What Are the Three Categories of Water Damage?

You know something is wrong. You’ve seen the stains on the ceiling, the spots on the wall and the puddle in the floor. You realize that you’re dealing with water damage. And whether you’re a homeowner or own a commercial property, water damage isn’t something you can kick down the road. You’ve got to deal with it quickly and take the appropriate measures to fix it the right way.

But before you get freaked about your potential water damage, you need to understand with what you’re dealing. That’s why your first call should be to a water damage restoration specialist – even before contacting your insurance company.

“Water damage restoration needs to be done properly, otherwise you may have to come back and do the whole job again – and no one wants that,” said David King, owner of First in Restoration. “It may only require a simple fix. But even if the solution is more complicated, you want someone with experience who can diagnose the problem and walk with you through the process.”

There are three primary categories of water damage and each one of them requires different safety and cleanup procedures when it comes to restoration.

The three main categories are clean water damage, gray water damage, and black water damage.

Category 1 (Clear water): This could be something as simple as rainwater or melting snow, or the spillover from an overflowing sink or tub, or a leaking or broken water supply line. But the water cannot contain contaminants, otherwise it falls into a higher category. Many times a Category 1 leak can be a simple fix – drying out the affected area and replaced – without long-term effects.

Category 2 (Gray water): This category can be caused by an overflowing toilet, a broken washing machine or dishwasher, a sink or shower — or even a leaking aquarium. (This category does not include toilet waste.) This category is more serious and will need to be disinfected with some special chemicals.

Category 3 (Black water): This is the nasty stuff. It can come from a flooded sewer system or water that comes through something porous, like wood or sheetrock or unsealed cement. It could even come from river water flooding or seawater. Category 3 requires the most serious – and costly – treatment.

“Category 3 is the most serious problem because of the chemicals and other contaminants involved,” King said. “This is serious and you don’t need to try to handle this yourself. This requires professional equipment and special knowledge. This is where the experience of the restoration technician can be so helpful – and save you money.”

Your remediation and mitigation specialist at First in Restoration will be able to quickly determine the degree of your water problem. From there it’s a matter of prescribing a solution to the problem and getting your life back in order.

Have water damage? Don’t wait. Call First In Restoration at 678-483-7284 to have the damage assessed and get a plan for the right next steps.