James Cummings is the general manager of Servpro of Ahwatukee & South Tempe in Arizona, a branch of Servpro, the national fire and water cleanup and restoration company. Here, he explains how emergency cleanup and restoration specialists use a study called psychrometrics to create the proper atmosphere for efficient drying after your home has suffered from water damage. He also describes the tools the professionals use.
Psychrometrics is the study of the relationship between air, humidity, and temperature, and their effect on various materials. Psychrometrics deals with the thermodynamic properties of air and water vapor mixtures, which are properties such as temperature, humidity, vapor pressure, and dew point. Servpro franchise professionals measure these properties to evaluate air conditions in your home, enabling them to better analyze and manage conditions during the drying process and to create the proper atmosphere for efficient drying.
The objective of drying is to minimize the amount of time materials spend in an abnormally wet state. This time can be minimized by better understanding the forces that move moisture through materials, evaporate it from damp surfaces, and prevent it from absorbing into other drier materials. Psychrometrics is one key to understanding these forces.
Water can damage materials in two ways — by absorption through direct contact and by absorption of moisture from the air. Measuring the moisture content of the air is critical to the drying process. Restoration professionals must establish an environment favorable for drying. The professional must also understand how to manipulate temperature and humidity levels to produce the ideal drying conditions without causing more damage through improper drying processes.
Detection equipment
With this equipment, cleanup and restoration professionals locate the areas of your home affected by water and define the extent to which the structure and contents have absorbed moisture. Moisture detection devices also verify that an environment has been dried thoroughly. Types include:
Moisture sensors detect moisture in carpets, baseboards, and walls.
Moisture meters determine the actual moisture content of various materials. The moisture tester provides accurate moisture readings that enable the professional to monitor the drying process.
Thermohygrometers measure both temperature and relative humidity. Capturing these two readings, a professional using a psychrometric chart can calculate the specific humidity, dew point, and vapor pressure of the air in your home.
