The Trouble with Mold Clean-up | Nilfisk Official Website
May 14, 2013

The Trouble with Mold Clean-up


Summer is ahead, but Hurricane Sandy left a lot of mold behind. Even six months after Sandy hit the east coast, homeowners are displaced by horrific mold build-up. “Unfortunately, once the floodwaters recede and TV cameras are gone, secondary damage from mold and other microorganisms becomes a potential health concern for homeowners and cleanup workers alike,” explains Daniel Bernazzani, PhD, in a recent article on mold clean-up in Alternative Medicine. Cleaning up mold is a hefty task, but there are resources to help.
  • "Keeping Mold at Bay" - an article by Lee Ann Billings, coauthor of the Amazon best-selling book Mold: The War Within, offers tips for clean-up
  • Local Non-Profit Organizations - there are many local organizations dedicated to helping residence with remediation. For example, this article in the Staten Island Advance reminds residences about Neighborhood Revitalization NYC.
  • EPA Guidelines - the EPA website offers some helpful guidelines for clean-up
As far as vacuum clean-up is concerned, Lee Ann Billings states in her article, "The easiest and most effective way to initially clean mold from structural building materials is with the use of a commercial wet/dry HEPA vacuum, such as a Nilfisk, followed by wiping, scrubbing, scraping, or sanding for complete removal." The EPA also recommends only vacuums with HEPA filters for mold remediation to collect dangerous mold spores stirred up during the mold removal process. Surfaces where the mold was growing should also be HEPA vacuumed, if practical, to remove any residual mold particles. The HEPA filter ensures that no mold spores pass through the exhaust and back into the atmosphere. If you're not sure which vacuum is right for the job, visit nilfiskindustrialvacuums.com or contact us at 1-800-NILFISK.
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