Air Date: 12-7-2012| Episode: 266
Find the answers this week on IAQ Radio with the creator “The Z-Man” Cliff Zlotnik…
Full Description:
Find the answers this week on IAQ Radio with the creator “The Z-Man” Cliff Zlotnik.
This week on IAQ Radio the creator of the Pittsburgh Protocol (who just happens to be our co-host on IAQ Radio) The Z-Man, Cliff Zlotnik will join us to discuss the Pittsburgh Protocol. The protocol was developed following extensive flooding in the Pittsburgh area following Hurricane Ivan in 2004. A local client needed help cleaning up a large, badly contaminated basement. Previous efforts had been unsuccessful and may have made things worse. It was time for some out-of-the-box thinking; someone had to come up with a cost effective, yet thorough alternative. Thus the Pittsburgh Protocol was born.
Z-Man’s Blog
Fear of moisture as a tool in microbial remediation projects is unwarranted
The fear that moisture used in the cleaning process will exacerbate fungal growth is the primary argument against the use of water during mold remediation projects. I opine that the fear of water as a component of a microbial remediation project is often times unwarranted, because the use of water is carefully controlled and that wetting is an unnatural state for most materials which naturally seek equilibrium with the surrounding environment.
Take aways from today’s episode:
•Deep cleaning not disinfection is the goal of the Pittsburgh Protocol.
•Life and water damage restoration, structural drying and microbial remediation didn’t begin with IICRC Standards S-500 or S-520.
•If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself” Albert Einstein
•When heavy fungal contamination wouldn’t come off of wood framing with HEPA vacuuming, what were we supposed to do?
•If source removal cleaning is the preferred remediation method, isn’t the cleaning method that removes the most source desirable?
•Misunderstanding antimicrobials, the perception of antimicrobials as dangerous poisons is when in fact some are simply synthetic detergents that in addition to being good cleaners also happen to kill microorganisms and others are safe enough to be added to foods.
•I wonder if the follicly unimpaired people who question quats aka surfactants used as antimicrobials are unaware that the same chemistry is also to be found in their shower (hair conditioners) and laundry (fabric softener).
•The marketplace is self correcting, if there were indeed problems with the Pittsburgh Protocol we would have surely heard about them by now.
•The Pittsburgh Protocol well suited and would be very useful in cleanup in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy as it is easily adapted to do-it-yourself application by uninsured or under insured property owners.
•Use products, equipment and methods that you understand, know and trust.
•The simplest solutions are often best.
What I find interesting is that some of the Monday morning QBs who questioned the wisdom of the Pittsburgh Protocol, didn’t take the time to read it and applied their concerns and what ifs to imaginary projects.
4 word mold remediation training course for Spanish speaking workers: moho malo – limpiar bueno [English translation mildew bad – clean good]
Today’s music: Walking in Pittsburgh by Tim Ruff
Z-Man signing off
