What Kind of Methods Do Water Restorers Use to Fix a Wet Property?

10/15/2020 (Permalink)

After a water incident occurs. You can trust that your home is in good hands with our experienced technicians at SERVPRO.

SERVPRO Technicians Use a Variety of Equipment to Implement Water Damage Restoration in your Montrose home.

Does airflow assist drying?

Managing airflow and ventilation in your Montrose property is a vital way of reducing drying times and therefore damages caused by moisture. Knowing the right techniques is a core-skill that water restoration technicians (WRT) draw on to ensure we can mitigate potential losses in the home. While having the right equipment is one part of effective drying, knowing precisely how to position that equipment is equally essential. Failure to adopt the correct formation of drying equipment could lead to further damages. Placing an air-mover in a property should be a calculated decision. SERVPRO technicians undergo extensive training and gain essential experience working under a crew chief to ensure that we can mitigate loss from residential water intrusion events. If power is unavailable, our technicians can bring in portable generators to the property for temporary mitigation purposes.

How does an air-mover impact property drying?

Speeding up evaporation is the goal of water damage restoration technicians working in your Montrose home. To evaporate quickly, wet materials require temperature and dry air to evaporate into. When a surface is wet, the evaporating moisture can form a vapor barrier of humid air directly above the surface. This barrier can impede drying times, which is why ensuring air above surfaces is in constant motion is essential to efficient drying. Air-movers come in axial or centrifugal varieties and can blast surfaces with warm, dry air. Placing multiple air movers in a property can ensure exponential ventilation. When deploying an air-mover, it is vital to position it at a 45 degree to the surface. Head-on air movement could dry moist air into drywall or other material assemblies, causing further harm to the property.

How do technicians position air-movers efficiently?

Aim the air-mover at a 45-degree angle to the surface being dried and consider daisy-chaining multiple air-movers from one power source

Place air-movers in a clockwise pattern using the inlet to face the wall and the snout in direct contact with the wall surface

Position air-movers, so that affected surfaces are in the direct air stream that the air-movers create. Consider placing air-movers on windows or closets if necessary.

Is it possible to dry ceilings efficiently?

Water intrusion can come from a variety of sources. If there is a structural deficiency, rainwater can come through the roof and migrate through the lower levels. Equally, worn away sealant in wet rooms can cause dripping through the ceiling of the floor below. Air-moving equipment is adaptable and, therefore, useful for drying tops as well as walls. Similar to a wall, the air-mover placement should be a 45-degree angle to direct air across the wall instead of directly against the surface. Where there are drop ceilings, SERVPRO technicians can temporarily remove panels from the furthest points of the ceiling and direct air into the cavity for comprehensive drying. 

How do you get water out of walls?

Disengage the baseboard of the wall if there is evidence of water migrating into the wall cavity

Drill a hole into the wall behind the baseboard of one and a half inches between the wall stud. Only drill holes through one side of the wall.

Attach an air-mover to a wall venting system, like an injectidry, and push warm air upwards through the wall cavity to ensure cavity drying.

How do technicians remove baseboards from a wall?

We recommend that removing the baseboard be left to professional technicians. Even water restoration technicians (WRT) can damage a wall when removing the baseboard. The safest method to disengage a baseboard is by using a claw hammer or a nail pulling tool. To ensure the wall does not sustain damage, SERVPRO technicians place a thin board against the wall surface to minimize the risk of further harm. Baseboards must be disengaged gently to avoid affecting the wall surface. Sometimes, older building assemblies can warp or change shape over time, becoming increasingly fragile as well as difficult to disassemble. A professional technician has the requisite experience to perform wall cavity drying with maximum mitigation against potential losses. Some technicians undertake specific applied structural drying (ASD) qualifications to perform better water restoration for Montrose residents.

What are the core criteria for efficient drying?

Banking of air moving equipment to ensure that walls do not sustain damage and airflow streams are consistent throughout the property.

Making sure there is space for circulating air currents to travel into and placing dehumidifiers to collect moist air from the indoor environment. 

Taking extra care when drilling into walls or removing baseboard to allow for specific cavity drying of walls.

Drying a property efficiently requires significant knowledge as well as the implementation of advanced equipment. Contact SERVPRO of Montrose / Telluride at (970) 240-6970.