Water Damage Restoration Inland Empire
One of the most common problems in homes and businesses has proven to be water damage. Water intrusion and flooding can occur from many different places in residential or commercial property; for instance, appliance failure, such as a dishwasher or toilet supply line breaking, or leakage from an angle stop to a bathroom or kitchen sink. Drain lines, from such sources as a dishwasher, washing machine, shower or toilet, can clog or back up to cause serious flooding. Pipes in walls, under homes or in crawl spaces can burst—this can even happen in concrete footing or slabs, causing a “slab leak”.
But problems can also come from outside the home just as easily. During heavy rain, water intrusion or flooding often happens, especially in areas where slopes or landscaping allow water to pool along the edge of the foundation. Heavy winds can create “wind-driven rain” that works its way up underneath shingles and through the tar-paper barrier. This can cause perfectly good roofs to spring leaks, causing minimal to severe damage in multiple locations in your home.
The professional guidelines for water damage are defined and rated by the IICRC by categories, defining the severity of contamination of the water. The categories are as follows:
Category I — This indicates a clean water intrusion, such as a pipe breaking in a wall. Water needs to be extracted and the home or building can be dried with minimal to no deconstruction.
The drying process is typically one to three days. Time and temperature can turn a Category I situation into a Category II, as well as existing conditions such as soiled carpets and existing pet contaminations.
Category II — This indicates that “grey water” is present, meaning that there is a certain level of biological contaminants present in the water source. An example of grey water would be water from a toilet bowl, a washing machine or a dishwasher overflowing. Water needs to be extracted and porous materials removed, disinfected and/or cleaned. A Category II situation can escalate into a Category III quickly, also due to time and temperature. Additionally, Category II water can cause allergenic discomfort and possible sickness with certain conditions.
Category III — This indicates that highly elevated levels of contamination, referred to as “black water”, are present, which can cause serious health issues. Microorganisms and contaminants found in ground water and river water accelerate microbial growth and ultimately the inhabitability of the structure. The cleanup process can be as simple as a day, but can be dramatically extended if there is a need for specialized cleanup protocols that would need to be written by a certified industrial hygienist.
The amount of moisture intrusion, its location, its direction into a building and the overall size of the affected area is referred to as the “classification” of the water loss. The classifications are as follows:
Class 1: Water has only effected part of a room and moisture has wicked up the walls and structure less than one foot, or 12 inches. Most water losses that are handled immediately can be contained to this class of loss.
Class 2: Water has affected the entire room, including the carpeting and padding. Water has wicked up the walls two feet (24 inches) or less. There is moisture in structural materials including wood framing, subfloors, plywood, concrete, etc.
Class 3: Source of water is from overhead such as a pipe in the attic or from a second story. All building materials are potentially affected and would result in near complete saturation. Humidity would be elevated compared to the unaffected sections of the property.
Class 4: Specialty drying situations where materials with low permeability are dramatically affected. Examples of these conditions would be hardwood floors, subfloors, plaster walls, concrete slabs, stone or brick. The dry-out of these materials can take very specific focused humidity control or slow, controlled efforts with specialty equipment so the materials are not damaged by drying too rapidly.
