What is the Source of Your Water Damage?

Knowing where your water originated from is one of the most important factors in cleaning up your water damage mess. The type of water that affected your home is necessary in deciding how to go about the water damage cleaning, restoring, and remediation process.

Water has three types. Although these are not always easy to distinguish, I will include examples so that you should be able to correctly identify and fix your water damage issue.

Clean Water: The safest of all water types. This water lives up to its name in that it is visibly clear, and looks "clean." As long as this water is cleaned up promptly (within 72 hours), the affected materials may be saved and restored. If the water had been sitting there for over 72 hours, it should be treated as black water. Examples of clean water sources include malfunctioning sump pumps, broken appliance supply lines, rain run-off, foundation cracks, and leaking or overflowed pipes.

Gray Water: This is a mildly hazardous water type. It may look clear as if it is "clean" water; however, it possesses contaminants that can cause illness and discomfort amongst people and pets. It is not extremely dangerous to work with; however, precautionary measures should be taken. It often originates from an overflowed toilet or a drain backup.

Black Water: The most hazardous type of water damage. This water damage should be treated and remediated with the use of extreme caution. This water may still contain solid pieces of fecal matter and toilet tissue. In most cases, you will also be able to identify the presence of black water through its extremely foul odor. This water often comes from faulty or broken ejector pumps, broken sewage lines, or a sewage back-up. Any and all affected materials must be immediately removed from the residence and discarded.