Reusable Containment in Restoration

If you have water damage in your home, you might be tempted to focus on remediation (removing the bad) and restoration (fixing the good). But there’s one step you need to take before you do anything else: containment. It means making sure nothing irritating or harmful can get from the construction area to any other parts of the building.

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1. Why You Need It

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During a restoration project, you might find contaminants and toxins like mold, bacteria or even asbestos. These pollutants are small and, when disturbed, they can travel on air currents, settle somewhere else and cause damage somewhere else. Keeping them contained in the construction area protects the rest of your building.

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2. Who It Benefits

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Containment helps everyone from homeowners to landlords to insurance companies. It
minimizes property damage, decreases restoration time, and prevents property damage. Landlords, building managers and insurance companies won’t have to pay as much in repair costs and feel safe knowing they’ve reduced their liability. Even restoration companies can benefit from containing harmful substances. It lowers the risk to their employees, lets them turn projects around faster and may reduce the need to retest the construction area.

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3. What the Types Are

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There are two types of containing the area: source (or limited) and area (or full). For example, if you’re working on an attic restoration project, if there’s only a little deterioration, you could seal off just the attic. But if the attic has significant water damage, you might want to seal off the entire house. The US EPA states that limited is for mold covering areas between 10 and 100 square feet, and full is for areas larger than 100 square feet or when the mold is likely to spread through the building.
Reducing the spread of contaminants is the first step in a restoration project. A licensed remediation company will have the proper containment equipment to keep you and your home safe.