Additional water and moisture inside a water damage property will significantly contribute to making the indoor environment extremely unhealthy. The occupants of the indoor space will be subject to increased health risks due to the water damage. For those who are prone to asthma or have respiratory issues being inside a water damaged property can lead to adverse side effects. The sooner a water damaged property is cleaned, dried and restored the better.

When top down drying, it is important to remove as much water and moisture from the carpet and underlay as possible. Time and care needs to be taken during the water extraction process to ensure as much moisture as possible is removed from the carpet underlay. If the carpet and underlay is not properly extracted and its left too wet, the entire top down drying process will be unsuccessful. The top down drying process will also take considerably longer to dry as there is no direct air flow getting to the underlay or to the sub-floor.

The key to minimising any water damage is to act fast and stop the source of the water damage straight away if possible. If a burst pipe is causing the water damage then locate the water mains to your property and turn the water of straight away. If water is entering your property via the ceiling due to heavy rain and storm damage then place some buckets or containers underneath the area to catch the water. You can even put some towels down to minimise the spread and to help soak up the water.

The general rule of thumb is if the carpet has been left wet and untreated for more than 72 hours on a category 1 water loss it is not restorable. However, the recent standards now state that this interpretation is up to the restorer. Also, there are contributing factors that come into play. For example; the pre-existing condition of the carpet can play a large factor in this decision. If the carpet was already in a relatively contaminated state before the water damage event, then the restorer could well deem the carpet to be non-restorable, even after being wet for as little as 24 hours. So to sum up this consideration, if it is a clean water loss in normal conditions and it has been attended to by a qualified water damage restoration technician within a reasonable time frame, then yes – in this scenario the carpet would be restorable.

Thermal imaging works by detecting heat differentials on the materials within the property. For example, if water has flooded into a property via the plaster ceiling due to heavy rain, the area that has been water affected will give off a lower temperature than the unaffected area due to the increased moisture levels. This lower temperature will show up on the thermal imaging screen when being scanned, giving a distinct outline of the water affected area. As we continue to scan the property with the thermal imaging camera we can begin to map out the water damaged areas.

Heat Boost Bars

Heat boost bars are specialised heaters designed to have a standard air mover attached to one end to blow air through the heater as it heats up. Heat drying mats can be attached to the other end of the boost bar to effectively distribute the heat. Heat drying mats are extremely versatile and would typically be used to dry concrete, timber floors, parquetry flooring, carpet, gyprock walls and many other materials. There is also a vast array of specialised attachments available that can be attached to the boost bar to assist with structural drying.

Heat Boost Bar Attachments

There is a full range of specialised attachments available for the heat boost bar to aid with structural drying. These attachments fit to the end of the boost bar and can distribute the hot dry air in many different ways to suit the drying application at hand. These heat drying attachments add great versatility to the drying process and are extremely useful for structural drying in hard to access areas. Areas such as inside wall cavities, underneath benches and cabinetry, inside roof voids and ceiling spaces, underneath sub-floors – the applications are endless.

Heat Drying Mats

As explained above, the heat drying mats attach to the heat boost bar to evenly distribute the heat. These heat drying mats are made from a canvas like material and have a series of small holes in the bottom of them to allow the heat out to penetrate into the surface being dried. There are heat mats designed for drying both floors and walls and they come in various different sizes to suit a wide range of applications.

Drymatic II Heater

The Drymatic II is a heater that has the ability to exhaust the wet air out of the area that is being dried and vent dry air back into the same space. The Drymatic II recirculates this air whilst it is heating up the area that is being cycled through it. The Drymatic II works well in conjunction with the heat boost bars, and combined this equipment can heat up and dry a water damaged area very quickly. As with the heat boost bar, attachments can also be added to the Drymatic II to aid with structural drying.