Water in the Carpet Pad – It’s What’s Left That Matters
Purofirst
Water Intrusion—it's not how much you remove, but what you leave behind. Beyond rapid response to a water intrusion is the need for maximum extraction of water. Extraction involves removing standing, pooled, and migrating water as quickly as possible from hard surfaces, carpet, and other textiles.
By rapidly removing water, it has less time to seek dry surfaces and subsurfaces, and less time to absorb into porous hygroscopic (water loving) materials. Water that is standing or pooled, as well as absorbed water is evaporating into the airspace at different rates. This evaporation increases relative humidity that directly relates to a damaging rise in the specific humidity and vapor pressure. This rise in vapor pressure creates tremendous secondary damage when the water vapor in the air absorbs into hygroscopic materials causing swelling (i.e. cabinets) or condensation on surfaces that supports mold growth.
Secondary damages are damages that occur after the initial water intrusion and immediate damage by the water. The value of the initial and continual extraction of water from hard surfaces and carpet until only a damp phase is encountered is crucial to reducing secondary damages.
To support the importance of extraction, independent tests were enlisted to evaluate which extraction tool connected to the same vacuum extractor removed the most water. The carpets used were 24 oz. 100% Nylon Saxony over 7/16-bonded urethane pad. Those that used the conventional carpet cleaning wand with six passes removed 42% of the water from the carpet and pad.
That means that 58% of the water was left behind. In 100 square yards of flooded carpet, water remaining after extraction measured 203 gallons. It is evident that the carpet wand was not designed to extract water from flooded carpet and pad. Unfortunately, too many companies still rely on that method for extraction. Leaving that much water behind to be evaporated required more equipment and more time. Also tested were other extraction tools that were more efficient than the standard wand for removing water from flooded carpets and pad.
Water Claws removed between 75-81% of the water, which equates to about 53- 65 gallons of water still left in 100 square yards of carpet. The total time required to dry structure and content was decreased due to less water left in the carpet alone. The self-propelled extractors realized the greatest water removal percentages.
Extraction involves removing standing, pooled, and migrating water as quickly as possible from hard surfaces, carpet, and other textiles.
Both manufacturers of self-propelled units tested removed between 87-92% of the absorbed water from the carpet and pad leaving only 28-43 gallons of water in 100 square yards.
Those companies utilizing dehumidification equipment that removes 13-14 gallons of water per day based upon the approximate water left should take around three to four days to dry 100 square yards of carpeted area. This of course does not take into account the absorbed water left in structural materials. The drying time line is extended if hardwood floors or other Class 4 drying materials are encountered. Class 4 materials are defined as those materials that resist drying based on their construction and permeance factors.
Technicians extracting water must take their time and maximize extraction as much as possible. In the past, their haste to set up fans and dehumidifiers left behind too much water that caused drying to take ten to fifteen days.
Leaving behind as little water as possible in carpeted areas translates into less water absorbed and less water evaporating raising the humidity. If the humidity elevation can be minimized and controlled, less dehumidification equipment will be required for less time. Less time required to dry 100 square yards of carpet is a convenience to all.
We must remember how important rapid response is to the success of the above figures. Water that absorbs into structural materials such as plywood and wood framing cannot be extracted—only evaporated. The variable in approximating drying times is enormously affected by how long the water has to take advantage of this situation.
Utilizing correct water extraction methods can potentially save insurance companies billions of dollars. Contact your local Purofirst office to take advantage of maximum water extraction and quick dry times.
Mitigation vs. Restoration
Purofirst
Over the years there has been an abundance of opinions and non-truths involving property damage and restoration procedures. Here are a few of the most commonly expressed misconceptions:
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General Statement: "It is less expensive to replace rather than to salvage."
Cleaning Misconception: "If you get your carpets cleaned, they will get dirty faster."
Water Damage Misconception: "Once the carpet is dry, that noisy equipment needs to be re-moved."
Fire Damage Misconceptions: (1) "There's no rush to process the smoke cleanup; the damage is already done." (2) "Once a building has a fire, it will always smell like smoke."
Water Damaged Structure Misconception: "Don't worry about the wet walls; they will dry on their own.”
A professional restoration technician will prioritize mitigation over restoration making sure that the damage cost is not escalated. Mitigation will stop further damage and reduce the loss. Restoration repairs or attempts to put the damaged items back to a pre-loss condition are usually less critical but important and must be done quickly. Mitigation needs to be accomplished within twenty four hours of the loss for ultimate results. Every delay will further complicate or devalue the mitigation effort.
Cleaning is a mitigation process that yields excellent results at a very cost-effective price. Cleaning an item is a less expensive alternative compared to replacing it. When smoke is not cleaned from delicate fabrics and surfaces and secondary damage occurs, replacement can and has been the only option.
Hundreds of dollars of cleaning can become thousands of dollars of replacement due to delayed action.
Today a restoration professional will be able to effectively clean and remove contaminates as a result of a loss. The old concept about carpets getting dirty faster was due to ineffective shampooing techniques that left soap residue in the carpet that, in fact, did rapidly attract soil. A professional restoration company will provide a cleaning process that will flush and rinse the carpet to prevent this from occurring.
The greatest failure in any water damage drying scenario would be in removing the drying equipment before everything is dry to the "dry standard." The dry standard describes the moisture content of the affected material in normal or ambient conditions.
A professional restoration firm will utilize testing and measuring equipment to determine that the moisture content has been returned to normal standards. Ineffective drying of the structure can result in a small water loss turning into a multi-thousand dollar mold claim. Using the carpet or cushion to determine dryness is a gross misrepresentation of whether the structure is dry or not, and one that cannot be easily defended if litigation follows. Meters and sensors are used to document and record data that supports and justifies the equipment usage and when the equipment may safely be removed. That is paramount to accomplish the end result, which is a totally dry structure. Carpet and cushion will repeatedly dry quicker than the structure.
Stories also abound about smoke-damaged restoration that has failed usually if odor remains or items don't restore. People fail to realize that the residue as a result of products of incomplete combustion is acidic in nature, and far more damaging to everything it comes in contact with especially compared to normal outdoor or environmental dirt or dust. Prompt cleaning action can reduce losses if this acid is removed or neutralized. Restoration for smoke odor has to be thorough and is more complicated than turning on any one machine to have satisfactory results. Guaranteed smoke odor removal means all contaminated areas need to be cleaned, deodorized, and possibly sealed (where applicable) as well as neutralization of all odor molecules whether airborne or absorbed.
Successful mitigation or restoration, whichever is required, is performed by specialists that do not endorse or repeat the erroneous theories and mistakes of the past. Professional restoration firms are specialists that are set apart by the state-of-the-art technical training they receive both initially and on a continual basis.
When an emergency property loss arises, contact your local Purofirst office for immediate mitigation and restoration services.
Water in the Carpet Pad
Mitigation vs. Restoration
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