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Since the restorability of materials in a water loss is largely dependent on the category of water that they have been exposed to, it becomes critical that the restoration professional understands how to properly categorize a water loss.
Let’s start with the truth. The 5 th edition of the ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration defines category of water as the range of contamination in water, considering both its originating source and quality after it contacts materials present on the job site.
The S500 goes on to define the three categories of water as follows:
Category 1 – Water that originates from a sanitary water source and does not pose substantial risk from dermal, ingestion, or inhalation exposure.
Category 2 - Water that contains significant contamination and has the potential to cause discomfort or sickness if contacted or consumed by humans.
Category 3 - Water that is grossly contaminated and can contain pathogenic, toxigenic or other harmful agents and can cause significant adverse reactions to humans if contacted or consumed.
First misconception. Notice that in these definitions the words “clean”, “gray”, or “black” do not appear. In fact, the words clean, gray, or black do not appear anywhere in the entire S500, as it relates to category of water. As the definition states, the category of water is used to communicate the expected range of microbes in the water, and since these microbes are microscopic, meaning invisible to the unaided human eye, color does not play a part in determining the category. Category 3 water can be, and is often times, clear. As a restoration professional, if you are looking for words to describe the category of water, the S500 has given them to you. Category 1 water is sanitary, Category 2 water is significantly contaminated, and Category 3 water is grossly contaminated.
Second misconception. Many in our industry, and related industries, have the misconception that Category 1 and Category 2 water are “not that bad” and are on one end of the spectrum while Category 3 water is “nasty” and is on the far other end of the spectrum. The truth is that only Category 1 water is sanitary, meaning “not contaminated”, while Category 2 and 3 water are both contaminated and do pose a health risk, especially to suspectable people, such as the elderly, infants, convalescents, and anyone with a compromised immune system. When the S500 refers to contaminated water, it always refers to both Category 2 and 3 water.
It is important that we understand the word “sanitary” and how it relates to the structures we live and work in. Different sources have different definitions for sanitary. In the definition of Category 1, the S500 defines sanitary as “does not pose substantial risk from dermal, ingestion, or inhalation exposure”. The Cambridge dictionary defines sanitary as “clean and not dangerous for your health, or protecting health by removing dirt and waste”. The Oxford dictionary defines sanitary as “clean; not likely to cause health problems”. As defined, any surface that is sanitary is a surface that is “not contaminated” and the surface does not pose a health risk when used during normal human occupation and activities. For a structure, or an area of a structure, to be sanitary, it must be periodically and continuously cleaned. The reason we “clean”, such as, do the dishes, do the laundry, wipe down food prep surfaces, clean the bathroom surfaces, sweep or mop the floors, vacuum the carpets, area rugs, and upholstery, take out the garbage, and many other things in the areas where we live and work are to keep these areas sanitary, meaning, healthy.
Third misconception. A surface is not sanitary if you can not eat off of it. I am not sure where this misconception comes from, but I have heard it hundreds of times in my 24-year career. I hope it is safe to say that “normal” human activity involves eating from a plate, not the floor. Normal human activity involves walking on the floors, not eating from them. If you search all of the standards published by the IICRC, all of the regulations produced by the EPA or OSHA, and all of the other related documents created by various authorities, you will not find a single reference to “eating from it” to be the test of cleanliness. This whole idea is ridiculously unreasonable.
Are there structures that are not being maintained in a sanitary condition, yes. Are there some areas in a structure, such as crawl spaces and attics, that are not sanitary areas of the structure, yes. They were never designed to be sanitary areas.
Properly categorizing a water loss is one of the first tasks we should accomplish when inspecting a loss, and this becomes the basis for our scope of work. If we base this decision on long standing misconceptions, we cannot provide the proper service to our customers, our clients, or our company.
Dale Dohner
