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Disaster Restoration Systems | Hardwood Floor Drying
Disaster Restoration Systems has the specialized training and experience to dry your water damaged wood floors. Wood flooring is one of the most challenging materials to dry...don't trust their restoration to just anybody. Restore with Dry Hero!
Restore Your Hardwood Floor with Confidence! Call 1.888.DRYHERO (888-379-4376) In Lincoln call 438-2379
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HARDWOOD FLOOR DRYING AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY Wood flooring is slow to react to moisture. By the time hardwood starts cupping or warping, it's already been wet for 24 hours or longer. The longer wood flooring sits wet, the greater the damage, both visible and hidden. Additionally, when exposed to moisture, the dense hardwood can maintain elevated moisture levels for weeks or even months. We NEVER recommend naturally or air-drying water damaged wood flooring. It simply isn't fast enough. Instead, we advise our clients to professionally dry their flooring systems to best control and manage the possibility of fungal growth. |
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HARDWOOD FLOOR DRYING IS A SCIENCE Due to the ultra-low porosity the wood floor's finish, it's virtually impossible to dry the floor from the top with just fans and dehumidifiers. The only way to quickly dry hardwood flooring is by moving high volumes of warm, dry air through the flutes on the underside of the plank. A high pressure vacuum mat system is the only way to do this. These specialty drying systems can dry most wood floors in a matter of days instead of weeks or even months. It is not possible to dry hardwood flooring by simply using air movers and dehumidifiers. Call us for a free analysis and inspection of your hardwood flooring system. |
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WHAT LIES BENEATH YOUR WATER DAMAGED WOOD FLOOR? It wasn’t that long ago that water damaged wood floors were left to dry on their own. The training and equipment didn’t exist to effectively dry them. As a result, it took the flooring anywhere from two to five months to return to a normal moisture level. Refinishing the floors usually completed the process. That was before we all got hit with the panic and expense of mold remediation. The pendulum swung the other way and restorers started tearing out anything that got wet. After extensive industry research and product development, quickly and thoroughly drying wood flooring became a reality. But is the expense of drying a wood floor instead of letting it dry naturally really worth it? Let’s look beneath the surface. |
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THE BIO-LAYER If you’ve ever had the pleasure of removing wood plank flooring, you know that it can be pretty dusty underneath. The subfloor was usually dirty before the flooring was even installed. Add to that years or decades of extremely fine dust filtering its way through the flooring and you have what’s known as a "bio-layer". This is a layer of all things organic. Skin cells, pet dander, dust mites (and their feces), mold spores, pollen, hair, bacteria, aphids, cellulose, insect feces, lint, carbon particles and yeast. In fact, it’s estimated that up to 70% of household dust is made of discarded skin cells (all yours, I’m sure)! Wood can hold close to 40% of it’s weight in moisture (i.e. 40% moisture content). Wood is dense and absorbs moisture very slowly. Good news, right? Unfortunately, it releases it even more slowly. Add to that a layer of finish on the top and subflooring with felt paper beneath and wood floors can remain wet for a long, long time. Can you see where this is going? You have an organic food source. Moisture content above 16% for weeks or months. Warm temperature. Minimal air flow. That’s right! You’ve got ideal growing conditions for mold beneath your wood flooring. Does this mean that every wood floor that gets wet will have mold growth? Absolutely not. But these conditions are about as good as it gets for microbial growth. |
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MANAGING THE RISK In the end, it comes down to managing the risk. Restoration professionals have a duty to preserve the structure and minimize the potential for mold growth. Floor drying systems may or may not save the wood flooring, but they will quickly return the structure to a safe moisture level. The cost of quickly drying water damaged flooring is a fraction of the cost of mold remediation and flooring replacement. Something that benefits all interested parties.
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HydroLab Trained & Certified | IICRC Certified | Dewald Drying Institute Certified | Vortex Drying Certified