Water Damage Has Many Faces

Anyone who has ever experienced a flood knows that they can be as terrifying and destructive as any other form of natural disaster. Similarly, those who have lived through them can also attest to the fact that the water damage left behind is just as damaging.

Water damage can come in a number of different forms and as a result of several types of events, but it is almost always serious.

Even that which is most minor and may be caused by exposure to rain or other less-significant levels of moisture can lead to rotting, rust, corrosion and other destructive conditions that can ruin a wide array of materials over the long term. When at its most serious, however, damages caused by flooding can be utterly devastating to anything in its wake.

Water damage is typically broken down into four classes. These identify and deal with the type of flooding present, the material that was affected and how it typically reacts when exposed to liquid.

Identifying the class of water damage is often the first step in determining how to proceed with cleanup. The specific classes help those responsible for cleanup decide how to proceed in terms of the type of equipment and amount of attention the affected area or materials will require.

Class 1 is the least significant level and signifies that only a portion of an area has been affected. Similarly, the materials affected did not absorb that much moisture and therefore need only minimal drying.

Class 2 means a more significant amount of moisture has affected an entire room and that materials involved may include those which absorb more significant amounts.

Class 3 is a severe situation in which moisture has covered a room from the top down and everything has been inundated. Likewise, most material in the room is capable of absorbing at a significant rate.

Class 4 is not necessarily more severe than the previous level, but instead means that material is involved that require special approaches to treating and drying. This can include those such as plaster or hardwood floors that need to be dried in conditions that feature very low levels of humidity.

Because the science involved in identifying these various classes and also knowing how to respond to them is very precise, it places an added importance on finding and hiring a certified professional to help you recover from water damage. This person can make sure you identify exactly what happened and what type of destructive circumstances are at play while also helping you formulate and execute a game plan for recovery.

All various types of water damage can arise from any of these various classes. Because of this, it is extremely important to address any instance of flooding both promptly and thoroughly. Making sure that you act as quickly as you can when responding to this type of situation can oftentimes mean the difference between being able to salvage the material and having to complete demolish it or throw it away.