The restoration job isn't complete until all the materials have been dried! That includes both the contents and affected structural materials.

While many restorers evaluate the moisture in the carpet and pad, those same restorers may not consider evaluating the moisture condition of much more expensive structural materials. Carpet and pad are extremely porous and therefore are quite easily dried. Most structural materials are somewhat more dense, release moisture more slowly, and require a higher level of diagnosis, drying and restoration.

When on-site drying methods strated gaining popularity in the mid 70's, most companies really offered a "wet carpet service". The word restoration was really an over statement of the service rendered. The "cleaner" extracted the water and "dried" the carpet and cushion. Basically, if the probe offers a response, the fabric was still too wet and more drying was required. The only exception is when the technician gets a " false" reading from metallic materials or high concentrations of urine. In most cases the technician didn't concern himself with the remaining structure moisture.

Flood Restoration is More Than Drying Carpet!

When we discuss structural materials we are generally talking about flooring, sub-flooring, drywall, plaster and framing materials. For this discussion, we also need to include cabinets, doors, and insulation materials in its many variations. Diagnosing, evaluating, monitoring, drying and restoring structural materials and contenets represent a much more exciting challenge than handling wet carpet.

Today we realize that drying a wet carpet may be the least of our professional responsibilites. Evaluating all the water damage materials properly requires specialized tools, common sense and more experience than the evaluation of carpet. Our job is to dry and restore all affected materials. We can even be held liable for an incomplete drying service. Our customers expect a complete drying and restoration job including structural materials and contents. Today, we know that the job isn't complete until all the materials are dry.

HUMIDITY, TEMPERATURE, AIRFLOW AND TIME

Before we discuss diagnostics of water damage materials, we should review some very fundamental aspects of the drying process.

The four basic factors which determine how well (and fast) materials become dry, are humidity, temperature, airflow and time. Relative humidity is expressed as a percentage of moisture the air is at 60% Rh, the air is holding 60% of what it can hold at that temperature. Without addressing every consideration, the best relative humidity for drying is the lowest Rh, which can be cost effectively attained during restoration.

Specific humidity is different than relative humidity. Specific humidity is the actual amount of water in the air by weight. This is normally expressed as grains of moisture per pound of air. The specific humidity determines which "direction" a mass of air will move in an environment. High specific humidity "creates" a higher vapor pressure. High pressure moves towards low pressure.

Understanding vapor pressure can help us when to convert from an open drying system to a closed drying system. It has many other ramifications to our water damage work.