It’s Not Too Early to Begin Preparing Your Buildings for the Fall

Now is the time to plan ahead to avoid typical last-minute problems like mold and legionella. Although the students are vacationing and the classrooms are empty, school buildings and grounds continue to be a busy place during the summer months. In addition to finalizing budgets and overseeing summer construction and renovations, it’s important to take proactive steps to avoid problems in the fall.

We recommend addressing the symptoms before they escalate into problems. Each year we are called to investigate various indoor environmental situations, many of which result in expensive clean-up costs. You can avoid many of those non-budgeted expenses by taking proactive steps during the summer months. A few suggested steps are included in our Summer Checklist.

Summer Checklist

• Work with teachers and staff to prepare classrooms for summer cleaning and maintenance.

• Avoid environmental quality problems with indoor air and water systems by training staff on effective and appropriate means and methods for maintenance and cleaning procedures.

• Maintain grounds and landscaping to avoid the introduction of contaminants to the indoor air environment.

• Minimize conditions that lead to mold growth by operating building ventilation systems to maintain a constant temperature and humidity.

• Eliminate the potential for growth of bacteria by maintaining appropriate procedures for your buildings water systems.

• Check unoccupied areas frequently to avoid the propagation of mold.