Water Damage in Your Wappingers Home or Business Might Pose A Health Threat, Learn the Categories of Water

10/14/2020 (Permalink)

Learn the 3 types of water when you've sustained water damage in your home or business.

Toilet overflows, interior pipe bursts, ice damming and storm flooding are each classified as different types of water. Some can contain bacteria, chemicals, debris or waste. Don’t assume it's harmless water when you suffer a water damage in your home! There are 3 distinct categories: clean water, gray water and black water.

The 1^st step is always the same, clean it up and dry it out, as soon as possible is best to avoid the threat of mold growth.  It’s highly recommended to hire a professional restoration company to make sure all areas are dry, as some of these damages affect sub-floors, drywall, insulation and other interior parts of the home’s structure that have to be dealt with carefully and with the right equipment. Keep these things in mind as it will vary the type of cleaning and remediation depending on what you’re dealing with:

1: Clean Water

Clean water doesn’t pose an immediate threat to your health. Clean water is free of bacteria, microbes and other contaminants and is usually the result of snow or rainwater, broken water lines, toilet holding tanks, and malfunctioning appliances. While this water can contain naturally occurring minerals, it’s not drinkable but isn’t a super hazard.

Important Fact- it only takes 48 hours and contact with the surfaces of a home for clean water to become a category 2, Gray Water.

2: Gray Water

Gray water means the water damage cleanup and restoration needs to become more serious. This water may create a health risk since it will contain degrees of chemical, viral or biological contamination. It has the potential to cause illness if contacted or consumed.

Gray water occurs from toilet bowls overflows, sump pump failures, dishwashers, aquariums, washing machines and showers. The 48-hour exposure time applies here as well, since gray water becomes black water if not treated.

3: Black Water

Where there is black water, you now have the most serious of the 3 categories. Black water is considered highly contaminated as it usually contains or has encountered harmful chemicals, fungi and biological matter and can cause illness. The sources are toilet back flows, sewage pipe backups, seawater, rising water from rivers or streams, ground surface water or standing water.

It is best to treat all waters associated with water damage as black water because water picks up contaminants along its path. Consider the example of water running inside the sheet rock walls and insulation of your home. Each area it gets into, particles are picked up and carried along to whatever exit it can find, which is never safely outside.

The three classifications of floodwater are recognized by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Remediation Certification (IICRC), an organization that certifies and sets the standards for the cleaning and restoration industries. Our technicians are certified by IICRC standards and best practices in water restoration and are available to help determine the steps to take to get your home back to normal.

It doesn’t matter what type of water has caused damage to your home or business, SERVPRO of Western Dutchess County is here to help get the situation under control. We’re always here to help! Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you need emergency cleanup and restoration services, call us at 845-831-3600.