Doing drying up properly
April 1st 2008

When moisture intrudes, the key is to address the three factors of humidity, airflow and

temperature says Brandon Burton of Dri-Eaz

Water and moisture can cause severe physical damage to

building contents and when it sits for too long,mould and

mildew can form and indoor air quality can also suffer.The

longer high levels of moisture remain within an environment, the

greater the potential threat to health and

safety of building occupants.The bottom line:

the faster an area is dried, the lower the

potential for secondary problems. It might

seem like a good idea to quickly address the

problem by setting up convenience fans,

opening windows or turning up the heat on

the HVAC system. Unfortunately, this may

create more problems that it solves.

The key to effective drying is to focus on

creating rapid evaporation, which can easily be

accomplished by adding energy to the water and by facilitating the

removal of moisture from the air.To do so, three environmental factors

should be addressed: humidity (moisture in the air), airflow (promotes

evaporation and circulation) and temperature (energy-builder).

The amount of moisture in air affects the amount of moisture in

materials. Humidity also influences the rate at which materials will

gain or lose their moisture.Decreasing humidity in an environment

will create an "absence" of moisture in the air, which will in turn

promote evaporation. Dri-Eaz offers a range of dehumidifiers in

both large and small sizes and water removal capacities, all

designed to deliver maximum performance while remaining highly

portable.

Using airmovers to direct airflow across a wet

surface helps promote evaporation ensuring warm,

dry air created by other drying equipment (eg

dehumidifiers) is quickly and continuously placed

into contact with wet materials.Dri-Eaz can provide

a variety of highly efficient airmovers, including

specialised dryers that offer face-down or angled

positions for fast drying of carpets or walls.

High temperatures increase drying efficiency

speeding up evaporation and dehumidification.

Heat can be added with a variety of equipment, including large

mobile heaters or smaller portable environmental control units that

also dehumidify (such as the EB1400 from Dri-Eaz).

The three-factor strategy for drying is fairly straightforward: control

humidity, add airflow and increase temperature to get the highest

rate of evaporation and the most

thorough drying success.

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