapable. It may seem that no matter how much you dust and clean, it always seems to build up again. At what point should you be concerned about it? This blog will talk about house dust and how it impacts health and indoor air quality. Where Does Dust
The end phase of any remediation or abatement activity is the clearance process. The clearance process for environmental contaminants verifies if the work area has been returned to pre-loss condition — typically by the process of a visual inspection and sampling. While many of these projects meet the criteria required, many others fail. In this
When you get into a hot tub, the only thing on your mind might be to relax and enjoy the experience. You can smell the chlorine and the temperature is comfortably high so you need not worry about germs, right? Wrong! There’s a bacterium that can live in hot tubs and has been colloquially referred
Have you ever seen a popcorn ceiling in a property built before 1980? It is possible that this material is an asbestos-containing surfacing material. Asbestos-containing surfacing materials are materials that are sprayed or trowelled on surfaces. Examples of this include plaster, spray-on fireproofing, and textured ceilings such as popcorn ceiling. Asbestos provided these materials with
Millions of people suffer from asthma. While there is no cure, those who have it can improve their quality of life by having a better understanding of what triggers asthma attacks. Some of those triggers are related to the indoor environment. This blog post will discuss asthma and indoor air quality.
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid and is responsible for many deaths across the world. Since the introduction of fentanyl has been relatively recent, testing regulations and remediation protocols are scarce. In this blog, we will discuss the basics of this substance, testing methods, and remediation practices. Basics of Fentanyl Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that
What’s a renter to do? Imagine that you just rented a new apartment or leased commercial space. Now imagine that after being in the property for a little while that something doesn’t feel quite right. It might be that there is a funny odor. Sometimes you might feel a little off healthwise, but you start
In industrial hygiene, there are few tests more common than for dust and particulate matter. Some dusts, which may also be referred to as aerosols, are specifically regulated, such as silica, asbestos, heavy metals, and combustible dusts. However, for most industries, general dust testing is performed. OSHA deems these “particles not otherwise regulated”, or PNOR
The short answer to this question is no. Mold can come back after remediation. Unfortunately, even if you’ve had a lot of repairs, remediation work, clean up, and testing, you may still need more mold remediation in the future. This blog post will discuss why mold may come back after remediation was completed.
Times are uncertain, the novel coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented, and tensions are high. We understand; that’s why we’re taking precautions to give you one less thing to worry about. Indoor Science has served Chicago and Chicagoland for over 15 years and we’re not stopping now. As essential workers, we will continue performing residential and commercial
One of the more interesting projects that I’ve worked on in recent years involved a church and mold growing on the pew cushions of the sanctuary. The client was concerned not only about the mold, but how the mold managed to get there. Mold needs moisture in order to grow, but there wasn’t a flood
The risk of exposure to asbestos depends on several factors. The condition of the material, type of disturbances, and the material’s friability play a large role in this. However, it could be argued that friability is the greatest factor. Friability refers to whether or not a material can be ground into a powder with hand
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about coronavirus testing in the indoor environment. At that time we did not have laboratory testing for the virus itself, so we had to use other types of testing as surrogate indicators of the biological cleanliness of the surface such as ATP swabs or efficacy testing. Over
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