Created on:
June 15, 2020
When it comes to flooding from possibly contaminated water at your Fort Collins, CO business, you may want to contact a local water damage restoration service to help with clean up. These professionals can help identify the source of the problem so that it’s known which category the flooding falls under, as this can affect which cleaning methods should be used. Here's what you might want to know about these floodwater categories.
The first category is known as white water and is used to describe water that comes from a source where it would be considered safe for human consumption. This could be from a broken supply line, a leaking faucet, or a broken pipe. White water has the least risk for carrying bacteria or other harmful materials.
Mildly contaminated water such as that from a sink drain, is called grey water. This water may carry food particles or mild cleaning agents that could cause some skin irritation but is not considered majorly harmful. Cleaning grey water may require some safety gear and sanitizing the affected area once the flooding is removed.
The third category is known as black water, and includes any water sources that may have come into contact which heavy chemicals or sewage. Flooding with unknown sources, as well as weather related water, are often included here is it may be difficult to know what the path of flow has been. Removing flooding from this category should be done by a professional team with the right safety equipment and cleaning materials.
Knowing which which flood category the water damage at your business falls under can help the restoration crew know what steps they need to take when dealing with contaminated water. These categories include white water which is safe for consumption, grey water which may have minor irritants, and black water which could contain sewage material.
