How Difficult Is Remediating Category 1 Water Damage?

12/14/2020 (Permalink)

Commercial water damage in Santa Ana, CA

If your business in Santa Ana, CA, has experienced flooding or water damage, you may be wondering how extensive it is and how long it will take to clean up. Sometimes the answer depends on the flooding source. Clean water damage is different than that of contaminated water. Damage generally fits into three categories.

What Is Category 1 Water Damage?

Damage from this category is not contaminated by bacteria or microorganisms. Examples of category 1 water include sources such as:

• Supply line
• Broken water heater
• Leaking appliance
• Sink overflow

Category 1 water is the easiest to clean, as it is less invasive than other categories. It is usually less time consuming to remediate.

What Are the Other Categories of Water Damage?
Category 2 water, or gray water, contains microorganisms. Sources include broken sump pumps, toilets or seepage. Black water, or category 3 water, contains bacteria and comes from sources like sewage or standing water that has become contaminated.

What Are the Steps to Cleaning Category 1 Water?
If carpet is wet, remediation technicians will remove the clean water through either a portable extractor or a truck-mounted extractor, depending on the size of the affected area. If the pad is soaked, the carpet may need to be lifted and the pad removed for drying or replacement. Foam carpet pads act essentially as sponges when wet and will hold lots of water.
If damage resulted from a broken pipe in the ceiling or if lower floors are affected, technicians may use hygrometers or other moisture-detecting equipment to check the extent of saturation. Infrared cameras can find unseen water behind ceilings or walls.
Finally, air movers and dehumidifiers will be brought into the area to increase evaporation and dry surfaces more quickly.
If your business in Santa Ana, CA, has experienced flooding from clean water, consider calling professional remediation specialists to mitigate the damage. They are trained to find hidden water sources and quickly begin the drying process so you can get back to business.