Restoration companies need the right stuff

Last week, I received a phone call from Mary Ann, who lives near Clark Fork. She said a pipe had broken in her home. Her insurance company sent out a restoration company from Coeur d'Alene to address the problem.

When they arrived, they used wet vacuums to extract the water, then they installed several small dehumidifiers and fans to finish off the drying process, according to Mary Ann. After four days, they returned and said her home was dry and removed the equipment. The reason she called was because her home was starting to smell and some of her carpets felt damp. I took down her address and told her I could be there within two hours.

When I arrived at Mary Ann's home, she greeted me and escorted me and my apprentice to the area that had the problem. On entering the home, there was a very distinctive smell of high humidity and an odor of fungal growth. I took out my meters and started to take psychometric readings. The temperature in her home was 73 degrees and a humidity of 64 percent, which made the grains of moisture per pound of air was 77.05. Her sub-floor measured 29 percent moisture content (very wet). I called her insurance adjuster and explained the problem. Mary Ann told him that she did not want that company to return for a second chance. To make a long story very short, we dried her home to the manufacturer's recommended levels within four days and took care of the odor problem.

The reason I bring up this issue is because there is a true science behind drying homes that have been flooded. Competent restoration companies use psychometric readings to determine how wet the environment is and then determine what type of equipment is needed to effectively dry the home.

In the restoration business, the use of proper equipment is essential. For example, proper extraction removes water 1,200 faster than dehumidification. A typical extractor will pull 20 to 25 gallons of water per minute, while your best dehumidifier will only pull 30 gallons a day.

In a 1,400-square-foot home, after proper extraction, the restorer leaves above 1 gallon of water for every yard of carpet, which equals to about 233 gallons of water to be removed by dehumidifiers. If small dehumidifiers are used, it could take hundreds of hours to dry the home. Competent restoration companies will use extraction and focus drying (heat, high pressure air movement and dehumidification) to dry a flooded environment. The company should also treat the area to prevent fungal growth.

If you would like to share a cleaning idea or concept with the reading audience, call Ed at NWES (255-2266) or send them to the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., Sandpoint, Idaho 83864; Attn: What Would Ed Do?

Copy written by Edmond E. Madan, certified forensic, fire, flood, mold inspection and remediation contractor. Ed is the chief executive officer of Northwest Executive and Environmental Services, LLC.