Technicians Apply Thermodynamics To Water Removal In Your Folsom Area Home

10/30/2019 (Permalink)

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Nature itself seeks equilibrium after a flood occurs in your Folsom home – this is the second law of thermodynamics. While that statement may sound complicated, all you need to do is understand a few basic rules to make removing water a less complicated task.

Anyone can put these laws into practice when applying them to water removal on your Folsom area property. Remember, the air in the environment holds less moisture than wet materials, making outside air a significant contributor to drying practices used by technicians performing your restoration. 

• Wet goes to Dry.
• Hot goes to Cold.
• High Pressure goes to Low Pressure.

Think about these laws in terms of drying different contents or structural components in your home. If the air itself is dryer than the materials, as wet goes to dry, moisture moves naturally from wet contents into drier air. 

Technicians from SERVPRO calculate thirst by comparing the gross primary productivity (GPP) in the air to the Relative Humidity (RH) level to GPP average the air could hold if fully saturated (100% RH). The greater the difference, the higher the amount of thirst, the higher the rate at which evaporation may occur. Sounds technical? It is, but very necessary for successful drying of a room without causing “inside rain.” Dehumidifiers are a SERVPRO tech’s best friends.

Moisture Content: This is the percentage of moisture in materials compared to the weight of the material when completely dry (oven-dried). Here we find what percentage of the material contains moisture. 

Example – If a piece of wet wood has a 10% moisture content reading, 10 pounds of water should be present in 100 pounds of wood. 

The moisture meters used by SERVPRO technicians also include a relative scale. Because we dry more than just wood, we use a wood moisture equivalent to determine moisture content levels when dealing with different materials found in your home. 

Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC): Is the condition of a material, after stabilizing moisture content compared to the relative humidity or temperature of the surrounding air. 

Example - A professional carpenter uses EMC in their daily lives, allowing materials to sit within a structure, up to 2wks, before installation. It allows wood an opportunity to normalize, preventing shrinkage, or expansion after installation. 

SERVPRO technicians use these methods every day, performing a variety of water removal and drying services to ensure equilibrium in several materials found in your home after a flood. For example, with soaked hardwood flooring boards, a monitored and consistent drying rate is needed to prevent splitting or cracking. Sometimes, slower is better. 

Give our team at SERVPRO of Atlantic City / Hamilton / Hammonton a call for additional information or to schedule water removal in your property today. (609) 965-0885

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