Journalists have been tweeting the meager conditions in Sochi – the location of this year’s Winter Olympics. Some of them have been humorous. However, some have been downright appalling. Through communications via social media, we have learned that some of the hotels had no running water at all – because of broken water mains – and many other hotel patrons were told not to use the water on their faces, because it “contains something extremely dangerous”. Thus, causing travelers to brush their teeth and wash their faces with bottled water. Really living the Kardashian lifestyle in Sochi!
The photograph shown above was sent by one of the reporters from their hotel bathroom. And no, this is not an Instagrammed photo of their morning apple juice. This is water directly from the bathroom faucet. Based on this photo, this would be considered Category Two water. Whatever the case, you would not want to drink it.
You have probably never thought of this, but there are actually three different categories of water damage in the world of property damage restoration. The categories define the severity of pollution. Below is a breakdown of the three, in an effort to give you a better idea of what’s happening in those glasses in the picture above:
· Category 1: Water originates from a sanitary water source (i.e. dishwasher, ice maker, etc.).
· Category 2: Water contains significant pollution and has the likelihood to cause sickness or discomfort if contacted or consumed by people.
· Category 3: Water is grossly contaminated and can contain pathogenic, toxigenic or other damaging agents.
Should your house ever flood, working with a restoration company that understands this concept is critically important to ensure the repairs and cleanup to your home are done correctly so you don’t need more costly repairs later, or even worse, the wrong job leads to a member of the household getting ill.
While the hosts of this year’s Winter Olympics are being flooded with complaints, the water damage restoration experts at Paul Davis are here to take care of your real floods in the States. No matter the category.
Here’s to a competitive, successful, and SAFE 2014 Winter Olympics!
