Measure Twice, Dry Once
Restoring Your Moisture Measurement Practices
Published with permission from Extech Instruments
When is a dishwasher like a hurricane? When it causes severe water damage to a home or business. It’s not much of a punchline, but the fact is, water damage from an almost limitless number of sources is no laughing matter.
It goes without saying that a Category 2 hurricane in the Florida panhandle can leave the interior of a building soaking wet, saturating the drywall and insulation with high levels of moisture. But excessive water damage can also be brought about by causes the typical homeowner would not expect. If a water supply hose ruptures or accidentally comes off a dishwasher while a family is away for a week-long vacation, the result can be hundreds of gallons of water spread throughout the home. Or consider the problem of pipes that burst from freezing, a phenomenon residents of the Northeast United States are painfully familiar with. Even if you’re away for just a few hours, the damage left behind can be overwhelming.
Many homes that have been damaged by fire may well have an equal or greater amount of damage from the water used to extinguish the flames. A home that has not been completely gutted by the fire might still require demolition or substantial rebuilding from the associated water destruction.
“Breaking the Mold”
In all these cases, the task is clear: get the water out of the structure as quickly as possible. This mandate forms the mission of the disaster restoration market: whether it’s from hurricanes, floods, fires, other natural disasters, or simple appliance malfunction, water intrusion in a building – either residential or commercial – must be eliminated quickly and completely. If not, the critical concern is mold growth. There is an approximately three- to four-day window during which water must be removed from the structure; if this isn’t accomplished, mold formation is extremely likely.
Mold, as most restoration professionals know, is not just a minor nuisance; it poses a serious health risk, to the residents of a home or employees at a business. Plus, once mold growth starts to take place, the next step is remediation, an expensive and time-consuming process. If no action is taken, there is also the possibility of insect infestation, given that these unwelcome guests tend to thrive in wet, dark environments.
While a three- to four-day window is a general guideline, it is clear that the sooner the moisture is removed from the structure, the better. The first step in this process is to measure the amount of water throughout the various areas of the building. Accurate moisture readings are critical, not only at the start of the process to obtain a baseline measurement, but as the work progresses to ensure that the moisture-removal efforts are effective.
If moisture readings are inaccurate or false however, this can effectively extend the time it takes to dry the structure. If a moisture meter indicates that the walls are dry when they are not, the restoration contractor performing the moisture removal will assume the structure to be dry and remove their commercial dehumidifiers, air movers, and other specialized devices. This means that the contractor might be leaving behind a structure that will be susceptible to mold formation and/or insect infestation. Besides the obvious health risks to the occupants, there may also be legal issues to deal with down the line. For example, if a homeowner’s child becomes ill because of mold left behind, the restoration contractor could potentially be held liable in a lawsuit.
Effective drying is critical but using tools that measure and document your drying efforts is essential. If issues such as mold ever arise, you’ll be able to step up with documentation that quantifies and records your efforts.
No Calm After the Storm
While water damage can be generated by a variety of undesirable occurrences, severe weather conditions (hurricanes, floods, etc.) can be make the biggest impact. Not only does it require an immediate and effective response, it also challenges restoration providers with the sheer number of damaged structures needing attention.
A Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane may break windows and damage roofs, allowing water to rush in. There is substantial water damage which would require immediate attention. These are the storms in which restoration contractors are in the greatest demand.
Restorations professionals need to think strategically in such a scenario. After a severe weather event, getting the job done right the first time means you can move on to help as many affected homeowners and businesses as possible.
Work Quickly and Effectively
When contractors are under this kind of pressure, it’s easy to rush from job to job but a more effective restoration strategy depends on having the right tools not only to dry out a structure but also to measure and document that it is successfully dried out. Yes, speed is important but a quality job can’t be rushed. Using tools to monitor the moisture of building materials as well as relative humidity in a structure are essential to determining when a job is really complete.
Victims of these hurricanes are often not fully prepared for the damage these powerful storms can inflict, but restoration companies are ready to respond quickly and help people get back into their homes. In a way, a restoration contractor can be a homeowner’s best friend before and after such a difficult time. For example, a restoration firm monitoring a storm will send trucks full of drying equipment to that location in advance of the storm, ready to respond, restore, and help families recover.
Behind the Scenes
The restoration distributors are also vital to the operations of the restoration companies and require similar preparations. Distributors will send truckloads of instruments, dehumidifiers, air movers, and other equipment to the site. Even distributors that don’t actually travel to the storm site will stock their warehouses with pallets full of this equipment in anticipation of an active storm season. During peak hurricane season, it’s not unusual for a restoration company, anticipating a significant weather event, will place an order for 100 dehumidifiers and need them shipped within hours.
“Measure Twice, Dry Once”
Moisture readings play a critical role at the start of a job to assess the extent of damage and at the end, validating dryness and signaling when a job is truly complete. For most restoration contractors, moisture meters are responsible for this valuable metric, indicating whether or not materials have dried out below the surface. Moisture meters that can extend their measuring capabilities to a variety of moisture and humidity related factors can practically paint an accurate picture of a site’s condition.
If a contractor’s meters are giving false readings however, the entire frame of reference for dryness is affected. As a result, a contractor can leave a site before it’s completely dry, or stay on when he could have moved on to another job. The issue of inaccurate or inconsistent readings is largely a function of the quality and accuracy of the moisture meter but human error and the skill of the technician play a role as well.
Here’s another factor to keep in mind: moisture meters are often used in very harsh environments, which takes a toll on even the sturdiest tools. Plus, they get handled roughly by technicians, who toss them into toolboxes and sometimes leave them behind on job sites. This type of treatment can seriously affect the instruments’ calibration and cause them to give inaccurate readings.
As a result, some people, including professional contractors, will rely on basic inexpensive, low quality meters that might give inaccurate readings. With a wide range of meters available in the marketplace however, it is imperative to research and educate yourself about the best options available.
For high accuracy, high versatility moisture meters, test equipment maker Extech is fast becoming a sort of ‘go-to’ company in the restoration industry. Extech recently introduced several innovative moisture meters and the industry is apparently responding favorably: even in a down economy, sales of Extech’s restoration products are up 20 percent over 2008. This dramatic expansion of market presence is due largely to Extech’s instruments and kits that can be used by a single contractor treating a flooded basement, or a major restoration company called to restore a 10-story hotel.
Meters & IR Cameras: Complementary Technologies
Extech also leverages the infrared technology and expertise of its parent company, FLIR Systems, rolling out contractor kits that include both multi-function moisture meters and also infrared cameras. Collectively, Extech and FLIR offer a “total solution” approach to restoration.
For an actual picture of moisture conditions, more and more contractors are adopting thermal imaging cameras such as FLIR’s that display a thermal image indicating temperature conditions. Since moisture typically affects the temperature of a surface, wet areas are clearly delineated and drying is easier to monitor and verify. Infrared cameras are also useful in that they can provide an “at-a-glance” view of wet areas so that a contractor can then focus on a particular spot and get localized moisture readings with a meter. As the price of infrared cameras continues to drop into the price range of many contractors, the two technologies are increasingly being viewed as complementary offerings working hand in hand.
Accurate moisture meters and infrared cameras may not be the biggest tools hauled out of a truck when responding to a job, but they may be the most important. Without these tools, restoration contractors would be subject to the significant limitations of visual inspections and guesswork. For big and small jobs, it is essential to have a moisture measurement plan in place. From identifying prevalent moisture, to documenting drying efforts, having a plan that is simple to follow and easy to implement will pay off in the short term and long term.
Related Product Information
EXTECH
The most popular Extech meter is the Inspector Pro MO290, a pin/pinless meter with hygrometer function. It is capable of measuring relative humidity, air temperature, dew point, grains per pound (GPP), plus vapor pressure. The Inspector Pro also has a patented, built-in laser infrared (IR) thermometer not found in any other meter. The MO290 displays percent moisture of wood or material being tested along with either air temperature, GPP, or humidity. The pinless moisture sensor allows the user to monitor moisture in wood and other building materials with no surface damage. For accurate surface readings, the Inspector Pro MO290 also comes with an external pin probe.
The comprehensive MO290-RK1Extech Water Restoration Contractor Kit takes it one step further by adding infrared imaging. Along with the MO290 mentioned above, the kit includes the Extech i5 compact infrared camera, all in a hard carry case. The Extech i5 is an IR camera that is easy to use right out of the box, with features such as focus-free viewing and 80x80 pixel resolution.
The MO280-KW Water Damage Restoration Kit rounds out Extech’s selection by bringing together the MO280 Pinless Moisture Meter, MO210 Pocket Pin Moisture Meter, and the RH490 Precision Hygrometer. An assortment of specialized probes allows these devices to take measurements in subfloors, behind walls, as well as other hard-to-access locations.
FLIR
The FLIR b50 is part of FLIR’s family of affordable pistol-grip infrared cameras for building-related professions such as disaster restoration, weatherization, and HVACR. The FLIR b50 offers 140x140 pixel IR resolution coupled with a 2.3MP digital camera for IR images, standard images and picture-in-picture as well. The FLIR b50 features dew point and insulation alarms that alert restoration contractors to moisture-related anomalies.
