SERVPRO Commercial Water Removal- Dehumidifiers

10/29/2020 (Permalink)

Commercial Water Removal - SERVPRO Dehumidifiers

Despite a push to digital, some record keeping must still be done on paper. These documents record valuable city and county information needed for tracing the history of a title, property boundaries, and other legal requirements.

Commercial water removal doesn't stop at pumps and vacuums. Once the standing water has been removed, it is just as important to remove any excess moisture from your property and the air around it. To do this, SERVPRO uses a series of dehumidifiers. This is a very safe way to pull moisture from plat books and other records kept by county offices and construction companies as well as the offices they are kept in.

The most common type we use is a refrigerant dehumidifier. It extracts moisture from the air by condensation. It operates by air flow forced through refrigerated coils. The condensed water is collected in a tray where it is either drained or pumped out of the machine.

Our SERVPRO technicians use this on job sites where the temperature is usually over 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the available power is limited due to local electrical service being down. It is especially effective on surfaces that are moderate to highly porous and permeable to air and water; carpet, carpet padding and drywall for example.

Another machine we use when the temperature is lower is the desiccant dehumidifier. Moisture is removed by air flow which passes over silica gel. This substance attracts and captures air vapor very effectively. The condensed water is disposed of by heating it and venting it outside of the business structure.

This method is preferred for jobs where the temperature is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the power supply is unlimited. It is particularly useful for dense materials which have low permeability and porosity, hardwood floors, and wall framing for example.

If the structure has a large amount of porous and dense materials each, both types of dehumidifiers may be used. Both methods are good for drying out title records and other paper documents without damaging them.