Water damage becomes more contaminated over time

8/5/2022 (Permalink)

When you have a water damage event at your home or business, you really don't have any time to waste. 

Water damage should be dealt with urgently and immediately. That's because the longer it sits, the more damage it can cause, and the more dangerous that it becomes.

One example is the level of contamination of the water. 

Say you have water from a clean water source - a toilet supply line, for instance. If this were to leak, it would be classified as "category 1" water damage and considered relatively uncontaminated as compared to other types of damage.

However, water that leaks becomes steadily more contaminated over time. Even if it doesn't go anywhere and just pools on the floor, it attracts and nourishes microbes, bacteria and other contaminants.

In fact, the standards published by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification state clearly that category1 water that sits for 72 hours or more should be treated as category 3 - the same level of contamination as raw sewage.