Captiva, Florida Water Damage

The function of air flow in the Captiva drying process

Whether drying a large scale commercial job or drying the walls between a home garage and the living space; air movement and reduced relative humidity are required.

Base trim should be removed to accomplish fast and complete drying of walls in homes. Newer homes also have drywall hung ¾ inch off the floor to provide an air space so that:

- In a small Captiva flood the drywall will not wet unless the water wicks through the base trim. When that trim is plastic the drywall is protected from indirect wicking. When the base trim is

wood it takes time to wick up to the drywall.

- When drying wet drywall the ¾ inch air space allows fans to circulate dehumidified air to the back side of the drywall for drying.

When there is no opening to get air movement to the back of the drywall or the Captiva wet materials are overhead; an access hole should be cut in the drywall to allow air movement to the back of Captiva wet materials. In situations where the walls cannot be cut, such as tiled walls of faux painting, small holes can be drilled in the wall where they will be covered by the base trim when it is reinstalled. Specialty equipment called “Inject a Dry” uses a manifold fed by air movers and connects to many flexible tubes to push dry air to the back of the Captiva wet material surface.

(more…)