Water Damage Classes
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Class 1 – Slow rate of evaporation
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Small size water loss.
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Water losses that affect only part of a room or area.
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Losses with low-permeance/porosity materials (e.g. plywood, particleboard, structural wood, VCT, concrete).
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Little or no wet carpet and/or cushion is present.
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Minimum moisture is absorbed by materials, which release that moisture slowly.
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On hot dry days this class is an ideal candidate for open system dehumidification.
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Class 2 – Fast rate of evaporation
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Medium size water loss.
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Water losses that affect the entire room of carpet and cushion.
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Water has wicked up walls less than 24 inches.
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There is moisture remaining in the structural materials (e.g. plywood, particleboard, structural wood, VCT, concrete).
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Class 3 – Fastest rate of evaporation
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Large size water loss.
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Carpet and pad with water from coming from above or water wicking more than 24” up walls.
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Ceilings, walls, insulation, carpet, cushion and subfloor in virtually the entire area are saturated.
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Class 4 – Specialty drying situations, focus on bound water
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Involves wet materials that are very low permeance/porosity (e.g. hardwoods, subfloors, plaster, brick, concrete, stone, crawlspaces).
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Typically there are deep pockets of saturation that normally require very low specific humidity.
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In laymen's terms a class four water loss involves drying hardwood flooring, concrete or some such material
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