What are the Different Water Categories?

12/9/2019 (Permalink)

If water threatens your Mercer County property, call us today - we are here to help!

As a local restoration company, we get questions about the specifics of our process everyday. Specifically, when it comes to water. Property owners are curious about the different kinds of water and what they mean? 

Below, you will find the information we use everyday to make your Mercer County water disasters, "Like it never even happened." 

What does “category” mean?

The category of the water loss refers to the level of contamination in the water, considering its originating source.

What does “class” mean?

Class of water refers to the amount of water and the likely or anticipated rate of evaporation based upon the number and type of wet materials in the affected space.

Category 1:

A Category 1 water loss is when the water originates from a sanitary water source and does not pose a substantial risk if ingested or inhaled.

Class 1 water losses may only affect part of a room or area, or they may include larger areas with materials that have absorbed minimal moisture.

Some examples of a Category 1 water loss:

• Broken water supply lines
• Sink or tub overflows with no contaminants
• Melting ice or snow and falling rainwater
• Broken toilet tanks and toilet bowls that do not contain contaminants or additives

Category 2:

A Category 2 water loss is when water contains contamination and has the potential to cause sickness if contacted or consumed by humans. Category 2 water can contain potentially unsafe levels of microorganisms or nutrients for microorganisms, as well as, organic and inorganic matter.

A Class 2 water loss affects at least an entire room of carpet and cushion. Water has gone up the walls less than 24 inches. There is moisture remaining in structural materials like plywood, particle board, structural wood, VCT, and concrete.

Examples of Category 2 water loss:

• Overflows from washing machines
• Discharge from dishwashers or washing machines
• Overflows from toilet bowls
• Broken aquariums and punctured water beds

Category 3:

A Category 3 water loss contains pathogenic, toxigenic, or other harmful agents such as silt, pesticides, organic matter, heavy metals, regulated materials or toxic organic substances.

A Class 3 Water may have come from overhead. In a class 3 the ceilings, walls, carpet, insulation, and sub floor are saturated in the entire area.

Examples of a Category 3 water loss:

• Sewage
• Toilet backflows that originate from beyond the toilet trap
• All forms of flooding from seawater
• Ground surface water and rising water from rivers or streams and other contaminated water entering or affecting the indoor environment, such as tropical storms, wind-driven hurricanes, or other weather-related events

Class 4:

Class 4 water losses include wet materials with very low permanence porosity such as hardwood, plaster, brick, concrete, lightweight concrete, and stone. In these cases, there are deep pockets of saturation, which require very low specific humidity.

If water threatens your Mercer County property, call us today at 724-704-8939, we are here to help!