When water damage occurs, it is essential to take immediate action. Unfortunately, many times no action is taken due to cost, business interruption or the feeling that the building will dry on its own. But unless such conditions are quickly and properly corrected, water can cause irreparable damage, ruin contents such as vital records, disrupt operations, displace tenants, negatively impact rental income and result in total loss or costly repairs. Also, moisture will feed mold growth, an especially onerous threat to which no building is immune.

Plan in Advance of Disaster

Water intrusion often occurs without warning. For example, numerous buildings in mid-Atlantic states were flooded in September 2003 during Hurricane Isabel. Water also can spew unsuspectingly in the middle of the night, as it did when an air handler water coil failed on an upper floor of a building in Philadelphia, inundating the walls with water on every floor below and finally collecting in the basement. In another case, two million gallons of water from a burst pipe poured into a huge basement storage area at a government record center near Toronto, submerging many records containers. In all those instances, virtually nothing could have been done to avert the disaster. Therefore, the best “insurance” to deal with in a water recovery situation is to plan in advance of an occurrence by creating a disaster recovery plan that defines and prioritizes the recovery and restoration of areas within a facility and also details immediate next steps. This type of plan also designates the professional disaster restoration services provider to be summoned immediately when an incident occurs.

Pre-selecting the service provider assures that building owners and managers will have a “partner” in the reclamation process. There will be no learning curve during an emergency because the firm already will be familiar with the structure and the plan. It then can move rapidly to begin recovery work within the first 24 hours – a critical parameter to minimize the effects of water.

Moisture Invades Materials

Moisture moves through materials as a liquid or as a vapor. It moves as a liquid by capillary action. If sufficient water is available, it will be drawn in and eventually fill all pores. The smaller the pore size, the greater will be the capillary force and the deeper the water will wick into a material. Water also moves in materials as a vapor through diffusion. Diffusion is vapor moving through materials due to differences in vapor pressure. So, if there is a difference in vapor pressure between the inside and outside of materials, then moisture is going to move toward the lower humidity level.

Water Removal

When water intrusion occurs, taking immediate action will stabilize the environment, mitigate loss and preserve good indoor air quality. Doing so also will maximize recovery of materials and files, minimize replacement costs and control mold risks. A first step should include bringing in equipment to extract water from the structure. In preparing for rapid drying, it also is important to quickly identify totaled contents and remove them from the building.

The most efficient, productive and reliable method of removing moisture is to dry the air using dehumidification systems specifically engineered for that purpose, and using desiccant dehumidifiers is the proven method for aggressive drying when there has been water intrusion. The use of desiccant dehumidification systems has grown in popularity as the most effective water abatement technology due to their ability to create low relative humidity and dew point temperatures inside a structure. Unlike cooling-based dehumidifiers, which cool the air to condense moisture and then draw it away, desiccants attract moisture molecules directly from the air and release them into an exhaust air stream. Desiccants can attract and hold from 10 to more than 10,000 percent of their dry weight in water vapor. They are very effective in removing moisture from the air at low humidity levels and do not freeze when operated at low temperatures.

The essential characteristic of desiccants is low surface vapor pressure. A cool, dry desiccant can attract moisture from the air because its surface vapor pressure is low. When the desiccant becomes wet and hot, creating high surface vapor pressure, it will give off vapor to the surrounding air. Vapor moves from the air to the desiccant and back again, depending on the vapor pressure differences.

Desiccant dehumidifiers use the changing vapor pressures to dry air continuously in a repeating cycle, as seen in the diagram. In the cycle’s first stage, when the desiccant has a low surface vapor pressure, the desiccant picks up moisture from the air being introduced into the building. In the second stage, the saturated desiccant is taken out of the moist air and heated so moisture moves off the surface to the new airstream. This is referred to as the reactivation air-stream. The desiccant is now dry but still has high vapor pressure due to its heat content and cannot collect moisture. In the third stage, cool air is introduced to return the desiccant to its dry, cool level so it can begin its moisture collection cycle again.

Document Recovery

One of the greatest threats of water infiltration into a building is often overlooked: the potentially irreparable damage to paper documents and microfiche, film and diskette files that become wet, soaked or soiled. Much of it, such as medical records, legal documents and financial information, may be irreplaceable.

Time is an enemy to successful document recovery. Any delay in the decision to dry the materials can result in permanent loss. Inks can break down, making the text illegible. Dirt and grime can penetrate the paper. Mold and mildew will grow quickly on water-soaked documents. Drying must be employed as soon as possible. Otherwise, the microbiological contamination, and the associated objectionable odors, will continue, making restoration unlikely.

Most times, damaged document drying is completed offsite, away from the affected structure. In some cases, however, an organization will require that documents be dried at their site. Confidential files, information needed on a regular basis or legal requirements all may dictate that situation. In such cases, an onsite drying facility is established on site.

The recovery process to dry and clean documents begins with these steps:

• Freezing: It order to halt deterioration, it is essential that documents be frozen within 48 hours. Usually, freezer-equipped truck trailers or freezer warehouses are used for this stage. The frozen materials can be stored until the professional drying procedure begins.
• Inventory and sorting: While the documents are frozen, decisions can be made regarding which to dry and clean and which to discard; work can begin to prune unwanted materials. Loose documents and files stored in cabinets are packed into boxes and labeled to identify contents.
• Drying: Depending upon the type and extent of damage, and the materials, different treatments may be recommended.

There are two primary methods used to dry documents – desiccant drying and vacuum freeze-drying. In desiccant drying, the frozen documents are removed from the packing cases and placed on racks and shelves in a large, vault-like room. Applying desiccant dehumidification, the room atmosphere is maintained at about 68 degrees Fahrenheit and 12 percent humidity. Vacuum freeze-drying is used in cases where the documents may tend to warp or distort during desiccant drying, such as books or journals, although files and papers can be dried as well using this method. In such cases, it is important to save not only the paper, but also the integrity of the binding. The materials are placed in an airtight chamber into which negative vacuum pressure is induced. As a function of physics, moisture in the documents turns into a gaseous state. The “gas” is expelled from the chamber, where it is condensed into liquid, which is aborted. As a result, the documents go from the frozen state to being dry without ever becoming re-liquefied. This process is known as sublimation.

After drying of documents is completed, they are cleaned before they are assembled into new boxes, re-labeled according to the inventory and delivered to the owner.

Choosing the Right Provider

Proper water abatement and recovery operations require professional assistance. Following is a list of services that a professional restoration company must be able to provide:

• Consulting: The firm quantifies the damage, determines what can be saved, recommends the equipment and process, and confirms results through independent testing.
• Project management: The company has the ability to quickly assemble a cohesive work team, provide rapid emergency response time, provide a turnkey operation for recovery and restoration and guaranteed results.
• Dehumidification and drying: Through removal of standing water and excess moisture, the firm has the ability to reduce material loss, to limit indoor air quality problems and to speed return to occupancy and operation of the affected business. Use a firm that utilizes its own desiccant drying systems versus a company that leases or subcontracts the drying.
• Sanitizing and disinfecting: By cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting interior surfaces, the provider eliminates contamination from molds, bacteria, mildew and potential biological hazards.
• Electronic equipment restoration: In many cases, it is possible to clean and restore hi-tech components following exposure to water damage.
• Preservation of large-scale production equipment: Contamination removal preserves operating equipment such as printing and hydraulic presses.
• Document and media restoration: Cleaning, sanitizing, deodorizing and drying restores paper records and electronic media storage such as magnetic reels and floppy disks.
• HVAC and mechanical systems cleaning: Cleaning and deodorizing of the interior duct system, in-line equipment and mechanical unit to include: interior housing, coils, heat exchangers, filter banks and other components.
• Smoke and water decontamination: Residue from damage sources such as fire, flood and storms is removed.
• Corrosion control: Metal surfaces are cleaned and treated to prevent further damage from corrosion.
• Controlled demolition: Surfaces that will not respond to restoration efforts in a cost-effective way are removed to expose hidden cavities and to expedite the recovery process or to remove sources of odor.

The assessment process should include reviewing experience, reputation and references. The latter can be the most useful. As a guideline, the following questions, asked of reference sources, will provide valuable insight:

• What was your problem, and what results did the restoration service achieve?
• Did the service provider present a written scope of work and budget?
• Did they quantify the damage in order to limit the recovery process to the affected areas of the structure?
• Do they guarantee their work?
• Do they provide turnkey service, ranging from consulting and engineering to drying and restoration?
• What was their response time to you?
• Do they have a regional office in your area?
• Were they on budget?
• Were you pleased with them, and would you use their services again?
• Would you recommend them to work with us?