The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) announces that it is revising the ANSI/IICRC S500-2006 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration. The revised draft of S500 was available for the first round of public review from March 29 to May 13, 2013, and is now available  for a second round of public review and comment until Jan. 20, 2014.

ANSI/IICRC S500 provides a specific set of practical and procedural standards for water damage restoration. It does not provide a specific protocol for all water damage restoration projects; rather, it outlines the foundation for basic principles of proper restoration practices. 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 first round of public review include:

• Revisions and clarifications in Section 13.5.7 and Chapter 13 Structural Restoration chapter dealing with airmover calculations and placement.
• Removal of the Materials and Assemblies table from the Standard and placing as Chapter 17 in the Reference Guide, in effect removing it from being a component of the standard of care.
• Citing of many technical references that were inadvertently left out of the first draft.
• Numerous clarifications and changes as a result of the input from the peer review process.

ANSI/IICRC S500 draft Standard is available from Dec. 6, 2013 - Jan. 20, 2014 for review and comment as part of the second round of 45-day public review period.  All comments must be submitted completely using the Comment Form. To access the draft Standard and Comment Form, visit http://iicrc.org/standards/iicrc-s500/ . All comments must be submitted to IICRC Standards Director Mili Washington at mili@iicrc.org no later than January 20, 2014.

For more information on other certification programs and standards offered by IICRC, visit www.iicrc.org. To purchase a copy of the IICRC standards, please visit www.iicrc.org/store or call the IICRC headquarters at (360) 693-5675.