The Fall 2025 issue of Cleanfax is now available online. In this issue of Cleanfax, check out the 2025 Restoration Industry Leaders Review, spotlighting three women who implemented transformations with their companies and created success. Then learn how to tap into the power of free offerings to clients to build a better cleaning business, and how advocating for the industry is starting to make an impact across state and federal government. Get some technical expertise with an analysis of pH in cleaning, and don’t miss the tips to become a master marketer in your company. All this, and much more, is inside!

Here’s a quick look at what you’ll find in this issue:

• The Human Side of Trauma Cleanup:Compassion, care, and the importance of “why.”
• Advocating for an Industry: How the IICRC is expanding its voice in government.
• The 2025 Restoration Industry Leaders Review: Here’s how three restoration companies have embraced transformative entrepreneurial strategies.
• The Power of FREE: A tactic to win the trust of new customers.
• Property Insurance Claims: Know your rights and do the job correctly from the start.
• How AI is Rewriting the Rules of Documentation: Stay ahead of trends in water damage claims.
• Grab a Shovel!: Quit complaining and get to work.
• Taking Action: Do it to meet deadlines and stay on schedule.
• Assessment First: Guessing is not a strategy for mold remediation.
• Misunderstanding pH: Measuring the pH of cleaning chemicals is a good start.
• Tips to Become a Master Marketer: Balancing proven marketing methods with new technology.
• The Last Word: Five Questions for Doug Hoffman.

View the Table of Contents and see all that’s available in this issue.

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Advertise and promote your company, products, and services in the next issue of Cleanfax magazine.

Do you have article ideas or content to share? Reach out via email to Jeff Cross, media director for Cleanfax.

A rare case of travel-related New World screwworm was identified in Maryland in a patient who traveled from El Salvador, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maryland Department of Health are investigating the case of the flesh-eating parasite, which was confirmed Aug. 4. The patient has recovered, Reuters reported.

This is the first human case of travel-associated New World screwworm myiasis (parasitic infestation of fly larvae) from an outbreak-affected country identified in the U.S. Though the HHS reported a very low risk to the public, the CDC described the infection as “very painful.” Health officials also reported no sign of transmission to other people or animals occurred.

An outbreak of New World screwworms—the larval form of a type of fly that’s known to nest in the wounds of warm-blooded animals and slowly eat them alive—has been spreading across Central America since early 2023, with infestations recorded in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. The fly reached southern Mexico late last year, sparking concern among U.S. agricultural industry officials and triggering closures of border-area cattle, horse, and bison trading ports this year.

The parasite poses a significant threat to animal populations and the food supply. The U.S. mostly eradicated New World screwworm populations in the 1960s and 1970s by breeding sterilized males of the species. This month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it would construct a fly production facility in Edinburg, Texas, at Moore Air Force Base, that could produce up to 300 million sterile flies per week.

USDA also said it will also provide up to US$100 million for additional technologies, including traps and lures, therapeutics, and techniques that could bolster fly production. Moreover, the organization said it would employ mounted patrol officers known as “Tick Riders” for surveillance and would train screwworm detection dogs to search for outbreaks among livestock.

This month, HHS also issued an emergency declaration that allowed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more flexibility for animal drugs to treat and prevent New World screwworm infestations. No FDA-approved drugs for New World screwworm in the U.S. exist, but the declaration allows the agency to authorize drugs for emergency authorization.