Water damage is the leading cause of mold growth. Not all water damage is treated the same, though. Different degrees of water damage are separated into different classes.
Water damage should be classified into one of the following classes:
Class 1 Water Damage
Slow Evaporation Rate: Water losses that affect only part of a room or area, or losses with lower permeance/porosity materials (e.g., plywood, particle board, structural wood, VCT, concrete). Little or no wet carpet or padding is present. Minimum moisture is absorbed by materials, releasing moisture slowly.
Related: Slow Water Leaks Can Cause Mold Damage
Class 2 Water Damage
Fast Evaporation Rate: Water losses that affect an entire room with carpet/pad. Water has wicked up walls 12″-24″. There is moisture remaining in structural materials (e.g., plywood, particleboard, structural wood, concrete).
Class 3 Water Damage
Fastest Evaporation Rate: Water may have come from overhead. Ceilings, walls, insulation, carpet, cushion and sub-floor in the entire area of your home are saturated. Typically, heavy saturation of the materials above the flooring.
Class 4 Water
Damage Specialty Drying Situations: These consist of wet materials with very low permeance/porosity (hardwood, plaster, brick, concrete, stone). Typically, there are deep pockets of saturation, which requires very low specific humidity.
Summary – Different Water Damage Classes
As you can see, water damage is split up into four different classes. This helps a mold remediation company better address the entire scenario to the best of their abilities.
If you feel that your water damage has led to a mold issue, please contact Edwards Property: Mold Damage Remediation of South Florida.
