SOMEBODY CARES
CLEAN OUT CREWS
GUIDELINES
All Clean-Out Crews are on a Mission Trip ministering in the Name of Jesus representing Somebody Cares and the local pastors and congregations
What Each Person Needs To Bring
Personal Items
Personal hygiene items
Soap and towel
Personal medications (share essential medical information with team leader)
Complete sleeping gear - sleeping bag and pillow (please note a dense foam
pad to place on the cot under your sleeping bag would be helpful to a good
Night of rest)
Flashlight
After work clothes
Mosquito repellent - repellents that are 100% Deet are best for
warm environments
What Each Team - or person volunteering as an individual - Needs To Bring
• First Aid Kit
Betadine liquid soap
Sterile 2x2 and 4x4 gauze pads
Sterile cotton balls
Cloth and fabric bandage tape
Small bandage scissors
Forceps (tweezers)
Cotton tipped swabs
Band aids - various sizes that are water/perspiration resistant
Triple antibiotic ointment
Cortisone ointment
Lamisil or other effective anti-fungal ointment
Antiseptic liquid such as Bactine
• Personal Work and Safety Gear
o NIOSH approved N95 Respirator Masks or P-100 Respirator Masks with disposable cartridge filters
• Exposure to mold and other fungal spores will occur in mud out
and other clean-up efforts. It is easier to prevent a fungal lung
infection than to treat it. Wear your N95 respirator! Mold
spores become airborne during cleaning and especially during
demolition. Caution: (Please read: Wearing an N95 respirator
increases resistance for breathing. Use of any respirator mask, while
offering lung protection, increases the work involved in breathing and can be tiring over the day even in healthy people. But, it is most
important that these masks be worn by everyone entering a
contaminated area where flooding has resulted in mold and mildew
growth. Please note! Perhaps people with heart conditions and other
medical concerns should not be wearing N95 respirators and therefore should not work in such contaminated environments. (Other volunteer assignments that are of equal importance are available for these people.) For healthy persons with normal breathing function it is very important that you not enter flooded out homes or businesses to 'mud out' without wearing your N95 respirator.
In hot, humid environments mold and other fungal spores are
present and/or where you will perspire heavily enough to
cause the accumulation of moisture in your respirator mask, it
is very, very, very important that you discard your old mask
and put on a fresh mask at least every two hours - more often
if breathing becomes difficult. Continued use of a partially
restricted respirator mask will have two outcomes: First, as
the filter surface becomes more and more clogged more air will
be forced around the mask entering your lungs unfiltered; and,
Second, breathing will become progressively more difficult
resulting in your tiring much more rapidly. It is very important
to remember that a tired person becomes a hazard to him or
herself and possibly to those working with him/her as
teammates.
• Construction knee pads
• Hard hats or head covering - hard hats would be useful especially
when working in an environment which may or will result in materials
falling from weakened or moisture saturated ceilings.
• Work clothes (Tyvek coveralls are very useful for protection and safety
and are available through Lowes stores or through internet supply
sources.)
• Heavy duty rubber boots with steel toes preferable
• Heavy duty rubber gloves - available in the ceramic tile section of
most major construction/home maintenance stores, such as Home
Depot or Lowes.
• Wrap around safety glasses - if you wear glasses for your vision these must be covered by safety glasses designed to be worn over your regular vision glasses. Also, sunglasses are not appropriate
substitutes for good safety glasses.
Mud-out Equipment List
Wheelbarrow Sledge
Hammer Axe
50' heavy duty water hose
Squeegees 5 gallon
buckets Brooms
Circular saw
Cordless drill with assorted
tips Tubing cutter
Bolt cutter
Screw drivers Reciprocating saw with extra blades
Hats preferably hardhats
Tape measure
Utility knife with extra blades
Hand truck
Heavy duty wet/dry vacuum
Pump up garden sprayers
Electric work-site blowers
Large scoop shovels
Square point shovels
6' step ladder
Pitch fork
Crow bars (assorted lengths)
Pry bars
Power washer (if electric, may need generator)
Generator
Extension cords
Chain Saw (Stihl brand preferred)
Air compressor
Household Bleach (1 cup to 1 gallon of water) or Shockwave, if available
On Site Mud-Out Work Procedures
• Obey all of the instructions from your team leader
• Make sure the team has a Work Order signed by the property owner
• Meet with at the site with the property owner to assess the property and go
over what will be done
• Make sure the house is always ventilated well
• Remove debris and place at the street in three piles: furniture/appliances
(seal refrigerators with duct tape); building materials; hazardous materials
• Remove debris in this order: clothes; furniture/appliances; flooring;
cabinets; walls (to the studs); insulation; remove furnace(s) and water
heater(s) last, making sure the gas or electricity is properly
disconnected.
• Remove all nails and screws left in the wood studs
• Remove and save all electric switch and socket plates
• Shovel up and sweep up the entire house
• If your team has a pressure washer and available water, pressure wash everything mat remains in the structure after debris removal (do not wash anything that was not removed because it was above the water line)
• Remove all excess water with a wet/dry vacuum and squeegees
• Spray everything that was washed with the bleach/soap solution
• The homeowner must let the house dry out before rebuilding begins
• Clean all tools including rubber boots and gloves and then sanitize (with
bleach solution) all these items everyday at the end of the work day
Safety Guidelines for Volunteers
• Volunteers must have a current Tetanus vaccination - within the last 5 years
when working in contaminated work environments such as encountered in
mud-out operations.
• Volunteers should have health insurance.
• Volunteers must know their limits and monitor their own condition. - Many
well-intentioned volunteers have been injured or even killed during
operations simply because they did not pay attention to their own physical
and mental limitations. Fatigue leads to injury.
• Volunteers should stay rested, maintain proper nutrition, and take the time
to drink a lot of water - dehydration resulting from heavy, hot work leads
quickly to fatigue.
• Volunteers should use the buddy system; always work in pairs or in a group.
• Teams should be rotated on a regular basis. The length of exposure of
active volunteers should be monitored carefully.
• Volunteers should be alert for hazards, such as: sharp objects; dust; mold
and mold spores; hazardous materials; 'live' electric or power lines; leaking
gas appliances or lines; high water; fire hazards; unstable structures;
failing ceilings or other objects; snakes; alligators; and, stinging or biting
insects.
• When water is present, check depth before entering. Never enter rising
water.
• Wear safety equipment and clothing appropriate to the job. See the list
in this directive.
• While cleaning in a moldy environment, anyone allergic to mold may
experience a stuffy nose, irritated eyes, wheezing, skin irritation, difficulty
breathing, or shortness of breath.
• People with weakened immune systems and chronic lung diseases may
develop mold infections in their lungs. If any health-related problems
appear alter working around mold, contact your health care provider
immediately.
• For maximum protection when working in moldy or otherwise contaminated
environments: wear a N95 NIOSH-approved respirator face mask; rubber
boots - preferably steel toed; heavy duty rubber gloves; safety glasses or
goggles; and, a soft hat or hard hat (if there is danger of falling debris or
electrical hazards).
• Work only 3-4 days in a row and then take a day of rest
• Assume ail power lines are energized and all gas/fuel lines are pressurized
• Do not clean out mobile homes that have been flooded (the flooring of
many mobile homes is made of particle board which will have softened to
the point of being structurally unsound.)
• Do not reach into any place in which you cannot see
Wound Care
Remember that in mud-out work the environment is contaminated.
When you experience a scratch (minor or otherwise), cut, or puncture
wound take that wound seriously, no matter how small it may appear.
Immediate Care:
1. Know and record the telephone number ( _ - ____ - ______) and
directions to the nearest emergency response team/fire station
location.
2. If a laceration is sustained or bleeding is extensive, a bone or joint
displaced or broken, or there is a loss of consciousness, immediately
transport the worker to the emergency response/fire department
location unless moving them would further injure them.
3. For minor wounds, clean thoroughly immediately and cover the
wound with sterile bandages.