Understanding the Types of Water Damage

6/6/2019 (Permalink)

Water Damage is split up into three different types of categories and four different types of classes according to the Institute of Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) which sets the industry standards for the water damage restoration and repair industry.

The following categories describe the type of water involved:

Category 1: This is water from a clean source such as faucets, toilets, tanks, drinking fountains, etc.

Category 2: Liquid in this category is sometimes called grey water. The level of contaminants in grey water may cause illness if ingested and comes from sources such as dishwasher or washing machines, sink drains and toilet overflows with some urine but no fecal matter.

Category 3: This is the most unsanitary classification as it could cause severe illness or even death if ingested. Liquid in this category is also known as black water and comes from sewer backup, flooding from rivers, streams, toilet overflow with fecal matter and stagnant liquid that has begun to grow bacteria.

The classes below describe the level of destruction.

Class 1: Only one area of the room was affected, little or no wet carpet, and water has only touched materials with a low permeance rate such as plywood or concrete. Evaporation rate is slow in this class and damage is the easiest to deal with.

Class 2: In this class, the evaporation rate is fast and water has affected the entire room, going up the wall at least a foot leaving a lot of moisture in materials.

Class 3: Liquid may have come from above and the ceilings, walls, insulation, carpet and sub-floors are all saturated and have the fastest evaporation rate.

Class 4: Specialty drying situations are placed in this class when there is enough water to completely saturate materials with very low permeance such as hardwood, brick or stone.

These categories and classes are used by the restoration industry to determine what type of plan and process should be used in each water damage situation.  Ask your restoration company beforehand if their technicians are IICRC certified to ensure the highest quality and standards in the cleanup process of your home or business.