Air movers and dehumidifiers run until walls, floors and framing read dry in Champaign, Urbana and the county.
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Structural drying removes moisture from walls, floors, framing and insulation after water has been extracted, using air movers and dehumidifiers until measured readings reach the dry goal. Flood-wet walls and floors in Champaign and Urbana homes need equipment run until the readings fall. Champaign Water Damage Restoration takes calls 24/7.
Water that is out of sight is still in the building. After the standing water is removed, moisture stays in the framing, the subfloor, the insulation and the lower part of the walls, and it keeps moving toward the drier air in the room. Structural drying is the work of pulling that moisture out in a controlled way, so that the wood and the masonry return to their normal range and nothing rots, swells or grows mold while it dries.
The work is measured. A technician takes readings of moisture content in the wood, the drywall and the masonry, and it compares them with the readings from a dry area of the same building or with a dry goal set for the material. The equipment runs until the readings reach that goal on each check. The time it takes is set by the building and not by a fixed schedule.
In Champaign and Urbana, many older homes have plaster on wood lath, solid-sawn framing and crawl spaces or basements that hold moisture for longer. Those materials dry more slowly than modern drywall on open framing, so the plan for each building is different, and the crew says so on the first visit.
Keep cords away from wet floors and do not run equipment in standing water. Do not seal a room tightly while it is drying, since trapped humidity slows the work and can start mold. Do not cut into a wall or ceiling on your own, because it may contain wiring or pipe. Keep children and pets away from the equipment and its hoses.
Meters and a thermal camera show where the moisture is in the walls, floors and framing. The readings are logged at set points, so the next visit can measure the same places.
Air movers are placed to move air across the wet surfaces, and dehumidifiers are set to pull moisture out of the room air. The layout is planned around the walls and the cavities that hold water.
Where the readings stay high behind a wall, a small opening is cut so the cavity can be dried from inside. Openings are kept as small as the reading allows, and they are closed only after the cavity tests dry.
Each return visit repeats the readings and moves the equipment if a room has not fallen. A change in the readings is what tells the technician whether the set-up is working.
The job is finished when the readings have reached the dry goal and stayed there. The final log is given to you, so the finish is shown in the readings and not in a promise.
It takes as long as the readings need. Drying depends on the material, the amount of water, the air in the building and the space around it. The work is finished when the readings reach the dry goal, and a technician explains the expected range on the first visit without promising a date.
Drywall on open framing may dry in a few days, while a solid wall, a subfloor over a crawl space or plaster on lath can take much longer. The readings show the trend, and the crew decides when the trend has levelled off at the goal.
Drying cannot be hurried by turning the heat up or by sealing the room. Warm air holds more moisture but does not move it out of the wall, and sealing a room traps the humidity inside it.
Moisture moves slowly from the wet core of a material to its surface, and a surface can feel dry while the wood or masonry behind it is still wet. Readings inside the material show whether the moisture has gone, and a touch test does not.
Wood framing holds moisture in its fibers and at its joints, and it releases that moisture slowly. A sill plate or a stud that sits on a damp foundation can stay wet for a long time after the wall above it has dried.
The technician reads inside the material with a pin meter or a non-invasive reading, and it compares those figures with the goal. The surface is not the measure.
Mold can start on wet wood, paper and drywall within a few days when the moisture stays high. Fast extraction, quick setup of equipment and regular readings lower that risk. A mold problem found after drying is handled separately.
Mold growth depends on moisture, warmth and time, and a room that stays wet for several days is more likely to grow it. That is one reason the readings are taken on every visit, and why a room that is not falling is looked at again.
Any visible growth found during drying is recorded, and it is handled under its own plan after the structure is dry. The technician explains that plan when it is needed.
Equipment is set to run unattended only if the set-up is safe and the power, cords and drains are checked. A technician explains the schedule for each room and what to do if a unit stops or the power fails.
Dehumidifiers collect water and need their tanks or drains checked. Air movers can overheat if they are blocked. The crew shows where the equipment is and how to tell if a unit has stopped.
If the power to the area is cut or a unit fails, call the line. Do not try to repair a dryer or move a cord that is in water.
Once the readings are at the dry goal, the walls, floors and framing can be repaired by the trade that does that work. The drying log is handed over so the repair is planned from measured facts rather than from appearance.
Repairs to plaster, drywall, flooring and framing are outside a drying line. The technician names the kind of work that is needed and the point at which it can begin. A repair over a cavity that is still wet can hide decay or mold, so the readings are checked first.
The log, the photographs and the readings are given to you, and they can be shared with your insurer and with the trade that does the repair.
Modern drywall on open framing is usually the fastest to dry, because the air can reach the cavity from more than one side. Wet drywall is removed to the height the water reached, and the framing is dried and read before it is closed.
Plaster on wood lath holds water between the lath and the wall, and it can stay damp for longer. The plaster is often left in place and dried through small openings, because removing it can damage the wall and the framing behind.
A crawl space or a basement dries slowly because the air is cool and damp and the ground keeps moisture coming up. Drying here uses dehumidifiers with a controlled air path and a check on the ground moisture.
A wood floor that has taken up water can cup, swell or lift. Drying the floor means reading the subfloor under it, and the boards are kept in place only if they return to a flat, stable state.
Plaster on wood lath, solid framing and crawl spaces are the materials that dry slowest, wherever they are found. Drying a building in either city follows the same readings, but the plan takes more time in the cavities and under the floors, if those are what the building has.
The December 2015 flooding in the upper Embarras basin is the regional record of river water in this county. Flood-wet walls and floors in the homes of both cities need the same equipment run until the readings fall, and the crew measures each room instead of drying the building as one space.
Where a building near the University of Illinois campus is an apartment or a rental house, it may share walls, crawl spaces and drains between units. Drying in such a building is planned so that each unit can be read and logged separately, and so that the drying in one unit does not wet the next.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what structural drying and dehumidification should cost.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Fast removal of standing water from floors and basements in Champaign, Urbana and the county around them.
Pumping, moisture checks and drying for crawl spaces and basements that took in flood, storm or ground water.
Inspection, removal and drying checks for mold that started in walls, floors or framing after water damage in Champaign and Urbana.
Emergency removal and drying for river flood water that reached a home or business in Champaign or Champaign County.
Water damage restoration cost in Champaign depends on how much water came in, where it went, what water type it was, how many rooms and floors it reached, and what must be removed.
Some repairs after water damage, such as work on walls, floors, foundations or plumbing, can need a permit.
Before hiring a water damage contractor in Illinois, check the written scope and price, the company's insurance, the references and any registration the job calls for.
A flooded basement is dried in order: the water is removed and the source stopped, the materials are read, anything that cannot be dried is removed, and the structure is dried to measured goals.
A dry goal is the moisture reading a material should reach to be considered dry, usually set from a dry area of the same building or from the material's normal range. The crew measures against that goal on each visit.
Moisture can remain in the room air and in the materials after the equipment stops. The crew checks the readings before the equipment is removed, and a smell after drying is looked at again.
Only in some weather. Open air can add humidity in a damp season, and the crew will tell you when opening a window helps and when it slows the work.
Small test openings may be made where the readings were high. They are kept as small as possible and are closed after the cavity tests dry. The repair of those openings is a separate trade.
Drying stops the moisture that allows mold to grow, but it does not remove growth that is already there. Any visible mold is recorded and dealt with under its own plan after the structure is dry.
The crew returns on a schedule set by the readings and the equipment. The visit timing is agreed with you, and no fixed arrival time is promised.