Emergency Water Removal - What You Should Know
Water damaged homes/businesses can create and expose homeowners/workers to a wide range of heath concerns. Acting quickly to prevent further damage to your property is one of the most important steps to take. When this happens to you DON’T PANIC! Call the professional water damage restoration experts at STEAMWAY CRAFTSMEN.
Our trained and certified experts will respond to your property quickly to assess the water intrusion and provide you with all procedures that will need to be performed to insure your property is rapidly and efficiently back to pre-loss conditions. Our professionals will arrive with moisture detection equipment that will pin point exactly what materials are affected in your property.
Steamway Craftsmen will establish moisture content /drying goals for the home/business and will provide the business owner/homeowner with proper documentation of the readings, which will be taken daily until the drying goal has been achieved. In addition Steamway works closely with all insurance companies and property management firms, pictures are taken before works is performed, during restoration process and after restoration has been completed. All photos and documentation of the drying process will be available to all of our customers!
At Steamway Craftsmen our goal is to take a difficult situation and resolve it as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Water Damage is assessed with Classes and Categories. Designating the class and category defines the parameters for remediation.
Our trained and certified experts will respond to your property quickly to assess the water intrusion and provide you with all procedures that will need to be performed to insure your property is rapidly and efficiently back to pre-loss conditions. Our professionals will arrive with moisture detection equipment that will pin point exactly what materials are affected in your property.
Steamway Craftsmen will establish moisture content /drying goals for the home/business and will provide the business owner/homeowner with proper documentation of the readings, which will be taken daily until the drying goal has been achieved. In addition Steamway works closely with all insurance companies and property management firms, pictures are taken before works is performed, during restoration process and after restoration has been completed. All photos and documentation of the drying process will be available to all of our customers!
At Steamway Craftsmen our goal is to take a difficult situation and resolve it as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Water Damage is assessed with Classes and Categories. Designating the class and category defines the parameters for remediation.
The Four Primary Classifications of Water Damage
Along with the three major categories of water damage listed above, there are four classifications relating to the amount of water present.
Class 1
Class 1 is the least amount of water, absorption and evaporation. It affects only part of a room or area, or larger areas containing materials that have absorbed minimal moisture. Little or no wet carpet and/or cushion is present.
Class 2
Class 2 involves a large amount of water, absorption and evaporation. It affects at least an entire room of carpet and cushion (pad). Water has wicked up walls less than 24 inches. There is moisture remaining in structural materials and substructure soil.
Class 3
Class 3 involves the greatest amount of water, absorption and evaporation,. Water may have come from overhead. Ceilings, walls, insulation, carpet, cushion and subfloor in virtually the entire area are saturated.
Class 4
Class 4 relates to specialty drying situations. Wet materials with very low permeance/porosity (e.g. hardwood, plaster, brick, concrete, light weight concrete and stone). Typically, there are deep pockets of saturation, which require very low specific humidity. These types of losses may require longer drying times and special methods.
Category 1
"Clean Water" is from a source that poses no substantial harm to people. Water that overflowed while running your bath water, leaking from a supply line for an ice maker, dishwasher or clothes washer are good examples. This assumes that the surfaces being flooded are reasonably clean. Flooding from clean water is usually treated by extracting standing water. Air movers are set up to create evaporation and dehumidifiers to remove the moisture from the air. After 48 hours, a Category 1 can become a Category 2.
Category 2
"Grey Water" poses health risks due to significant levels of contamination of bacteria, mold and/or chemicals. This includes dirty water from washing machines, dishwashers, as well as leaks from water beds, broken aquariums and urine. The water restoration technician should wear some personal protection equipment (PPE). The carpet padding is usually removed and replaced because its sponge-like structure offers the perfect environment for bacterial and mold growth. Due to rampant bacterial breeding and mold growth, Category 2 becomes a Category 3 situation if left untreated for 2 days or more.
Category 3
"Black Water" contains disease-causing organisms, toxins, and is grossly unsanitary. Typical black water conditions occur from a sewer back flow, a broken toilet bowl containing feces, and rising flood waters. (Rising flood water is considered Category three because of the possibility of chemicals and organisms found in lawn chemicals, fertilizers, animal feces, decaying ground debris, and over filled sewer and septic systems.)
Tetanus and other serious diseases are likely to be present in rising flood waters. The water restoration technician must wear personal protection equipment. Affected objects such as carpet, padding, and Sheetrock must be removed and disposed. A biocide must be applied to kill micro-organisms on site.
Class 1
Class 1 is the least amount of water, absorption and evaporation. It affects only part of a room or area, or larger areas containing materials that have absorbed minimal moisture. Little or no wet carpet and/or cushion is present.
Class 2
Class 2 involves a large amount of water, absorption and evaporation. It affects at least an entire room of carpet and cushion (pad). Water has wicked up walls less than 24 inches. There is moisture remaining in structural materials and substructure soil.
Class 3
Class 3 involves the greatest amount of water, absorption and evaporation,. Water may have come from overhead. Ceilings, walls, insulation, carpet, cushion and subfloor in virtually the entire area are saturated.
Class 4
Class 4 relates to specialty drying situations. Wet materials with very low permeance/porosity (e.g. hardwood, plaster, brick, concrete, light weight concrete and stone). Typically, there are deep pockets of saturation, which require very low specific humidity. These types of losses may require longer drying times and special methods.
Category 1
"Clean Water" is from a source that poses no substantial harm to people. Water that overflowed while running your bath water, leaking from a supply line for an ice maker, dishwasher or clothes washer are good examples. This assumes that the surfaces being flooded are reasonably clean. Flooding from clean water is usually treated by extracting standing water. Air movers are set up to create evaporation and dehumidifiers to remove the moisture from the air. After 48 hours, a Category 1 can become a Category 2.
Category 2
"Grey Water" poses health risks due to significant levels of contamination of bacteria, mold and/or chemicals. This includes dirty water from washing machines, dishwashers, as well as leaks from water beds, broken aquariums and urine. The water restoration technician should wear some personal protection equipment (PPE). The carpet padding is usually removed and replaced because its sponge-like structure offers the perfect environment for bacterial and mold growth. Due to rampant bacterial breeding and mold growth, Category 2 becomes a Category 3 situation if left untreated for 2 days or more.
Category 3
"Black Water" contains disease-causing organisms, toxins, and is grossly unsanitary. Typical black water conditions occur from a sewer back flow, a broken toilet bowl containing feces, and rising flood waters. (Rising flood water is considered Category three because of the possibility of chemicals and organisms found in lawn chemicals, fertilizers, animal feces, decaying ground debris, and over filled sewer and septic systems.)
Tetanus and other serious diseases are likely to be present in rising flood waters. The water restoration technician must wear personal protection equipment. Affected objects such as carpet, padding, and Sheetrock must be removed and disposed. A biocide must be applied to kill micro-organisms on site.