Jumping a Water Damage Category

3/8/2022 (Permalink)

Water damage in Apison, TN.

Industry's Categorization of Water Damage

If your business in Apison, TN, has ever needed water pipe repair, then you might be familiar with the industry's categorization of water damage types:

1. Clean water: Category one
   
2. Contaminated water: Category two
   
3. Filthy water: Category three
   
   

These are oversimplified descriptions: A water damage recovery company should have a more detailed description available. One of the problems with category one issues, such as a broken pipe, is that water can easily move up from the first category, becoming more and more contaminated. Here are a few examples of that process in the real world.

Multiple Floor Buildings

Buildings with more than one floor easily contaminate water, even if it's a simple loft or second story. Any flooded areas on the higher floors have the potential to leak down to the lower levels, picking up contaminants along the way.

Violent Water

If the initial flood event is extreme enough, it might have enough force to knock items off of shelves. Even contamination with everyday chemicals, such as soaps or disinfectants, increases the category level of water damage. While cleaning products might not seem dirty, their presence raises the difficulty of the cleanup process and the extent of the damage.

Time

Procrastinating water pipe repair or flood damage mitigation is likely to lead to contaminated water. Standing water is the worst offender: Algae, mold and even insects spawn in these indoor pools. However, even moisture leftover from improper cleanup could fester, likely leading to category increases on subsequent floods.

Businesses in Apison, TN, don't make money by paying for water pipe repair, but water damage almost ends up costing more if you let it be. The increase in costs is two-pronged: You have a harder initial cleanup job and your chance of secondary damage is greater, requiring more extensive mitigation. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that the water could be placed in the most dangerous category.