Curtis is an inspector and remediator with Chesapeake Environmental Solutions. His main job is to inspect the space for water damage and then walk the owner through the corrective processes. Curtis tells us the certifications necessary for the job as well as some college classes that will come in handy!
Transcript
>> My name is Curtis Benko, I'm with Chesapeake Environmental Solutions and I do water damage restoration and mold remediation. Well basically we do microbial sampling for homes that people feel they have mold damage in, stuff like that. And then we also perform remediation services also. First I ask a client because the client usually knows what's going on right away. So I ask them to pinpoint areas that they know are a concern where maybe some types of water intrusion has come into the home. Things like that. If they know there was a water leak after a storm or maybe the kids left the sink on and they had some water leak down behind the sink. Those are indicators that I will first look at. And then I'll go there to see if I can see any visible microbial damage. And if we see visible microbial damage, a lot of time we'll sample either take a tape lift or a swab, send that to the laboratory to get analysis. We start by doing this, once you know we present all the stuff to the customer what needs to be done in a job scope and an estimate of course. We'll go in and once we get approval to do the job we'll build containments, introduce what are called AFDs, air filtration devices, which are also called air scrubbers or negative air machines. They're basically the same thing. Except one it becomes a negative air machine when you duct it out the window because then it creates a vacuum and that's called negative air. If it's left without the exhaust tube on it, then it's an air scrubber it just recirculates the air. We introduce those into the containment area, which we contain, often isolate the affected area from the rest of the home so the person can still live there while we're doing the remediation work.
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