Did you know that when you have water damage in your home it is categorized and classed based on the amount of damage that is caused by the flood and how severe the flood is? When a flood hits a home it can be devastating for the people involved. If you know what it is that you are dealing with can make the cleanup and restoration a little bit easier.
What are the 3 Categories of Water Damage Loss?
The damage can be placed into 3 different categories. This is based on the amount of contamination. Here are the three different categories and how you know which one you are a victim of.
Category 1: This type of damage comes from a water source that is clean and sanitary. This can include sinks that overflow, water supply lines, melting ice or snow or even a toilet bowl that is leaking. This type of damage can cause problems but usually does not pose any risks to the people around.
Category 2: This type of water damage is when the water that causes the damage has significant amount of contaminants. It can cause the people around it to get sick or cause some discomfort if you come in contact with it. These floods can be from an overflow that is on the wrong side of the trap, a dishwasher overflow or an aquarium that has broken. All of these have organisms that can cause potential problems.
Category 3: The last category comes when the flood has a gross amount of toxins and contaminants in the water. This can come from a sewage back up or any flood that contains seawater. It can also include water that comes from a natural disaster such as a hurricane or rain storm.
The problem with the system is that the flood can begin as one of the categories but if left unattended can deteriorate into another category. If the water is left standing it will turn stagnant and can become fuller of toxins and bacteria. The next area that you need to know about is what class your flood is. This is what will determine the amount of actual damage.
How Do You Determine the Class of Water Loss?
Class 1: This is when only a small amount of water gets into the area and most of the items are not very porous. This will need to have the main amount of water removed but should leave a small amount of drying needed after.
Class 2: This is when a more significant amount of water enters the area and more of the items that are affected are porous enough to retain some water. This is when you will need more time to dry out the area after the bulk of the water is removed.
Class 3: This is when even more water gets in and the area that is affected goes into the walls and possibly the ceiling. This means that part of the structure needs to be repaired or replaced.
Class 4: When the flood is substantial it can get into the area and if the items that are effected are less porous that means that the rate that it will dry out will take too long and usually needs more than time to dry out.
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