Thriving on matter that is moist, dead or decaying, mold can quickly turn a slightlywet document into an unsightly object thst you would not let your children approach. Mold is not an animal or a plant; it comes from the diverse and hearty fungi kingdom. In nature, mold is like a natural recycling system that helps break down decomposing organic matter like fallen leaves and timber. This zombie-like recycler, however, can do the same to your home and office when there is the slightest hint of moisture.
The Unwanted Guest
Invisible to the human eye, mold spores quickly travel through the air in hopes of finding moist or wet areas to call home and spread. You generally cannot see most molds until they begins to grow. With regular cleaning and sanitizing efforts, you can keep mold at bay around your windows and parts of a building that experience more moisture, like bathrooms or basements. An unexpected leak, burst pipe or a flood, however, can give mold the opportunity to run rampant throughout a building and destroy everything in its path, which could include your health if it produces mycotoxins.
When you experience water damage of any kind, take measures to dry out anything that got wet quickly and safely. If important documents, books or photographs experienced water damage, particularly if you run a business, it is best to call a document recovery specialist who can use the latest technologies to restore water-damaged items. Such items can include water-damaged blueprints, x-rays and large amounts of documents.
The first 48 to 72 hours after water or humidity damage occurs are the most crucial in salvaging the affected items. Talk to a disaster recovery specialist to learn about ways to prevent water and mold damage, as well as ways to take appropriate action after damage has occurred.
According to CNN, there are as many as 700 water main breaks in the U.S. on a daily basis. The cause of these breaks is due to an aging water delivery infrastructure where up to 30 percent of water pipes are 40 to 80 years old. Many of the aging water lines lie beneath homes and businesses, and their ruptures result in massive property loss and public health threats.
Danger to Your Health, Home and Business
In 2009, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the U.S. drinking water system a D-minus in an infrastructure report card. The CNN report states that anytime there is a break in a water main there is a risk of contaminating drinking water with viruses and bacteria, and gives the example of the 2008 salmonella outbreak in Alamosa, Colorado. Additionally, 7 billion gallons of water leak from broken water mains on a daily basis around the country. Funds for this infrastructure, however, are severely lacking and some believe that the privatization of community water utilities is the answer to fixing this problem.
Most water mains to run under ground, and some are as large as 72 inches. When one breaks, basements and ground-level floors are at risk for major water damage that can lead to dark water and mold. Water damage is expensive to remediate and may not be covered by a home or commercial insurance policy if an owner does not also have flood insurance. In addition to the memories that can be lost to water damage, like family photos, important documents can also suffer the consequences of a water main break. Home and business owners should question how safe their items are in the event of catastrophic water damage, which is often sudden and unpredictable.
Beginning in August 2010, Rapid Refile will have a new vacuum freeze dry chamber. The chamber within it is the most sophisticated vacuum freeze dryer to be installed in America. It has the following features and advantages:
A capacity for large or multiple projects: thus allowing Rapid Refile to get big jobs done in a shorter amount of time or serve several clients at once
4 to 8 day drying cycle for fast turnaround
Programs or “recipes” for low operating temperatures to preserve rare and fragile materials:
This is ideal for restoring wet documents, medical documents, film, damaged photographs, heirloom books and more.
Recycling flush tank to reduce waste by 90% and promote our commitment to environmental responsibility
Moisture probes and weight scale to show the progress of drying and significantly reduce the harmful effects of over-drying, which can seriously threaten the longevity of paper files and library books
One of the worst nightmares of a file clerk in a hospital or even a small-town doctor is finding patient records and other medical documents damaged by water, humidity, mold or a fire. When medical documents are damaged, they will only get worse with time. To help those in the medical field solve this dilemma, Rapid Refile provided instructions on what to do to recover critical medical documents in Facility Care magazine.
Hire a document restoration vendor. Choose a restoration company that offers in-house reclamation services. Doing this will improve the lines of communication between the client and the vendor and speed up business continuity.
Provide a HIPPA partnership agreement to a representative in the recovery firm. This will allow the restoration company to inventory the wet documents, remove them from the affected area and stabilize the damage. Joe Perko for Rapid Refile states, “Recording the location and order of documents ensures a proper chain of custody and enables an efficient reintegration of documents once reclamation services are complete.”
Begin the document reclamation process. Restoration specialists should load inventoried boxes into a monitored freezer trailer so they can immediately be reclaimed at the document reclamation center. At the center, professionals will either vacuum freeze dry or desiccant dry the wet documents and wet books. In addition, restoration professionals may reproduce files digitally so they can provide copies of these important documents to the client quickly. The restoration company should provide the client with a Certificate of Destruction.
Rapid Refile recently participated in the RIMS 2010 Conference in Boston. The company successfully accomplished its mission to raise awareness about the importance of document recovery as part of every disaster plan.
International risk management professional stopped at Rapid Refile’s booth and learned valuable information about preventing and managing damage to critical documents and records. The conference gave representatives from Rapid Refile another opportunity to speak with current and prospective clients and vendors so they could understand the needs and interests of consumers better.
Thriving on matter that is moist, dead or decaying, mold can quickly turn a slightly wet document into an unsightly object thst you would not let your children approach. Mold is not an animal or a plant; it comes from the diverse and hearty fungi kingdom. In nature, mold is like a natural recycling system that helps break down decomposing organic matter like fallen leaves and timber. This zombie-like recycler, however, can do the same to your home and office when there is the slightest hint of moisture.
