Clearance at a glance
- When
- After removal and final cleaning, before containment is taken down
- Two parts
- A visual inspection for remaining debris, then air sampling inside the work area
- Who should do it
- Appropriately certified personnel, preferably independent of the abatement contractor
- If it fails
- The area is recleaned and tested again; containment stays up
- What you keep
- The written clearance results, attached to the rest of the project records
Where clearance falls in the job
- Removal complete
- The abatement contractor finishes removing material and begins detailed cleaning inside containment.
- Final cleaning
- Surfaces are wet-wiped and HEPA-vacuumed. Some contractors apply a lockdown coating to bind any residual fibers.
- Visual inspection
- The clearance inspector walks the area looking for dust, debris or missed material. Any finding sends the crew back to clean.
- Air sampling
- Air inside containment is sampled, often with fans running to stir the air, and samples are analyzed.
- Results
- If results meet the applicable criteria, containment can be removed. If not, cleaning and sampling repeat.
- Reopening
- Rebuilding trades can enter. Keep the clearance report with the inspection and disposal paperwork.
Why independence matters here most
Every other step in an abatement job produces something you can see: plastic on the walls, bags of waste, a bare floor. Clearance produces a number on a lab report, and that number is what tells you the room is safe to use. If the same business that removed the material also evaluates whether it is clean, the incentive to call it finished is obvious, even if nobody acts on it.
For that reason many owners, property managers and insurers prefer that clearance be performed by a firm hired separately. Ask about it during proposal review, not on the last day, because the independent firm has to be scheduled in time for the end of removal.
Clearance also has limits. It speaks to the work area that was abated. It does not certify the whole house, and it says nothing about materials that were outside the scope.
Questions to settle before removal starts
- Who will perform the visual inspection and air sampling, and are they independent of the removal contractor?
- What certification do they hold for that role?
- What criteria will be used to decide the area has passed?
- If clearance fails, who pays for recleaning and retesting?
- How quickly will results be available, so rebuild trades can be scheduled?
- Will I receive the written clearance report and the lab data?
Common questions
Can I be in the house during clearance sampling?
Usually you can be elsewhere in the home, outside the containment, but follow the instructions of the person sampling. Aggressive sampling stirs the air inside the work area on purpose, so nobody without protection should enter it.
General information for the Denver area, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.