TORONTO: 416-564-2054  |  NEWMARKET: 289-841-3341  |  BARRIE: 705-294-1544
Bacterial Screenings > Flooding

Bacterial Screenings In Case of Flooding


Flooding in a home or business may occur from many sources, such as from extreme thawing of snow, severe rain or from water supply pipes. Although the flood water may appear clean it may in fact be contaminated with bacterial and other contaminates depending on its source; even clean drinking (potable) water can be considered to be contaminated if the issue is not addressed within 12-24 hours of the flooding.

Therefore, one of the first things to be done is to determine the source of the water and approximately how long it has been standing in the area. These facts are important in determining exactly how to handle the situation. The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, Restoration and Certification (IICRC) has a procedural standard (S500) that classifies water into 3 Categories according to the amount of biological material in the water. The longer water stands, the more biological matter it will contain.

Upon discovering a flood situation, you should immediately contact your insurance company who will dispatch an emergency response clean-up crew. The second call to make is to an independent environmental consulting firm such as Assurance Environmental Inspection Services Inc. to ensure that the emergency response team has correctly determined the source and category of water and have formulated the proper clean-up procedures. Consultants at AEIS have in depth knowledge of the S500 and S520, working with hundreds of clients to ensure their home or business is returned to a pre-loss state.

Once work is complete, the response team may conduct verification testing to demonstrate that work is done. Most often they do not, they just simply walk away from the job leaving you unsure if indeed the work was completed as it should have been. Before you sign off on any insurance claim have an independent environmental consultant conduct verification testing. Because at AEIS Inc. we work for you and not the insurance company, no job is complete until we say it is.


dash
dash
dash
The Council of Engineering & Scientific Specialty Boards
Ontario Ministry of Labour
dash