Be In The Know: Categories of Water

6/18/2019 (Permalink)

Determining the proper category of water is critical to determining the best drying plan for your water damaged home or business.

You already know that water damage can be extremely devastating and damaging, but did you know that there are different categories of water? Yup, that’s right. These three different categories of water help determine what our drying plan will be, and what products need to be used in order to properly sanitize and clean the disaster.

 Category 1- This is clean water that is free of contaminates or additives. It can be water that originates from the plumbing supply line, the toilet supply or sprinkler head.

 Category 2- This is grey water and it contains significant contamination. It may have additives; it may have passed through building materials or has remained stagnant for a short period of time. Category 2 water is usually from sump pump failures or floor drains. It is also Category 1 water that has passed through walls or floors, or Category 1 water that has sat for more than 72 hours.

 Category 3- This is black water and is grossly contaminated water or sewage. It is water that originates from flooding, beyond the plumbing trap or has remained stagnant for a long period of time. It is usually from a sewer drain backup, flooding, or is Category 2 water that has sat for more than 48 hours. This type of water requires our technicians to wear full PPE while extracting, and extensive cleaning and sanitizing after the water is removed.

 Once one of our professional technicians has determined what category the water is, they can begin to put together an appropriate plan to make your water damage, "Like it never even happened." If you have any water damage in your home, please call the experts of SERVPRO of The Southtowns at (716) 646-6684.