Successful clean up of sewage damaged structure and personal property requires that restoration professionals adhere to the Institute of Inspection , Cleaning, and Restoration Certification Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration S500-94 (IICRC Standards). The Standards assures all parties of thorough, cost effective, and expeditious restoration services.

IICRC Standards provide for a fast, technically accurate set of procedures in response to public health concerns. Technicians proficient in dehumidification theory limit the property damage and effectively address health and safety issues. Clean up proceeds smoothly and costs are controlled.

Equally important to a timely response is accurately categorizing the water’s contamination level. The IICRC Standards classify water sources as sanitary and unsanitary water categories.

Category 3: spills always contain pathogenic agents. “Black water” sources include municipal sewage lines, sea and ground surface water, and rising water from rivers and streams. Some of these spills are biohazards and must be handled with specific methods along with HEPA filtered equipment to control airborne contamination. Property Doctors technicians are trained and equipped to contain and clean up “Class 3” spills.

Health and Safety Issues (IICRC Standards)
Health and safety issues are of utmost concern to restoration professionals. Contaminated water damaged structures contain biopollutants such as bacteria or fungi. These biopollutants can affect people through ingestion, skin contact, or inhalation. The consequences of human exposure include gastroenteritis, dermatitis, infectious hepatitis, Shigellosis, Legionaries disease and Pontiac fever, tuberculosis, salmonellosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, histoplasmosis, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, Ecoli, and asthma.