Heat Based Drying Systems
Dampness In Buildings
If not treated effectively, dampness in buildings can cause all sort of problems including wet rot, mould on walls and structural damage. The insurance company will have appointed a Building Reinstatement specialist to carry out a damp survey to determine the extent of the water damage in the property. The source of the dampness in buildings and properties, usually through water leak detection, has to be dealt with before the remaining water can be removed and the building restoration can start in earnest.
To dry out the surplus moisture, before repairing water damage, it is likely that some form of dehumidifier or dryer will be required. In previous articles we talked about both Refrigerant and Adsorbent Dehumidifiers and discussed circumstances under which they are best deployed. So now we turn our attention to Heat Based Drying Systems to see where and when the water damage repair specialist would choose to deploy these powerful dryers.
Heat Based Drying Systems
It is common knowledge that when you apply warm dry air onto a wet surface, it rapidly helps the drying out process. Heat based drying systems are extremely effective and often industrial sized drying machines that are brought to a water damage repair site to dry out large water damaged buildings. For example, when there is still water in basement areas after the excess lying water has previously been pumped away.
These heat based systems are usually deployed to site on the back of trucks or trailers and usually have their own diesel based electrical generators so they can be used where there is no power on site. This makes them self-sufficient in operation and necessary under certain conditions. There are also some excellent smaller heat systems that are mobile and easily moved to site.
These systems are big powerful air dryers that are extremely effective and are capable of pumping huge volumes of warm dry air into buildings where there is significant water damage. They promote rapid water evaporation, however to make this happen efficiently and safely there also needs to be exit channels for the moist air to escape the damp building. So initially windows and doors need to be left open for ventilation after which standard dehumidifiers can be installed to take away the evaporated moisture and maintain a safe humidity level. A competent operator is required as rapid drying using heat can lead to material damage if not controlled and monitored correctly. These systems usually involve, but not always, installing large diameter trunking which delivers the warm dry air to the building. This can be an obstacle but invariably the advantage of these systems far out way the difficulties.
Due to the size and nature of Heat Based Drying Systems they are relatively expensive to hire and to run, but because they are also very effective they may be the best choice where there are large water damage areas needing dried out. Expect fees of around £1000 per day to deploy these systems. They can get the water damage clean-up process started far sooner so companies looking to get back into operation, after the flood damage clean-up and building restoration is complete, will probably consider this an acceptable cost compared to continued loss of business profits.
A respected building restoration company that provides a range of water removal and damp proofing services will have been appointed by the insurance company. Building Restoration companies normally have a range of water removal systems in their armoury to use as circumstances dictate.
Paradigm Reinstatements is one of the leading specialist building restoration companies in the UK. They are regularly appointed by several of the UK’s leading insurance companies to deal with dampness in buildings, removal of water and drying buildings before also providing building reinstatement services.
