A Brief History of Water Damage Restoration & Structural Drying
Initially, Water Damage Repair restoration & repair was performed by carpet cleaning companies. The primary focus was on drying the carpet. The average residential job took 5 – 6 days to dry and restore. Specialized equipment and training were first introduced to the industry in the late 1970s. There was little concern about mold at that time. It was believed that though we could spray biocide and mold would not be a problem.
Carpet Cleaners had the extraction equipment they used to steam clean carpets. It was natural for them to take on water extraction and thus water damage restoration projects. The equipment was manufactured to dry carpets since that was the main focus of the carpet cleaning companies.
Past techniques involved inserting air movers underneath the carpet, allowing it to float on a cushion of air. With one air mover every 200 to 250 square feet, it was an intensive, high-electricity-consuming process that took quite a while to complete.
Today, air movers sit on top of the carpet and face the wall at a 45-degree angle to spread the air movement around. An air mover is placed every 12 to 16 linear feet, meaning a 10-foot by 12-foot room requires four air movers where two sub-carpet units would have been used with the old system. More equipment is necessary, but they each use less electricity and complete the drying process in a much shorter time.
The key to preventing these situations is with low-grain refrigerant dehumidifiers, which remove more moisture from the air than other methods. It’s an often overlooked but essential part of rapid structural drying.
