IICRC Publishes Revised Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration

LAS VEGAS—May 13, 2021—The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) recently published the newly-revised, ANSI-approved ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration (5th edition, 2021). This standard describes the procedures to be followed and the precautions to be taken when performing water damage restoration in residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, and the systems and personal property contained within those structures. The revised standard improves the organization and clarity of the information while addressing industry changes and the most up-to-date best practices for water damage jobs.

Water damage restoration consists of the following components for which procedures are described in this standard:

• Principles of water damage restoration
• Microbiology of water damage
• Health effects from exposure to microbial contamination in water-damaged buildings
• Building and material science
• Psychrometry and drying technology
• Equipment, instruments, and tools
• Antimicrobial (biocide) technology
• Safety and health
• Administrative procedures, project documentation, and risk management
• Inspections, preliminary determinations, and pre-restoration evaluations
• Limitations, complexities, complications, and conflicts
• Specialized experts
• Structural restoration
• Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) restoration
• Contents evaluation, restoration, and remediation
• Large or catastrophic restoration projects
• Materials and assemblies

“I am confident the ANSI/IICRC S500: 2021 release will help many in the water damage restoration profession,” said Brandon Burton, IICRC Standards chairman. “The changes made were an effort to take an already well-established and respected standard one step further in clarity, while addressing many changes in our continuously growing and maturing industry. Although the changes made can be found in each section of the document, the greatest efforts were made to the organization and flow of the standard.”

Burton continued, “I’d like to express a significant amount of gratitude and appreciation to the IICRC S500 consensus body that performed this revision, and in particular to the consensus body chair, Chris Taylor. Members each volunteered more than 1,000 hours of their time to this revision effort.”

To purchase a copy of the revised ANSI/IICRC S500: 2021 and other standards, visit https://webstore.iicrc.org. IICRC standards are also available via the IICRC Standards Subscription website at https://publications.iicrc.org. For more information on other certification programs and standards offered by IICRC, visit www.iicrc.org.