Primary vs. Secondary Water Damage

7/9/2021 (Permalink)

Over the course of a water damage restoration project, you may hear the terms “primary” and “secondary” water damage. As a homeowner, you might not care much about the distinction – after all, all you want is for the damage to be gone – but as a professional restoration company, it’s vital for us to know the difference.

Primary damage is the damage that occurs when your structure and contents first come into direct contact with water. If your ceiling bursts because of the weight of the water pouring into it, that would be an example of primary damage.

Secondary damage, meanwhile, is the damage that occurs when excessive moisture is allowed to sit inside a structure for an extended period of time. When moisture remains and humidity is high, it can cause irreversible damage to building materials as well as promote the growth of all sorts of nasty microbes, including mold.

Often, by the time we’re called to the scene, primary damage has already occurred. Our first order of business is to prevent secondary damage from occurring through restorative drying. Once we stop any further damage from occurring and properly dry the structure, then we can call in our reconstruction team and handle the primary damage as well. It’s all part of making your loss “Like it never even happened.”