Cleanfax • Cleanfax Fall Edition • News and Information

ISSA Show North America 2025 brings together leaders from the commercial, institutional, and residential cleaning industry and is open for registration. The annual trade show takes place Nov. 10 to 13 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

Starting Sunday, Nov. 9, the show offers more than 90 educational sessions and workshops with dedicated tracks for building service contractors, facility services professionals, and environmental services staff in the healthcare and hospitality industries. The show floor opens on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and spotlights the latest products and innovations in the cleaning industry.

Attendees have numerous networking opportunities throughout the show, including happy hours, roundtable discussions, breakfasts, and evening social events.

Visit issashow.com to register for the show, receive Las Vegas hotel and travel discounts, and learn how the show can help you grow your business.

MAJOR TAX LAW INCLUDES CLEANING AND RESTORATION INDUSTRY PRIORITIES

On July 4, President Donald Trump signed a significant tax and spending bill into law. The legislation includes several key tax provisions that will directly benefit the cleaning and restoration industries:

• Expanded 529 accounts for workforce training: The legislation expands qualified expenses under 529 savings plans to include post-secondary training and credentialing, such as licenses and professional certifications like those used by cleaning workers.

• Making the Small- Business Deduction permanent: Solidifying the Section 199A deduction will provide tax certainty for passthrough cleaning businesses, allowing them to reinvest in their operations and workforce without the threat of future tax hikes.

• Restoring 100% bonus depreciation: Renewing immediate expensing of capital investments through 100% bonus depreciation will encourage cleaning companies to invest in new equipment and technologies—spurring productivity, healthy spaces, and economic growth.

• Revived expensing of research and development costs: The bill permanently restores the ability of businesses to deduct domestic research and experimental expenditures immediately, providing critical support for innovation in the cleaning sector.

NORMI SUPPORTS SAFER MILITARY HOUSING ENVIRONMENTS

Mold-related illnesses and poor indoor air quality have become a growing concern across various Department of Defense housing portfolios. The National Organization of Remediators and Microbial Inspectors (NORMI™) Medical Advisory Board, which includes nationally recognized medical professionals, is working to align the remediation industry with healthcareinformed practices and ensure that mold issues are not only removed but remediated to a health-protective standard.

NORMI’s flagship solution, the Level Four Protocol, is already being taught nationwide. It is now formally endorsed by the board as the leading process for restoring indoor environments—particularly for individuals with sensitive conditions, such as asthma, allergies, inflammation, and other mold-related illnesses.

“Environmental illness among our military families is a national readiness issue,” said Dr. Andrew Heyman, medical director of Integrative Medicine at The George Washington University and expert in environmental medicine and mold-related illness. “We cannot ask service members to deploy while their families are falling ill in their own homes. Patients are being treated for mold-related illnesses while still exposed to the source. The Level Four Protocol finally gives remediation professionals a clear path forward.”

NORMI’s Level Four Protocol adheres to the IICRC S-520 Standard of care while taking several additional steps. It provides a roadmap for:

• Restoring environments to a state that promotes wellness and occupant safety.

The number of buildings threatened by flooding in the U.S. could be higher than previously thought, according to a new study published in the journal Earth’s Future.

The study focused on North Carolina and found 43% of flooded buildings in the state between 1996 and 2020 were located outside the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Special Flood Hazard Area. The agency predicts Special Flood Hazard Areas that have a 1% risk of flooding each year, and flood insurance is mandatory for buildings located in these areas.

The researchers stated that the study highlights the importance of simulating flood events beyond those that cause the most damage and receive the most attention from governments, media, and researchers. A database of flood maps can also be used to better understand how flood exposure, vulnerability, and risk change over time.

Experts told NBC News that with access to the right data sources, databases like the one described in the study could be developed nationwide. Currently, FEMA’s maps are the primary source nationally for identifying flood-prone areas and buildings that require insurance.

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