Monitor Articles

SCRT Elects Two New Board Members

During the recent Connections Trade Show in Clearwater, the results of the election
for new SCRT Directors was announced. The Members voted overwhelmingly for Cara Agerbeck and Rachel Adams. Both of these hard-working women make a great addition to the SCRT Board of Directors, and we all look forward to working together with them.

Although there are some obvious similarities in their professional backgrounds, each brings a unique perspective to the Board. Obviously, being women in a historically male-dominated industry brings challenges. But neither of these dedicated professionals has ever been known for letting that get in the way.

Rachel Adams lives in the Indianapolis, IN area, and Cara Agerbeck currently calls
Atlanta, GA home.

Rachel is the President of Indoor Environmental Management, has 20 years experience in the environmental microbiology / remediation industries.

She holds a B.S. both Environmental Health Sciences from Purdue University and Medical Technology and is certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (A.S.C.P.). She is a member of AIHA, ACGIH, ASCR, ASCP and is a past member of the Board of Directors for SCRT and IICRC.
She was a Core Committee Member in developing the S520 and also the 3rd revision of the S500.

Rachel has had many articles published and has also been an expert witness in many mold cases.
She has extensive education and experience in mitigating water losses as well as residential buildings that have had water intrusions resulting in secondary mold damage that often causes health effects to the occupants.

Rachel is consistently regarded as one of the best instructors in the industry.

Cara Agerbeck has been involved in the cleaning and restoration industry for over 15 years. For almost 10 years, she worked for Mayhem & Mishaps, Inc, a restoration and remediation business in Columbia SC. While there, Cara managed all business activities for the large restoration company and supervised major water losses and mold remediation projects and met with customers and insurance adjusters.

From 2004-2006 Cara worked for Dri-Eaz University where she taught Water Damage Restoration and Introduction to S520 courses to professionals around the country.

In 2006 Cara was hired as Regional Manager for Jon-Don, Inc. at the Atlanta, GA location.

In July of 2010, Cara accepted a position with Abatement Technologies in Suwanee GA.

Ms. Agerbeck is an IICRC Master Fire & Smoke Restorer and Master Water Restorer since 1997 and OSHA HAZMAT certified since 2002.

Cara holds a Master of Business Administration  from Webster University - Columbia, SC and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - Southern Wesleyan University – Columbia, SC.

Under Pressure

Picture this. You’re cleaning the carpet on the last job before a three day weekend. You’re ten feet from the door, and in your mind, you are already in your van headed home for some much needed rest and relaxation.

The 195 degree spray of water arcing from your hose toward the family portrait on the wall brings you back to earth, as do the screams of your horrified customer.

You turn off the truckmount, blot the portrait and walls, promising that you will pay for a painter to fix the walls. But what is the customer thinking as you drive away with promises to be right back to finish that last 100 square feet of her family room?   

Even if you use one of the industry’s top-line hoses, such as Goodyear Neptune or Parflex, they do not last forever. Consider the stresses placed on your hoses. High temperatures, high pressure, abrasion, chemical exposure, flexing, oxidation and even sunlight conspire to weaken your solution hose.

Eventually the flexible outer sheath becomes more brittle and begins to split. The inside lining begins to break down and allows the pressure and heat and chemicals to reach the steel or fiber braiding which starts to weaken. Connections at the fittings are strained by flexing and winding on the hose reel and at wand attachments.

Under these conditions, you can expect your hoses to remain dependable for 6-12 months.  After that? Every day the chances for failure increase. Yet, your hose is several years old and the braids are showing. Remember that burst hose at the beginning of this article? As bad as it sounded, it could have been worse had one of the people in that dripping portrait actually been standing in the line of fire. Can you say “lawsuit”? Sure you can.

You should rotate your hoses every 6 months. How can you do this without spending a fortune on new hoses? That depends on how your hoses are set up.

Let’s suppose you have 200 feet of hose in two 100-foot sections. Remove the lead hose and move it down to the second position. Remove the second hose and keep it for a backup.  Then use a new 100’ section as your lead hose. This way, the most dependable hose is in the house, attached to the wand. Which is good, because the lead hose is the one that takes the most abuse.

Your lead hose is also the one that your customer sees and is the one that is most likely to be close to you, your customer and her furnishings.

If you have a single solid solution hose, simply remove the hose form the reel and reverse it after 6 months. Then replace it after 6 more.

Either way, if you do this, you will never have a hose that is over a year old. Be proactive. Don’t wait for your hose to burst.

Article by Chan Parker-Service Director -Truckmounts & Cleaning Solutions, Inc.