Due to substantive changes, the ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration is now open for its fourth round of public review. Officially, public review and comment opened March 6 and will close April 5.
The ANSI/IICRC S500 provides a specific set of practical standards for water damage restoration. It does not provide comprehensive water damage restoration procedures; rather, it outlines the foundation for basic principles of proper restoration practices. The ANSI/IICRC S500 does not include exhaustive performance characteristics or standards for the manufacture or installation of structural components, materials and contents (personal property).
According to S500 Chairman Mickey Lee, the primary revisions made in the Standard since the last public review include:
- Modifying the airmover guidance language to better handle the “gaps” identified by many restorers that could provide less air movement than needed for some jobs.
- Reformatting the airmover guidance language to be easier and more intuitive to use.
- Removing the need to identify the “drying rate stage” (i.e. constant drying rate, falling drying rate) as a precursor to making airmover changes.
- Better defining “low evaporation materials” and “low evaporation assemblies” and how these relate to Class 4 water intrusions.
All comments must be submitted completely using the draft Standard and Comment Form at http://iicrc.org/standards/iicrc-s500/. All comments must be submitted to IICRC Standards Director Mili Washington at mili@iicrc.org no later than April 5, 2015.
For more information on other certification programs and standards offered by IICRC, visit www.iicrc.org.
