APHCC-TX Publishes Mold Guidelines For Contractors
AUSTIN, Texas - The Associated Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of Texas (APHCC-TX) has published mold guidelines for its member contractors. Train your employees on awareness of mold-related problems. Draw up a checklist for your technicians to go through regularly. Make sure fittings and connections are tight before leaving the jobsite. Test the system for leaks before leaving the jobsite. Follow up with your customer about any leaks. Properly follow all manufacturer installation instructions.
Fix leaks or malfunctions as you would routinely do. Test for leaks that might be behind walls or under floors. If you detect another source of the problem, such as a roof leak, inform your customer. If mold or potential mold is detected, have your technician call his supervisor before starting any repair. Do not pry back walls if mold or potential mold is detected - this increases the chances of fresh spores spreading. Try to disturb the area as little as possible. Check around the edges of walls and ceilings, on pipes and vents, and try to spot additional areas of contamination. Identify if there are any additional sources of water that may be coming from plumbing or heating or cooling systems. Check adjacent rooms. If you do stay and do the repairs, put all debris from the work you did on the equipment into a plastic cover and seal it with tape, leaving it near the site. Cover the contaminated area, if possible, with plastic sheeting and seal the edges with tape. If area is contaminated, seal off entrances with a warning sign. Properly follow all manufacturer installation procedures. Take photographs of the work you did and area you sealed off. Take photographs, even if you don't do the work. Find the mold experts in your area and call on them when necessary.
Some of its suggestions include:
Prevention
What To Do If Mold Or Potential Mold Is Detected
For more information on APHCC-TX, visit www.phcc-tx.org.
Publication date: 01/26/2004
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