Categories of Water Damage

6/14/2018 (Permalink)

Water is not just water. When a home or business suffers water damage, the clean up procedure and safety vary depending of the type of water. 

There are 3 categories of water:

• Category 1 is considered white or clean water – fresh water pumped into the home that may have come from an overflowing sink with no contamination, broken water supply line, appliances malfunction, melting ice or snow, falling rain water, broken toilet tanks that not contain contaminants or additives. This water type does not pose substantial harm to humans. However, once clean water leaves the exit point, it might not remain clean once it gets in contact with other surfaces.
• Category 2 Contains a significant level of contamination and has the potential to cause discomfort and sickness if consumed by or exposed to humans. Examples of category 2 water can include; discharge from showers, sink, overflows from dishwashers and washing machines, overflow from toilet bowls, broken aquariums, etc. The cleanliness of category 2 water can deteriorate when it gets into contact with building materials, systems and contents or mixing with soils and others contaminants.
• Category 3: This category of water is grossly contaminated and can contain pathogenic, toxigenic or other harmful agents. Category 3 water is known as blackwater and is the most dangerous of the three because its primary source is sewage, toilet backflows, all forms of flooding from seawater, ground surface water rising water from rivers or streams, and other contaminants entering or affecting the indoor environment.

The water professional at SERVPRO of the North Fork can help you to understand the different types of contaminated water and what it means during the restoration and clean up.