NADCA worked with Dateline NBC over the past six months to expose a scam operation and the company’s unethical business practices.  Tune in to NBC this Sunday, January 9 at 7 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) for a special two-hour Dateline as reporter Chris Hansen exposes these frauds and helps educate the general public about the HVAC cleaning industry.  (Please note that the segment on air duct cleaning will be at the end of the second hour.)

NADCA president Buck Sheppard served as the industry expert and will be featured in this report.  This Dateline episode will show “hidden camera” scenes uncovering instances of brazen scam artists preying on uninformed consumers.

NBC has agreed to provide a link to the NADCA Web site once the episode has aired.  It is NADCA’s hope that after this episode airs, consumers will be better informed about how to spot these scams.  Please alert your personnel that this episode will be airing so they can be prepared to respond to questions from your customers.  Suggestions for addressing customers concerns include:

• Direct customers to www.NADCA.com, where they can quickly get educated by reviewing our videos, such as the NADCA Guide to Proper Air Duct Cleaning.
• Recommend that customers review NADCA’s brochure, “What You Need to Know About Air Duct Cleaning,” located at http://www.nadca.com/download/Residential Brochure 060507.pdf
• et customers know that if they are going to have their HVAC systems cleaned, the EPA recommends that the service provider follow NADCA standards. (If you have not reviewed it recently, the EPA document “Should You Have the Air Ducts in Your Home Cleaned?” has been updated as of January 2, 2011.  You can review this at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airduct.html.)
• Take a moment to review your company’s policies and practices – do some refreher training so your personnel are prepared to respond with confidence to your customers’ questions.

NADCA featured in Angie’s List

The consumer referral service Angie’s List is also taking an interest in the scammers in the industry, with an article titled “Beware of Air Duct Cleaners who “Blow and Go.”

NADCA: The HVAC Inspection, Maintenance and Restoration Association 1518 K St. N.W. Suite 503. Washington. D.C. 20005 P: (202) 737-2926 F: (202) 347-8847 lexi@nadca.com © NADCA 2010. All Rights Reserved. Site Credits: Eximiuus Solutions

1. Furniture – Furniture constructed out of press board can emit formaldehyde.  Formaldehyde is a preservative and is believed to be a carcinogen.  Try to avoid using pressed wood furniture in rooms with high humidity which could exasperate off gassing.  The best solution is to ventilate.

2. Candles – During the holidays we spend plenty time entertaining which often includes burning candles to create a cozy atmosphere.  Recent studies have shown parafin candles, when burned, emit certain chemicals that have been linked to liver damage and neurological problems.  Parafin candles also emit black soot that can damage your lungs over time.  You could opt for electric votive candles or candles that emit less soot such as 100% soy candles.

3. Shoes – This is something we should think about all year.  Debris from our shoes may contain lead dust, insect parts, animal waste, fertilizer and chemicals all of which we track inside our office, car and home.  Make sure you use outdoor mats to dislodge as much debris as possible from your shoes.  When at home use a cloth mat and leave your shoes by the front door.  Clean floors regularly with a non toxic cleanser.

These are just a few items that could present indoor air quality issue in your office and home.  Make sure you have adequate ventilation throughout your home and office.  Use non toxic cleaners to keep the space clean to eliminate dust, pet dander and mold issues.  Make sure you have your central air handling system inspected and its working properly. If you have any additional issues with the air quality in your home and/or office, please contact us at 1-866-368-2873.

Happy Holidays!!!

reference: Women’s Health, “Beat Bad Air Days” by Katherine Bowers (10/14/10)

What are bed bug?  Bed bugs are parasitic insects that live on human blood.  Bed bugs got their name from their preferred habitat…the bed and other places we sleep.  Bed bugs are not strictly nocturnal but are primarily active at night.  Bed bugs can cause skin irritation, allergic symptoms as well as psychological effects associated with the stigma of an infestation.  Bed bugs were previously considered eradicated in the developed world but has made a resurgence since 1995.

If you are interested in learning more about bed bugs, their health effects and how to manage an infestation please contact us at 866-368-2873 to reserve you spot in one our upcoming educational webinars on Bed Bugs.

1. Disaster Management for Archives and Documents
2. Cost Effective Ways of Dealing with Moisture and Its Consequesnces
3. The Key : A Common Approach to Mold
4. Chinese Sheetrock…. What you need to know
5. Bio-terrorism and Building Safety
6. Anatomy of a Disaster
7. Bed Bugs – Prevention and Control

If there is a topic you would like to see covered in our webinar series that does not appear on the list above please email us at info@goenvirocare.com or by phone at 866-368-2873.

Please contact our office at 866-368-2873 for a listing of dates of upcoming webinars.

Stay Tuned… We will soon be offering Continuing Education Credits (CEU) as part of our webinar series.

10. Prepare before the disaster strikes.  If you have advanced warning, like in a hurricane, secure and protect as much as you can by storing items in waterproof containers and raising them off the ground and lower shelves.

9.  If you are part of a professional organizations (such as Society of American Archivist, American Library Association or one of many clerk of court associations) get in touch with member who have experienced disasters first hand.  Find out what worked for them and what didn’t.  Get vendor recommendations.

8. Have a disaster plan…  Make sure your disaster plan is up to date and works for your collection today and not last year.

7. Make sure you choose a qualified Archive and Document recovery company.  The company that shows up to extract the water from your building is not necessarily the best company to handle your precious archives and documents.

6.  Don’t be afraid to ask potential archive and documents recovery companies for references.  They should be able to provide references and contact information for you to verify they are who they say they are.

5. Once you have chosen your Archive and Document recovery team, make sure you have emergency contact information.

4. If you find yourself in the midst of a large scale disaster or even something as small as a leaky pipe and find yourself struggling to understand what needs to be done or why things need to be done… ASK.  Ask your archive and documents recovery team to explain step by step the process of what they are doing and what will happen to your archives during the recovery process.

3. Don’t wait until you have a disaster…  get a baseline, Pre-Loss Evaluation,  of your archives / documents.  Know what you have and be able to prove it to FEMA and your insurance.

2.  Have a pre-disaster contract.  This will allow you to have pre-disaster pricing and avoid post-disaster price hikes.  This also ensures that you have access to additional value added services through your archive recovery team.  This is essential in a disaster when services are sometimes interrupted due to the disaster.

And finally the number 1 thing you can do to prepare your archives and documents for a disaster…

1. Get to know your Archive Recovery team.  Disasters tend to be a little chaotic.  Meet with your Archive team prior to a disaster and make sure they know what is important to you and exactly what your needs are.  Make sure they know exactly where your archives are located as time is of the essence in a disaster.

If you have any questions about this information or regarding our services please feel free to email me at mfuchs@goenvirocare.com or you can call our office at 1-866-368-2873.

Hurricane Alex struck northern Mexico and southern Texas on Wednesday and had weakened to a tropical storm by Thursday.  This weather system continued to cause flooding,  at least two people were reported killed by the flooding.  Hurricane Alex was the strongest June hurricane on record since 1966 with sustained winds at its core of more than 100 mph.  Tropical force winds extended out more than 200 miles from the center.

It is believed that it could take until August to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and clean up efforts will go on much longer.  Check back here for information regarding any tropical development. EnviroCare will be monitoring these developments and it’s effects on the Gulf Coast oil spill and the clean up efforts.

Source : The Washington Post and The New York Times