After an incident of flood, water removal has to be pursued with urgency to prevent damage to the structures, especially when it's not clean water we're talking about. Water that has been inside the structure for several hours will cause extensive damage to items such as gypsum board on the walls and ceilings and insulation under the floor.
The process of water removal or drying should be initiated throughout the structure as quickly as possible. The most effective way to do water removal is cross ventilation - the opening up of all doors and windows, both interior and exterior, to allow the maximum amount of air movement within the structure. Heaters should never be used for drying up as they can cause the humidity inside the structure to increase.
All wet and soaked materials should undergo water removal and all the surfaces washed with detergent to get rid of mold and mildew. Protective gear should be worn during the exercise to protect the eyes, mouth and feet. You should therefore wear a mask, goggles, rubber gloves and boots when cleaning up. Hands should also be cleaned with warm water before meals.
When you commence water removal, always confirm that electricity has been turned off before entering a building. Verify also that gas-burning appliances are off and that no gas is leaking.
You should check the foundations of the building to confirm that flood waters have not deteriorated the mortar joints and weakened the foundation. For the floor, you should immediately remove the carpet throughout the structure before water removal as a soaked carpet contains high amounts of bacteria and in addition delays the water removal process.
You should also check the interior walls. Most such walls are made of wood studs and gypsum board which gets damaged after lengthy exposure to water. The ceilings should also be checked because excess humidity from the flood water may have caused swelling of the gypsum board causing it to pull loose from the ceiling frame.
The doors and cabinets, since they are generally made of wood, will have soaked water and might be unstable for use. You should therefore look out for swelling in the doors and cabinets as this will subsequently lead to shrinkage and might cause them to crack. The ductwork systems should also be thoroughly flushed and disinfected because water that has filled the ductwork will deposit bacteria and germs. These germs will introduce illnesses into the structure when the system is utilized.
Extreme care should be taken to confirm that electrical appliances and gas lines are switched off and that there is no smell of leaking gas. For the electrical appliances you should not attempt to use them until their motors, controls and elements have been declared safe by a professional. This is because electric motors are normally fitted very close to the floor and could have absorbed water. Care should be exercised when you recognize that even a small amount of water can damage motors and bearings. When a repainting job is undertaken, confirm that the surfaces are dry before applying paint.
After a water incident, water removal must be performed as a matter of urgency because if water is on the premises for long you run the risk of growing bacteria and other organisms which are hazardous to health. This is especially true of floodwaters but fresh water is never safe either. In addition to bringing disease-causing bacteria, such water could move further from the source area and contaminate or damage more property.
Several drying out techniques could be used, the oldest and most common one being air drying. Air drying is a simple and inexpensive method that works by improving airflow circulation. This speeds up the evaporation process by moving moisture-saturated air and allowing dry air to absorb moisture. In its simplest form, air drying involves the opening up of doors and windows to allow fresh air in. Faster results can however be achieved if fans are used as they circulate larger volumes of air.
Water removal and extraction can also be achieved by dehumidification - the use of a device that removes moisture from the air to reduce humidity. Dehumidification is crucial especially in high humidity areas and helps stabilize the environment after a water damage event. This water removal process promotes faster drying especially for building materials such as drywall, flooring, carpets and furniture.
A device that could be employed for dehumidification is the refrigerant dehumidifier. This circulates moist air through cold coils, reduces its temperature to the saturation point where moisture condenses and is collected into a bucket. This is a highly effective device and can remove up to 5 gallons in 24 hours. Its main disadvantage is that it becomes less effective when the air becomes cooler.
Water removal from the air can also be done using a desiccant dehumidifier. Desiccants are materials with high affinity to water vapor and absorb water as they go through physical or chemical changes. Another dry out technique is freezer drying. Mainly used to dry paper items - books, photos and documents - it is a slow process and the items might take a bit of time before they are actually dry.
Where the volumes of paper to be dried are large, vacuum freeze drying could be employed. This is the method that dries under vacuum conditions through a process known as sublimation - the process by which solid frozen waters are converted into vapor.
An alternative method for drying paper is vacuum thermal drying and it is employed to dry paper that could be slightly or even extensively damaged. Using this method, books are placed in a vacuum thermal drying chamber when wet or frozen and they dry as vacuum conditions start and heat is pumped into the chamber.
Another water removal technique is Thermaline or Cryogenic drying. A rather expensive technique, this water removal process utilizes low temperature freezers and an advanced variation of freezer drying in a more active approach. Its major strength is that when correctly applied it does not distort materials and is the preferred method for water removal on rare books.
Both Barney Ruch & Isolde Werry are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Barney Ruch has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home, Sewage and Home. Barney Ruch discusses house structure problems for and. Barney Ruch's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
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