Water Class: What Does It Mean?

12/7/2017 (Permalink)

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When it comes to water damage restoration, part of SERVPRO Ft. Lauderdale North's assessment process includes categorizing the water loss into four standardized classes. Knowing the water class makes it easier to treat and mitigate a water loss.

Water Class 1

The IICRC defines class 1 water as:

"The lowest and easiest to deal with, this has a slow evaporation rate. Only part of a room or area was affected, there is little or no wet carpet, and the moisture has only affected materials with a low permeance rate, such as plywood or concrete."

What this means is that the water loss is minimal and has not been sitting for long enough to seep into dense or high permeance materials.

Water Class 2

Class 2 water is a little more difficult. IICRC defines it as the following:

"With a fast evaporation rate, this level affects an entire room, carpeting, or cushioning, the wetness has wicked up the walls at least 12, and there is moisture remaining in structural materials."

This means that the water damage had affected an entire area of a building such as a hallway.

Water Class 3

One of the more difficult water loss situations to mitigate is a class 3.

"This class has the fastest evaporation rate, and ceilings, walls, insulation, carpet and sub-floors are all saturated. The liquid may have come from overhead."

This means an entire room has been affected by water damage.

Water Class 4

Class four water is the hardest to treat due to it usually being trapped water.

"This class is labeled as specialty drying situations, which means there has been enough liquid and time to saturate materials with very low permeance, such as hardwood, brick, or stone."

For more info on water damage, visit the IICRC here. And for faster service to any size disaster, call SERVPRO Ft. Lauderdale North for 24/7 emergency service and make it "Like it never even happened."