The Importance of Containment and Other PPE When Working With Mold

While mold remediation is underway, a professional company will use limited or full containment methods to minimize the risk of exposure to spores. In general, full is used for severe outbreaks where it is likely to expose other areas and people to spores. Workers will use limited in less severe outbreaks. On top of this, workers will wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce their risk of exposure further. Here is more information about these protective strategies and their importance.

Personal Protective Equipment

Workers will wear PPE in areas with a high particle count. This protects them from exposure to spores while they are working. After all, certain remediation activities can increase the risk of exposure, such as:

Breaking wallboards
Examining wall cavities
Removing wallpaper
Drying items

Limited

This most often uses a plastic sheet to trap mold spores in the affected area. Then, a slit in the plastic-covered by a second layer acts as access to the area. This is typically used for contaminated areas of less than 100 square feet.

There are several ways workers can secure the plastic cover to the floor, walls, and ceiling. Most often, it will be duct-taped or attached with wooden studs. They can also use epoxy.

Full

Workers use this method when mold is spread over more than 100 square feet in a building in the United States. It is also common when the spores are more likely to spread to other areas of a building. This requires multiple layers of plastic sheeting to contain spores within the affected area.

It also involves a decontamination chamber at the entrance point. The chamber will have similar access points to the limited strategy. It must be big enough to have a spot where workers can put on and take off their PPE, throwing away contaminated items. Sometimes, this room will also have seals.

Whether water damage or another crisis caused this fungus to grow, remediation professionals will take certain measures to protect themselves and the surrounding area from spreading spores. These are some of the most popular methods of containing spores and protecting workers.