Water is an everyday necessity that we often don’t think much about as we go about our day. We brush our teeth, wash dishes, water the plants, cook dinner, and more without thinking twice about the water that flows through our walls. That water can prove to be a bit of a curse though if something goes wrong. Burst pipes and overflowed tubs and sinks are commonly known sources but other unforeseen events can also cause water damage to your home or business, including storms and flooding. Water damage can wreak havoc on building structure and every kind of material. In addition to the foundational problem of water damage, your property may also be susceptible to mold, mildew or electrical hazard issues. Patriot Disaster Specialists understand how stressful restoration for water damage can be and our trained professionals are on call 24/7 to help you navigate the process and restore your home or business back to pre-loss conditions or better.
Why Use A Professional?
You may think that since it’s just a bit of water, there’s no harm in setting up your own fans and drying up the water, but even small amounts of water damage can have a big impact on your home. Your leaking roof may have resulted in rotting wood that can later become a structural hazard or that broken pipe under your bathroom sink can be harboring a nasty surprise of mold between your cabinets and the wall.
Patriot Disaster Specialists’ professionals are able to come into your home, assess the damage, create the best plan to move forward and prevent any water issue from becoming a much bigger potential problem down the road. In addition to the experience that our professionals bring to your water damage remediation, we also possess all of the professional tools that can help dry up your home quicker to get the job done correctly.
What Are Water Damage Classes & Categories?
When water damages your home or business, there is nothing organized about it. It can destroy any material and reach any height. However, when it comes to determining the severity and risk of the damage involved, there is actually a very standardized way of doing so. Classifying and categorizing water damage is an important initial step to beginning a water damage restoration. It’s an easy way to organize the job and dictates what methods and equipment should be used. Though every water damage restoration is unique, the same classes and categories are used.
Categories
In rating a water loss event, insurance companies typically use three different categories. These categories are important because they could affect the type of coverage from an insurance company. But even more importantly, these categories are divided by the level of contaminants, and represent different levels of health risk.
Category 1
A Category 1 water loss event involves clear, potable water. The water comes from a clean source such as broken water supply lines, melting snow or ice, or falling rainwater. Although experts recommend that Category 1 water not be inhaled or ingested, to do so would likely pose no significant risk. There is a possibility of water initially categorized as a Category 1 changing to a Category 2 or even Category 3. If a leak from a clean water pipe comes in contact with a contaminating substance, that water could change categories, despite its original Category 1 rating.
Category 2
Category 2 involves water with a degree of contamination that is considered unsafe. Coming into contact with Category 2 water could make a person sick. Sources for this water could be discharge from dishwashers or washing machines, overflows from a bathtub, or broken aquariums. Just like a Category 1 water loss, if the water comes in contact with other contaminants, a Category 2 water loss can also change to a higher category. Even sitting for an extended period of time can cause the water to become stagnant and filled with bacteria, changing its category.
Category 3
A category 3 water loss event involves massively contaminated water. Direct contact with Category 3 water should be avoided as it is likely to contain pathogens or other toxins. Category 3 water could come from toilet backups or overflows, sewage water, or ground surface water. Classes <H3>
In a water loss event, classes are used to designate the amount of water involved, the size of the area affected, and the type of material affected. These variables determine the length of dry out and amount of equipment needed to perform a water damage cleanup.
Class 1
A class 1 water loss damage involves only a small amount of water. This class of event affects only a small portion of a house, not the entire house, and can usually be repaired with some suction of water rather than material replacement.
Class 2
A class 2 type of water loss damage involves a larger amount of water, typically affecting an entire room. Some drywall and carpet may need to be replaced to prevent mold growth.
Class 3
A class 3 type of water loss damage could affect an entire floor of the house, as in a flooding event of the ground floor. Much demolition and replacement is usually required including floors, walls and possibly even ceilings.
Class 4
Class 4 is a specialty drying situation usually involving porous, hard-to-dry materials such as concrete, brick, and plaster. Long dry times and specialty equipment may be required to remediate these situations.
If you experience water damage in your home or business, the most important thing to remember is to stay safe. Water damage can present its own hazards to health and safety and great care should be taken before considering undertaking any restoration on your own. Trusting in the professionals can be a great burden less on you when you have so many other details to tend to during your water damage restoration.
Patriot Disaster Specialist In Tampa Florida
Patriot is a leading provider of professional restoration services. We provide emergency cleaning and restoration services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In many cleaning and restoration situations, an immediate response will minimize the damage and the restoration cost. Patriot is a trusted leader in the restoration industry that will manage your project from beginning to end leading it to full completion. Our team of experts has an immediate response to fire, water, or storm damage. Our professional full-service team and first-responders will perform cleanup, repair, and remodeling. You need to make just one call to solve your restoration needs. We work fast assessing the damage at your home and set up a quick timeline restoring your home to pre-loss conditions.
At Patriot Damage Specialists, we know how much work and love you put into your home and business and when disaster strikes, it can feel like all of your work has been destroyed. That is why we dedicate ourselves to providing full damage cleanup, and remodeling services to help you recover from your losses and get you and your family’s life back on track. As a local, family/veteran owned company dedicated to helping residents and businesses get their homes and property back to pre-disaster condition. Our team of restoration specialists are on call every day, 24/7, so when disaster hits, we are there to recover the damage.
