My name is Dane Gregory. I am the national sales manager for Carpet Cleaner America and have held several positions with larger cleaning entities in the industry. I am a past president of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) board of directors.

I also instruct several IICRC certification classes and was the task force chair for developing the IICRC Stone, Masonry, and Ceramic (SMT) course to teach certification classes for technicians who want to learn about stone, ceramic, and porcelain tile for cleaning and resurfacing. I love to lead the classroom, whether online or in person, to help give back to the new technicians just starting in the industry.

2 | How did you first get started in the industry?

I saw in a newspaper article that a shopping center was being built in the downtown area of my small town and decided I would start a company to clean that mall. Everyone I talked with told me I would not get the contract, but I did. When a change happened in a large janitorial account, we pivoted full-time into carpet cleaning.

3 | Who in your life impacts you the most?

The entire family at the April 2023 wedding of Dane and Barb Gregory鈥檚 youngest son.

While I have had the privilege of having several important mentors in my life, the most important has been my wife, Barb. Having her support for all the decisions I鈥檝e had to make and being totally on board with the new lifestyle that business ownership brought to our family and the ups and downs of the early years has been amazing. She was a shoulder to lean on and a true partner to help grow our young business and, at the same time, a young family.

4 | If you could have dinner with one person from history, who would it be, and why?

Probably someone like John D. Rockefeller or Andrew Carnegie. Someone visionary like that. I am always inspired when watching a business documentary on the History Channel about business leaders who could see something that did not exist and create a business out of thin air. The amount of wealth they brought to our country through the creation of completely new industries is astounding.

5 | What music, movies, or books have inspired you?

I read biographies like Iacocca, my first favorite book. I enjoy learning from people who inspire others to do great things. One of my favorite movies is A Knight鈥檚 Tale, a story of a person who changes their outcome in life by doing whatever it takes to show what is truly in his heart. I love it when the underdog wins when the deck is stacked against them.

Dane Gregory has spent more than 20 years officiating hockey, which helped him learn how to make quick decisions and own up to mistakes.

6 | What personal philosophy of life motivates you the most?

Simply put, 鈥淣obody cares, work harder.鈥� I used to be one that made excuses for failures. In 20-plus years of being an on-ice official in hockey, I learned how to make quick decisions and own up to the mistakes when they happen鈥攈ow to take a set of rules, whether you agree with them or not, and apply them without emotion or an agenda. Working with high school and college athletes and their coaches prepared me for a life in the business world of moving on when you make a wrong decision and try to correct the next one.

The one thing I have learned from my almost 40 years in the industry is there is more than one correct answer to most business operation systems.

The post 6 Questions for Dane Gregory appeared first on Cleanfax.

In the September/October 2023 issue of Cleanfax, Nate Cisney, with Restoration Made Simple Consulting, wrote the cover story with one of the coolest headlines we have had in a while. You can access the digital version of this at cleanfax.com and use the 鈥淢agazine鈥� menu button. The topic was about the pros and cons of being part of a TPA network鈥攁 very fair and honest article.

That spawned continued discussion as I heard from many of you how you valued the content and how it provided you with the information you needed to make an educated decision. This led to a TAKE 5 With Cleanfax interview with Cisney, one you can view below. Give it a watch. There is more information there that complements the article.

The bottom line

The industry seems divided over TPAs. You either stand against them or tolerate them, Cisney said. And some embrace them completely. But like many things in life, there鈥檚 usually a middle ground.

Cisney explained that his daily interactions often revolve around this topic. When a client approaches him about joining a TPA, he transparently lays out the pros and cons. He observes that some firms may balk at a TPA dictating pricing or operational strategies, while others value its stability and revenue stream.

For budding companies, the scenario is somewhat different. Established TPAs might require a business to operate for at least three years, leaving new entrants searching for alternatives. Nate did say that there are TPAs more flexible about their joining criteria. They鈥檙e eager to expand their contractor networks.

鈥淚 see TPAs only growing, based upon the current environment and the current trend that I see,鈥� Cisney elaborated. 鈥淚鈥檓 currently working with two or three TPAs that are coming out, that are on the market now, and I think that number will continue to grow, because it is the one way that insurance companies can dictate the outcome of a claim much better if they are on a TPA than if they are not. And we know insurance companies like to dictate and control as much as possible.鈥�

As the restoration industry evolves, professionals will continue weighing their options and making decisions best suited for their company鈥檚 trajectory. The key, as always, lies in informed decision-making.

The post To TPA or Not to TPA appeared first on Cleanfax.

A spot is something you can feel, and it will rub off onto a towel.

A spot is a relatively small, well-defined area that differs in appearance from the surrounding pile. Typically, a spot is more easily removed than a stain, although some spot contaminants might also contain staining and/or discoloring agents.

In my real-world terms, the definition of a聽spot聽is a substance added to the carpet, such as dirt, mud, food, coffee, or soft drink (or another sugary beverage) that was dripped or spilled. It also includes things like tar, gum, or glue. Can you feel it? If so, then it鈥檚 a spot! If you can鈥檛, then it鈥檚 probably a stain.

A stain is substance that adds color to the fiber and cannot be removed.

础听stain聽is defined as color added. This means color has been absorbed into the carpet fiber鈥攍ike when the coloring found in Kool-Aid, sports drinks, food, cranberry juice, medicines, copier toner, etc., gets spilled onto and absorbed into the carpet. Some fibers, although treated to resist dye stains, can still stain. The key word here is 鈥渞esistant,鈥� as in the fiber is stain 鈥渞esistant,鈥� not stain 鈥減roof.鈥�

Wicking is聽that dreaded word for a spot that keeps coming back. Wicking happens when the material that caused the spot gets further into the carpet than what was cleaned. So, while you think you cleaned the spot, when the carpet dries, it pulls that material back to the surface and creates a spot again. Put more cleaner on it, a stack of towels, and some weight, and return in 24 hours. That will work as a poultice to pull and absorb the wicking spot from the carpet.

A discoloration is color loss, a permanent situation unless redyed.

Discoloration聽happens when something takes the color out of the carpet. Most bleaching substances will do this鈥攖oilet bowl cleaner, benzoyl peroxide, actual bleach. When a discoloration happens, the only fix is to have a carpet cleaning professional add the color back in.

There is a common saying in the carpet cleaning industry: 鈥淭he difference between a spot and a stain is 24 hours.鈥� As we have discussed, much more is involved in determining whether you are dealing with a聽spot,聽stain,聽wicking, or discoloration.

The post Spot, Stain, Wicking, Discoloration鈥� appeared first on Cleanfax.

You have gotten to this point by getting the right people on the bus, by training them, and by creating a positive environment through coaching. By getting to this point, you are a rare and blessed business owner.

If you are not at this point yet, follow the process and get better as you go. Keep the steps handy. They have served me well for almost 40 years. I have many team members who have been with me for decades.

That is not by accident. To retain them for long periods of time is one thing. That can be done through benefits such as vacation pay, healthcare, and a positive working environment. But not everyone will rise to the company鈥檚 top levels, which is understandable.

The better you get at building the right kind of relationships with your team members and understanding the steps of building a dream team, the stronger your team will become. Remember, this is a process that you must continue to practice every day. It is not automatic. You have to earn your stripes as a leader every single day.

Once you have gotten accustomed to being a coach leader rather than a boss, and your team is trained and engaged, you should have people who are ready to move up.

Moving up

The game of getting your business predictable, profitable, and turnkey is simply a process of replacing yourself intentionally and methodically on the organizational chart. (See my article, Leading Through Coaching, , in the September/October 2023 issue of Cleanfax for a reminder of what my suggested organizational chart looks like.)

Where are you now? What areas have you replaced yourself in? What areas are next up for replacing yourself?

As you fill in the bottom row (the implementer role) of the chart and when you have successful people in those areas, you need to look for candidates to fill the middle section (the manager role). You are looking for people with good soft skills and relationship skills, or who can be trained and developed in positive personal habits and leadership skills.

WARNING! Just because someone is a great technician or salesperson does not mean they will be a good supervisor. Many people are great technicians but never develop the required soft skills.

Personal development and leadership

Two areas require development:

1. Personal relationships
2. Leadership skills

All of business鈥攁nd all of life鈥攊s about relationships. Your ability to build solid relationships is key to building your business and is essential to building a dream team. Your team members will have to develop those skills as well.

Personal development includes having a positive self-image, building winning relationships, having a positive attitude, and understanding how to reach goals.

Leadership development is about gaining influence in others鈥� lives so they will follow you. Everything rises and falls on leadership, and understanding the right kind of leadership is vital to building a team.

Just knowing about personal development and leadership is not enough. As my mentor recently pointed out, knowledge isn鈥檛 enough. It must be cultivated. In other words, it has to be developed.

Be a teacher, instructor, and facilitator

Again, development happens over time. So, how do we develop people? One of my early mentors taught me a framework around development that has stuck with me to this day:

• Information: Requires a teacher
• Skill: Requires an instructor
• Experience: Requires a facilitator

In order to learn information, one only needs a teacher. The teacher transfers the information in a way that is usable. If you want to learn how to fly an airplane, for example, you need to learn how an airplane flies, how to operate the aircraft, how to go through the preflight checklist, etc.

But you don鈥檛 learn to fly an airplane with a manual only. You develop the skill by having an instructor to show you how and watch over you as you learn how to fly. Eventually, you get to fly the plane solo, which you must do before you can get your pilot鈥檚 license.

But to be a great pilot, what do you need? Experience! And to get the best experience, it wouldn鈥檛 it be good to have an experienced pilot by your side?

Develop yourself

To develop people, you must first develop yourself. If you want to develop and nurture leaders, you must first become a great leader. There鈥檚 a huge leadership vacuum in the world we live in today. There are too many people in this world who have read about leadership but never developed the skill of leadership. They think they know leadership but have never been through the fire.

Our instant-gratification culture bucks the idea of developing anything over time. Our microwave mindset demands a fully cooked meal in seconds.

But leadership doesn鈥檛 work that way. Developing people doesn鈥檛 work that way. We have to go through a few storms. We have to endure a few emergency landings. We must have wise mentors who can help us continue our leadership journey.

After training, we need to get them into different experiences.

For example, we take all of our management team through Ziglar Training so they can develop a positive self-image, build winning relationships, and learn how to set goals.

Then, we get them into leadership training. For example, we train all of our management in John Maxwell content.

Investing in and developing your top-performing team will set a strong foundation for a predictable, profitable, turnkey operation.

Take them to conferences. Put them in rooms with other leaders.

One of the things I鈥檝e done to facilitate experiences for managers to become directors is putting them in higher-level training and mastermind rooms where leaders flesh out concepts.

I spend a lot of time with them, taking them to conferences and traveling together. I want them to know not just my vision but also my heart. I want them to understand how to make decisions like I would.

The four Cs of competence

Along the way, I learned the four Cs of competence concept, which is instructive for developing people.

We don鈥檛 hire people with experience in our cleaning business. We hire for attitude first. Remember, the ideal team player is humble, hungry, and intelligent (people smart). Then you train them for skill.

Level 1: Unconscious incompetence. Everyone starts not knowing what they don鈥檛 know. Untrained and inexperienced leaders see this as a weakness. I see it as a strength. Why? Because I would rather them not know anything than come into my business with bad habits.

Level 2: Conscious incompetence. At this level, they know they don鈥檛 know. They are learning brand new things they have never understood before. Again, this is good because as they learn something for the first time, whether that is how to push a wand, talk to a customer, or do marketing, they are learning it the right way, the first time. It will always stick with them. Of course, that depends on how good your training systems are. (Again, see my article on training in the May/June 2023 issue of Cleanfax.)

Level 3: Conscious competence. This is the minimum standard of performance. Ensure your people are well-trained before you let them operate independently. Many small business owners I talk with are afraid to let someone use their expensive equipment or speak to their top clients. I would be, too, if they weren鈥檛 trained.

Remember, the simple process of tell, show, watch. Tell them what to do. Show them how to do it (with a manual and training), then watch them do it until they get into the proper habits. This takes time, but it is worth it overall because they will eventually run your company for you.

When you get to the point where you cannot train yourself, make sure you have a trained trainer! Don鈥檛 let someone who does not know how to train do the training! You could have the best technician, best salesperson, or marketer, but they may not know how to teach someone else how to do it!

Level 4: Unconscious competence. This is the ultimate level. This is the level of mastery. When someone has enough of the right type of experience, the highest level of training, and enough practice, they become a master. Mastery takes time, but having people at that level opens up unlimited possibilities for you.

The rewards are off the charts.

The post Develop a Phenomenal Dream Team appeared first on Cleanfax.

In my infinite grandfatherly wisdom, I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to introduce my six-year-old granddaughter (the grande dame of her siblings and cousins) to the reason for her holiday visit: Independence Day! The birthday of the United States of America.

Knowing that I wouldn鈥檛 have her attention for long, I had to choose a time when we wouldn鈥檛 be distracted by the noise and hyperactivity of the other five children. I decided on bedtime鈥攎ore specifically, that magic interlude when just the two of us would read a book of her choice right before she jumped into bed. Perfect! Grandpa gets to share his passion for history by relating one of his favorite stories: the founding of the United States, complete with tea bags for throwing out of our chair and a scroll of paper that would serve as a replica of the Declaration of Independence.

鈥淗ow about if tonight, rather than reading a book, Grandpa tells you a story?鈥� I asked her.

鈥淎 story about what?鈥� she responded.

鈥淭he birthday of the United States. The reason you鈥檙e visiting Grandma and Grandpa. The reason for the fireworks and all the celebrations,鈥� I replied.

鈥淥K鈥︹�� she said with a hint of hesitation, letting me know I wouldn鈥檛 have much time. No details about significant battles, poor communication between nations, or political infighting. Just the high points. So, in the next three minutes, I raced through the three-year span between the Boston Tea Party and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

When done, I couldn鈥檛 help but congratulate myself. I was on my game and extremely impressed with my command of the events and my ability to relate them to a six-year-old child.

Instantly, I thought about all the opportunities I鈥檝e had to convey lessons in running a business to owners and senior managers who were eager to learn. Some of those lessons were pretty basic, but for new business owners (even owners with advanced degrees), they were critical to their success and needed to be learned. Others were more complex, needing more detailed explanations and more time for my students to grasp.

It鈥檚 the same responsibility every CEO of every company has鈥攄eveloping the people within the company. That鈥檚 one of the things that facilitates the growth of every successful business. While every CEO might not be inclined or equipped to be the teacher, they are responsible for ensuring their people are instructed in the lessons they need to learn at that stage of their development鈥攋ust like me teaching my granddaughter.

I tied a bow on my lesson of the nation鈥檚 founding with 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the story of the birthday of the United States. And that鈥檚 one of the reasons you鈥檙e visiting Grandma and Grandpa this weekend.鈥�

Looking into her eyes, I could see she was processing. 鈥淕randpa,鈥� she finally said. 鈥淭hat was a lot of words. Can we read my book now?鈥�

With that one simple question, it was evident that Grandpa still had lessons of his own to learn and my granddaughter wasn鈥檛 the only student in the room.

The post It鈥檚 All About Timing appeared first on Cleanfax.

When working in skyscrapers and other tall buildings, renovation and restoration professionals must accommodate the needs of dozens and sometimes hundreds of tenants. Delays and disruptions can affect not just one resident or family but potentially all of them. Access can be very tricky, too. Hauling drywall, power tools, and other unwieldy materials up several flights of steep stairs or into cramped elevators is challenging.

Before taking on a high-rise project, renovation and restoration professionals must have a comprehensive plan for seamless service. Here are eight ways to ensure you鈥檙e working efficiently and effectively.

1 | Plan elevator use in advance.

Planning when and how often to use a building鈥檚 elevator might seem like a minor detail, but construction professionals experienced with high-rises know it鈥檚 essential.

Contractors can鈥檛 simply use the elevator whenever they want; building residents need it to be speedy and available, so contractors can鈥檛 tie it up indefinitely. Indeed, many property managers even have rules about how often contractors can use the elevator. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important to plan in advance when you鈥檒l need to use the elevator. Maximize every trip by fitting as many materials as possible without exceeding the weight limit. It鈥檚 also important to use the elevator during slower times in the building, such as very early in the morning or mid-afternoon. Alternatively, using the elevator during the morning rush hour and on weekends can greatly inconvenience tenants.

2 | Pore over all the paperwork.

The logistics of renovating a high-rise are almost always more complicated than renovating a single residence. There can be stacks of paperwork involved. Contractors need to fill out forms about insurance, building codes, property rules, and more. Make sure to tackle all this paperwork well before the construction starts. Dot every 鈥渋鈥� and cross every 鈥渢鈥� so there aren鈥檛 any unnecessary delays once your team is on-site. And go over all the paperwork with the building manager closely to ensure you haven鈥檛 missed anything.

Additionally, it鈥檚 crucial to meticulously verify that all the subcontractors involved in the project have their insurance and paperwork in order. Confirm that their insurance policies are current and provide adequate coverage for the scope of work they鈥檒l be performing. This step is essential to mitigate potential risks and legal complications during renovation.

3 | Protect common areas.

Renovations can be messy, producing dust, debris, and other pollutants. And high-rises have several common areas, including leisure rooms, hallways, stairwells, and elevators, that residents rely on.

These common areas must be protected from the mess. Block off doorways and entranceways with plastic or other barriers to keep dust and debris contained. If you have to work directly in the common areas, make sure there are drop cloths on the floor, pads in the elevator, and all other protections that allow for minimal mess and swift cleanup.

4 | Communicate transparently.

Since renovations will likely affect everyone in the building, it鈥檚 essential to communicate clearly and frequently with tenants. Work with the property manager to determine the best method for sharing important information like work hours, increased noise levels, and elevator availability.

Communicating across multiple channels is prudent to ensure you reach everybody in the building. This might include posting fliers, sending emails, and even using texts and voicemails. If a project is particularly intensive, renovation professionals might hold a Q&A forum for tenants so they can ask any questions directly and get informed answers.

5 | Anticipate problems.

You can鈥檛 always predict the unpredictable, but you can be prepared before you start your project. Take time to consider different challenges that might emerge. If you鈥檙e moving a wall, is it possible unexpected plumbing or electrical work might factor into the equation? Have plumbers and electricians on speed dial and check their availability beforehand in case a random pipe or wire presents itself during the renovations. You don鈥檛 want to scramble once the work begins and lose a day or more because you can鈥檛 find the right contractor.

6 | Minimize noise.

All renovation projects generate noise. Saws humming, drills drilling, nail guns pumping, and the clatter of countless other tools. While this is inevitable, renovation professionals can still do things to control the noise. This is especially important in high-rise buildings, which have far more residents in a smaller area.

Time your work so that you use the loudest tools and techniques during the least disruptive hours, like weekday afternoons. Also, consider strategies that generate less noise. And remember: Minimizing noise is more critical than ever because more and more people are working from home. These days, even weekday afternoon noise can be disruptive.

7 | Sort out parking ahead of time.

High-rises are located in busy areas, so parking can often be problematic. It鈥檚 not as simple as pulling up in front of the property, unloading, and getting to work. Coordinate with the property manager to determine where to park your vehicles. There might be a designated spot for contractors or a lot nearby with available places. You want to avoid inconveniencing residents by taking their spaces or blocking important thruways.

8 | Consider commercial impact.

An increasing number of high-rise buildings are mixed-use, meaning they have commercial space on the first floor and residential areas above. For this reason, renovations in a high-rise may impact residential tenants and merchants. Make sure to keep affected business owners appraised of your schedule throughout the renovation so they can prepare accordingly.

High-rise renovation projects, while inherently complex, can be executed with finesse and efficiency when guided by the appropriate strategies. Before starting these projects, consider the potential impact on building occupants.

The post The Importance of Seamless Service During High-Rise Renovations appeared first on Cleanfax.

Understanding that your cleaning and restoration business can positively influence the community鈥檚 recovery efforts past the traditional dry-out and rebuild processes is important. Initially, you play a practical role in returning customers鈥� properties to a functional condition. But 鈥� you may also play an emotional and educational role in ways that can elevate your business to the level of community pillar.

Restoring community spaces and morale

Following an emergency cleanup, one of the most impactful ways your company can make a difference is by focusing on restoring community spaces. After all, these will still be areas where the public will continue to assemble as they navigate recovery. These spaces can also inspire and motivate the community to recover from disaster.

It would be best if you began by having discussions with community leaders about central areas in need during the recovery phase following a disaster. This might, for example, involve restoring a certain number of classrooms in schools to enable children to learn and socialize. It could include restoring community meeting places, such as town halls, which empower locals to more actively and conveniently make plans to move forward together. While your professional perspectives on repairing infrastructure are vital, the views of community leaders are equally essential on projects, as they鈥檙e likely to have a solid idea about what鈥檚 a priority for their neighbors.

Alongside restoring largely practical community institutions, it might also be effective to arrange for the restoration of landmarks that hold significant historical or emotional value for the community. For instance, repairing cultural monuments or art murals could help raise spirits in difficult times. Cleaning entertainment and recreation facilities, like movie theaters and sports centers, can provide a stressed public with some much-needed relief.

Offering emotional support and perspectives

It could seem odd, given how your business might be considered to serve largely practical purposes, but disaster restoration has a substantial emotional impact. Your business interacts with people during a time of trauma. It鈥檚 not unusual for people to feel overwhelmed by the situation and the damage it has caused, so your services can take that weight off their shoulders. But your staff can go further than this.

Encourage your employees to talk to your customers about their experiences. Yes, completing tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible is imperative, but allow for a bit of space to chat as well. Remember that disasters are difficult human experiences. Sometimes, the best thing your company can do is make space for customers to vent about frustrations, share memories of the event, or grieve the loss of their personal belongings. Your employees might already be sensitive people, but training them to navigate such situations with a strong sense of empathy can still be helpful.

Don鈥檛 forget, either, that this extra attention serves various purposes. Primarily, it develops a genuine connection that helps customers to manage their emotional challenges. But it can also create a greater sense of work satisfaction for your technicians. Demonstrating genuine customer care is also key to building trust, which might translate to word-of-mouth recommendations that boost your business鈥� reputation.

Unfortunately, there might be occasions following a disaster when your staff must inform consumers that their space is beyond restoration. This is a massive emotional blow for people at a time in which they鈥檙e already vulnerable. Ensure your staff treats this situation with the sensitivity it deserves.

Providing professional and climate insights

You now know that your company has far more to offer than just your labor. Your expertise and insights in a range of areas can be invaluable components of recovery and ongoing protection.

In particular, your advice to customers and communities on how to prevent damage occurring to their buildings from future disaster risks will be invaluable. This is particularly important given that climate change is expected to influence the frequency and severity of certain types of natural disasters. If there have been consistent issues to manage during emergencies, perhaps consider printing instructions or providing how-to guides on your website that offer preventative measures. You might also find that this doubles up as an effective piece of marketing that communicates your company鈥檚 expertise in its field.

While your employees might not be climate experts, you can still offer relevant insights to adjacent businesses that help them better prepare for and respond to related issues. For instance, you might already regularly collaborate with insurance companies. Climate change is expected to affect insurers in many ways, including more frequent claims and payouts. These companies will also have to rethink their asset management protocols to respond to disasters with services that minimize damage so they can avoid higher payouts.

Your business can provide insurance companies with insights into where the consistent areas of risk tend to be according to your recovery efforts. You can also highlight the response services you provide that mitigate costs for both consumers and insurers following disasters.

The efforts you make here have benefits for everyone involved. Your company can begin fruitful relationships with businesses and industries in affected communities. The recipients of your advice can gain data to make more informed decisions. Importantly, your insights might result in more timely and positive experiences for the general public after disasters.

Why it matters

Your cleaning and restoration business is vital during and beyond the cleanup of natural disasters. A community-minded approach to restoring monuments and communal spaces improves morale. When trained with empathetic skill sets, your staff can help residential customers gain more positive perspectives on their futures. Remember that your company鈥檚 expertise, too, can see you acting as a valuable source of prevention and disaster management advice for the public and other businesses alike.

Each of these elements depends on good preparation from your business鈥� perspective. Take the time to plan out your approach to enhance how impactful you can be for everyone affected by disasters. A little forethought can be a powerful tool.

The post Beyond Cleanup appeared first on Cleanfax.

Who wants to run the ball the length of the football field only to fall inches from the goal line? In comparison, building a brilliantly designed and executed containment, followed by practical remediation work, only to 鈥渇umble鈥� inches from successful post clearance is equally tragic. As the saying goes, it is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

This article will provide time-tested guidance on completing restoration projects and ensuring poor demobilization processes do not sabotage the project.

Remember: The 鈥榳hy鈥� guides the 鈥榳hat鈥�

Projects needing temporary barriers constitute a completely different class of work than those activities not needing containments. Temporary containments segregate structures to keep 鈥渂ad stuff鈥� in a defined space.

Whether the debris/contaminants are drywall dust, mold spores, asbestos fibers, lead paint chips, or other contaminants likely to be airborne, temporary containments prevent cross-contamination of previously unaffected areas.

Dealing with the fall-out

The reality is some debris will go airborne during any demolition and cleaning procedures. Eventually, all particles will settle onto surfaces. The best practice is to minimize the amounts of particulates by careful, well-considered handling of items and using tools that collect dust at the point of creation (e.g., cutting tools designed to connect to a HEPA vacuum).聽The most effective聽approach is control and direct versus chase and capture.

Small airborne contaminants are often removed by adding negative pressure to the contained area utilizing air filtration devices (AFDs). Supplemental procedures also aggregate small dust pieces into heavier clumps that settle quickly. This can be done electronically using ionizers or physically by fogging liquids that attract the dust onto the droplets.

Yet to be discussed is what to do with the exhaust of the AFD. Hundreds of job site 鈥渂rag鈥� photos are posted of projects where the exhaust of the AFD is terminated within the structure on the 鈥渃lean鈥� side of the temporary containment. The proper procedure is to exhaust the AFD to the outside of the building, if possible. Why?

Is your AFD functioning correctly? Most contractors never test the functionality of the AFD. If it is not filtering appropriately, you did more than stumble and fall before the end zone. This fundamental error is akin to running in the wrong direction and scoring for the other team. Don鈥檛 exhaust the fallout of your containment into the unaffected structure.

Another critical component is an exit strategy. How do you exit the work area with debris, and tools, or go home at the end of the work shift? A piece of plastic over the doorway with a zipper qualifies as a temporary barrier until you unzip the zipper. At that moment, you often will lose negative air, and the weight of the particles floating in the air will cause them to fall out of the contaminated room. Even if dust does not fall out, you are contaminated and will take particles with you as you traverse the building. To avoid this, you must have a decontamination chamber on most projects.

Cleanup is a process

The remaining structure and air must be cleaned with the demolition complete and debris removed. The solution to the pollution is dilution. Having clean air enter the containment area from a known clean air source will ideally direct particulates across the containment area to the intake of the AFD, where the air will be filtered and then exhausted outside the building. AFDs can also be placed in the work area with thoughtful plans regarding redirecting the exhausted air utilizing a diffuser tail. A diffuser tail is a lay-flat tubing attached to the exhaust, tied at the far end with slits or holes cut along the length, which exhausts air more strategically and efficiently.

Cleaning the air is then matched with cleaning the surfaces. Remember, not just horizontal surfaces within the containment must be cleaned of particulates. Walls and vertical surfaces must be addressed, including the surface or containment. Contaminants left on walls will contaminate the air and vice versa.

How to check your work

Post-remediation verification (PRV) often involves visual inspections and some form of sampling. Before scheduling PRV, do a thorough visual inspection. A helpful technique is using both white and dark-colored gloves. The different-colored gloves wiped across various surfaces will provide physical evidence that the surfaces need additional cleaning.

Another inspection technique is to shine the beam of an LED flashlight across the surface, rather than pointing it perpendicular to the area being examined. The light shining along the length can highlight the dust by showing irregularities and shadows. This method can provide visual evidence that a surface still needs cleaning.

You are ready for sampling once you pass your internal quality control inspection. If sampling is part of the protocol, the temporary containment barriers (and negative pressure if utilized) must be maintained until after the sample results have been received. Too often, negative air is shut down or containment is demobilized before obtaining testing results.

When lab results indicate the air inside the work zone is still contaminated, any savings that might have been realized by having the barriers taken down while the crew was still on-site will be completely lost. The additional cost of having to send people back later to remove the containment pales in comparison to the cost of additional cleaning, not to mention a damaged reputation and potential liability.

What sampling?

Microscopic particles cannot be identified by visual inspection. It is true that residual dust particles clearly indicate that the air or surfaces are not clean, but only sampling can determine the concentration of the different possible contaminants that might remain.

What samples should be taken? An individual with an extensive background in remediation techniques and sampling strategies would be the best person to answer that question. Sampling should be appropriate to the work area. General dust, like sawdust or drywall sanding dust, can be sampled with electronic particle counters, providing real-time numerical data. Following all laws and ordinances, asbestos, lead, mold, silica, and other hazardous items require sampling methods by people properly qualified to identify the substance. Asbestos sampling techniques, for example, can provide a distinction between dust particles and fibers, down to the detail of what type of asbestos it is or if it is merely paper residue or even fiberglass.

Combining aggressive visual/wipe inspection and appropriate air sampling confirms that the properly cleaned containment barriers are ready to be removed without putting adjacent areas at risk of work-related contamination.

Finish strong

A good goal is to have no dust/contaminants in the work area after remediation. Even though zero can be difficult or even impossible to achieve economically, it is still fantastic to aim for such a goal. There鈥檚 a saying: Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you鈥檒l land among the stars. This approach is critical when the contaminant is hazardous (e.g., methamphetamine or fentanyl). All residual dust must be cleaned to a predetermined acceptable level in those situations.

One of the keys to finishing strong is knowing the playbook. You must understand what the post-clearance criteria will be.

The effort put into designing, constructing, and working correctly inside temporary containments is only well spent if the closeout, final cleaning, and teardown are completed correctly. Do not become complacent and drop the ball at the end; you will never get into trouble for finishing too strong!

Let鈥檚 end at the beginning

Professionals do not practice during the game; they perform. They practice on the practice field. Learn how to build containments properly in classes. Many classes are provided by the National Organization of Remediators and Microbial Inspectors (NORMI), as well as the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) via its approved Applied Microbial Remediation Technician (AMRT) courses.

Practice in your office and warehouse, figure out what went right and wrong by critical debriefings, and learn how to repeat it or delete it. Make it better and keep mistakes from happening again in an actual situation so that you perform at the top of your game at the clients鈥� property. Study the playbook (for mold remediation, it is the ANSI IICRC S520), run the drills, practice how you play, and win the day!

Mark Cornelius has been in the restoration industry for more than 38 years. He is president of Disaster
Recovery Industries Inc. and owns Emergency Mitigation Technician Academy.

Keith Gangitano co-founded Airwalls by Zeppelin, a company with restoration containment solutions.

Michael Pinto serves as the CEO of Wonder Makers Environmental and has more than 45 years of experience in the industry.

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Commercial carpet maintenance has undergone significant changes in the last 20-plus years. But first, what does commercial carpet maintenance include?

Commercial carpet maintenance is more than the science of cleaning. Cleaning professionals need to know and understand what they are cleaning, the installation type, the fiber type, and more.

The past two decades have seen many changes in carpet maintenance. It鈥檚 a great business, but entering into this vertical is difficult. Back when we started, one needed extraordinary business skills, friends in high places, or both, but things have changed.

20-plus years ago

The commercial carpet maintenance methods of 20-plus years ago primarily consisted of using portable hot water extractors for the first 10 feet from a hard surface followed by absorbent pads (such as bonnets) for most other areas. But then something new happened that turned this industry upside down.

DuPont Flooring entered the commercial carpet business using an unusual method of cleaning. This method鈥檚 chemistry was something that seemed inconceivable. In a matter of a few months, DuPont captured a sizable amount of market share. They had noticeably better cleaning results. They were more than competitive. What were they doing?

Encapsulation chemistry

It was the introduction of encapsulation cleaning. It was faster than bonnets, had superior appearance retention, was more profitable, took much less skill, and eliminated most of the wicking issues. The big bonus was that there were fewer issues with carpet manufacturers鈥� cleaning specifications.

Thus, the encapsulant introduced a new form of chemistry to the carpet cleaning industry. The primary difference was that hot water extraction and bonnets used surfactants, which suspended soil, while encapsulants formed films. When similar products were introduced to these companies, you either joined the technology or lost your business to someone who did. The problem was that industry educators should have paid more attention even though revisions were made to update training in 2002.

The COVID-19 era

We hit a second major transformation in commercial maintenance in 2020 that changed a lot of things. It was called COVID-19. Many offices were closed, and employees worked from home. If you did go into an office, there were new social distancing and masking rules. Thus, commercial carpet maintenance significantly declined, but an opportunity of significant importance arose.

A few commercial carpet companies experienced their greatest success yet. They started sanitizing with new technologies. These innovative technologies included extraordinary oxidizers such as chlorine dioxide and peracetic acid. In addition, newer technologies in UVC lighting were introduced to the marketplace. For example, using a UVC light could achieve more than 90% efficacy

in 15 minutes compared to 70% effectiveness with four hours of cleaning by four highly trained technicians. Do the math! This made the revenues from entering the age of encapsulants look like pocket change in comparison.

But how do we get ourselves educated in the latest technology? Currently, education is kicking around methods of cleaning and whether we will be able to keep our 鈥渨ear warranty鈥� from the carpet maker. Unfortunately, education has not grown to where it needs to be. There are so many opportunities and so few well-trained companies.

Focus on maintenance

In the meantime, as we wait for education to catch up with technology, our focus should be on maintenance.

When you have a new car, do you wait till it breaks down before maintaining it? No, of course not. You maintain the car regularly, such as by changing the oil every so many miles. The same is true in commercial carpet cleaning. Cleaners must understand their customers鈥� needs.

Many carpet cleaners have commercial jobs where they clean a heavily soiled carpet for a customer once a year. To convert this to a maintenance program, the cleaner needs to say to the customer: 鈥淟et鈥檚 put a program together to maintain your carpet so it will always look clean.鈥�

Show the customer how a maintenance program works

When explaining to your customer how a maintenance program works, first walk the complete facility and determine:

• Where all the traffic areas are, such as the main areas, the secondaries, and so on
• Where the pivot points are
• Where the coffee stations are located
• Where food might be served.

Once these areas are determined, a color-coded floor plan can now be created. This will allow you to review the benefits of an ongoing maintenance program with the customer. There are excellent programs available via the internet that can be adapted for your use. There are also consulting companies that can come to your aid.

Commercial carpet maintenance has certainly evolved over the years, but its purpose is still the same: to keep customers鈥� carpet clean through a regular program of maintenance, no matter how time moves on.

James 鈥淛im鈥� B. Smith is an IICRC-approved instructor and a senior practicing inspector, with nearly 50 years of experience. His educational studies come from Texas A&M University and the University of Houston. Learn more at www.carpetinspector.com/jbs or email him at jsmith@ carpetinspector.com.

Graham Bedwell is the director of Bedwell Consulting, providing IICRC certi铿乧ation and commercial maintenance consulting. With more than 30聽years of experience, he is an IICRC-approved instructor and senior inspector. He is also a past IICRC board member and past Carpet and FabriCare Institute (CFI president.

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Contact: 866-390-2376 |

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