There are three different classifications of water in a Water Damage loss. It’s important to know how to classify the water in your situation to know what will be involved in the cleaning and extracting. The longer your water stands, the more contaminated it will become.Knowing the classification of the water damage loss helps in the water restoration process. We use this information to know what types of equipment will be needed and the drying conditions that need to be achieved.
Clean Water
Clean water comes from a potable supply line and does not pose any harm and contains no contaminants. Once water passes through or comes in contact with the areas of your home it can mix with contaminants from floor coverings, sub flooring, decking, walls, and even soil. When clean water is left alone it begins to harbor the growth of bacteria. Rainwater, melted ice and water from your supply line are all examples of clean water.
Grey Water
Water discharge from household appliances, overflow from a toilet bowl, water that comes from a punctured waterbed or broken aquarium or water that leaks from a source that has chemically treated water are all examples of gray water. Gray water will contain nutrients for microorganisms to develop and grow. If it is not addressed it will quickly become black water. Gray water should be considered “dangerous” and cleaned by a trained professional.
Black Water
Black water is not black in color, in fact it can be clear and odorless. However it is still dangerous and must be removed immediately. Black water will come from a sewage backup, toilet water back flow from beyond the toilet trap, ground, surface or seawater, and rising water from natural bodies of water. Black water will contain bacteria, pesticides, chemicals, microorganisms, pathogenic waste, urine or feces. Do not remove black water yourself and do not delay in calling in a professional water extraction company. Standing black water will just become worse the longer it sits.
Slow Rate of Evaporation:
In most cases, the water damage in class 1 will be confined to a small area with little or no wet carpets with no carpet pad present. The structure or home will contain low-permeance and/or low-porosity materials such as plywood, structural wood, particle board, VCT or concrete.
Fastest Rate of Evaporation
Water Damage that has saturated the walls, insulation, ceilings, sub flooring, carpet and carpet pad will be in this class.
Fast Rate of Evaporation
In this class, there will be water loss or water damage in large areas of the carpet and carpet pad that will generally be saturated. You will find that water has creeped up the walls less than 2 feet. In many cases, flooded crawl spaces will be considered a Class 2.
Speciality Drying Situation
There will be deep pockets of saturation and will involve wet materials with very low permeance or porosity such as hardwoods, sub floor, plaster, brick, concrete or stone. These situations require a custom drying plan with the use of desiccant or low grain refrigerant dehumidifier to achieve a very low, specific humidity.
In all cases, we will achieve drying temperatures that are as high as possible between 70 and 90 degrees in the first 36-48 hours then dropping in the low range of 70 – 90 degrees for the remainder of the job.
Upon arriving at your home or structure, we will survey the situation and determine the best way to handle your water extraction and water restoration problem to quickly fix the situation.
How we work?
Move Outs, Pack Outs and Cleaning Specialist
We offer a fast, efficient and organized pack out when your home or structure requires extensive, specialized cleaning due to Water Damage, Fire Damage or Disaster Damage.We know that this is a particularly challenging time for you and your family and we want…
The Use of Humidifiers
The first thing we will do when you experience water damage is extract all of the standing water. We then determine how much equipment will be needed to dry the home or structure. When exposed to water, most objects will absorb some of the water or moisture…
Water Damage & Hardwood Floors
It’s generally thought that when hardwood floors are involved in a water damage loss, that the only option is to replace them. That is not always true, but they will require special consideration. We can implement a plan using our “Injectidry” system to dry…
Water Damage Classifications
There are three different classifications of water in a Water Damage loss. It’s important to know how to classify the water in your situation to know what will be involved in the cleaning and extracting. The longer your water stands, the more contaminated it…
Water Damage Restoration Procedures
When water damage loss has occurred it is important to remember that the longer that water stands, the more difficult it becomes to remove and the more likely it is to become contaminated and/or germinate mold. When we're called to your home or structure…