How can I speed up the drying process of wet surfaces?

27th Apr 2015 | |

Dry air, heat, air movement and preparation of the wet surfaces all affect the drying process.

Please note that where moisture is trapped behind impervious materials such as laniate flooring, tiles, wallpaper and heavy paints, these can act as a vapour barrier to slow down drying and potentially carry the risk of mould growth. We would often recommend that preparation works in the form of stripping back these vapour barriers take place.

Once the drying equipment is in situ, doors and windows will need to be closed in order to as far as possible create a closed air environment. Dehumidifiers will strip moisture out of the air, while fans are used to circulate dry air and displace saturated air back towards the dehumidifiers. Heaters can be used to further increase the evaporation rate as warmer air can hold more moisture.

As a rough guide, at the early stages of flood restoration drying, increasing air velocity from 0.5 metres per second to 3.5 metres per second would double the evaporation rate, with a further doubling of the evaporation rate by increasing air movement to 7.0 metres per second.

The affect of heat on the evaporative process is that the rate of evaporation approximately doubles with an increase in air temperature from 20 to 30 degrees celsius, with a further doubling of the evaporation rate with an increase to 40 degrees celsius.

Call us to discuss the possible drying time for your wet property.