Water Damage Restoration - The Tools Of The Trade

Water damage restoration is not a job for everybody. It requires the proper training, enough experience, and the right tools to ensure the safety both of the one performing the restoration and the item to be restored.

There are, however those who simply cannot afford the cost of hiring a water damage restoration expert but who have the basic knowledge needed to salvage whatever is left of a recent flooding. These people are also assumed to have enough money to spend on rental on the right tools.

This article is geared towards providing ample information as to what tools may be available for rental.

Air movers – Air movers are arguably the most important equipment for water damage restoration, especially after the onslaught of a flood. These are high volume blowers with high velocity fans, used to dry up carpets and floors quickly. The importance of a quick dry solution after a flood cannot be overemphasized. The longer it will take for your possessions to dry, the higher is the risk of permanent damage.

Air scrubbers – These are used to clean the air from spores of molds and mildew.

Dehumidifiers – As the name implies, dehumidifiers reduce the humidity in the air. This prevents the buildup of molds and mildew and helps speed up the drying process. Dehumidifiers are best used with blowers to quickly dry the surroundings.

Flood extractors – Water damage restoration proper can never get started if there is still standing water in the house. Flood extractors can remove huge amounts of water in a short period of time. A certain flood extractor can remove water at a rate of 70 gallons per minute

Infrared Thermal Imaging Camera – This is used in a pre-water damage restoration stage. In fact, this is used before anybody enters the water damaged site. This device allows the user to monitor the conditions of the building from the outside by simply producing thermal images. This can be very useful if the house has been rendered structurally unstable by excessive flooding.

Respirator kits – When water is left to stay for more than 24 hours especially in an enclosed structure such as a house, mold and mildew growth is almost sure to ensue. Mold and mildew spores can be very hazardous to humans. Hence, respirator kits are one of the essential tools if safety is given primary concern. Some of these kits are also designed to prevent the wearer from inhaling deadly fumes if present.

Moisture meter – This is an indispensable monitoring tool used by water damage restoration professionals. It allows the user to trace the source of moisture by detecting moisture content in subfloors, roofs, ceilings, paint, wallpaper, etc. Moisture detection and monitoring helps in conducting an efficient water damage restoration process as it gives the user the information to decide where to concentrate the drying efforts.

Wall Injection Drying Systems – It is usually very inconvenient and time consuming to remove wall after wall, board after board just to dry subfloorings, internal parts of double walls and other hard-to-reach areas. This system is the solution to that problem. It allows for the insertion of injectors into inaccessible areas.