Structural Drying is the process of thoroughly removing excess moisture from wet materials until they are completely dry. During the restoration process different methods are used such as dehumidifiers and shop vacs, along with new technology such as moisture maps. Using these tools, we are able to speed up the process of the water remediation and prevent toxic mold from growing. When your property has been adequately dried it will save you a lot of time and money during the restoration project. If you leave the affected area damp this can cause much bigger problems in the long run. These problems include a foul oder, bacterial growth, and even toxic mold build up forcing you to replace all of the previously damp contents.
When you are dealing with water damage it is crucial to ask yourself a few questions:
What type of building materials were affected?
What is the source of the water?
Is the water toxic or contaminated?
It is important to quickly identify the category of water damage that has occurred.
Category 1 Water Damage
Clean water from a sanitary source, essentially harmless. However, even though it is harmless at the time of the initial damage category 1 clean water quickly degrades to a category 2 within 24 hours if left untreated. Toxic mold can begin to grow within 48 hours of water exposure
Category 2 Water Damage
Often referred to as grey water. This type of water most commonly comes from overflowing toilets or leaking appliances. This water can be harmful to humans and pets. There are typically small amounts of detergent or some sort of chemical in the water that makes it toxic. This type of water damage is susceptible to rapid bacteria growth.
Category 3 Water Damage:
Highly contaminated sources such as sewage and flood water. This water is toxic to come into contact with. The water is already infested with bacteria and can cause bacterial infections in humans and pets immediately upon exposure. Since this water is highly contaminated any material that the water comes into contact with such as carpets, upholstery, and drywall must all be replaced as soon as possible.
After you answer these questions you can accurately being the remediation process and get a drying strategy in place. Check with your restoration team to see what tools they utilize during the water remediation process. Ask about moisture maps. Moisture maps help give an adequate depiction of where the concentration of moisture is and how to tackle the drying process. The before and after images from the moisture map will also help to measure the success of the drying process.
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