When hardwood floors get wet water is absorbed into the wood. The boards tend to buckle and/or cup. In the past these floors would have to be torn out leaving the homeowner walking around for weeks on top of rough, splintered plywood. It is important to contact H2O Drying right away because we can now “save” them. Our hot dry airflow method will dry hardwood floors in about 24 hours. Important, because we use heat it also eliminates the opportunity for mold growth.

Step 1 : Extraction

On hardwood floors H2O Drying would first use a wand to remove surface water. We then attach specially designed vacuum panels to the floor with tape. These vacuum panels will pull air and moisture through the flutes on the underside of the flooring. Water comes up through the joints of the boards and is pumped out. The extractor will run for 15 minutes then the panels are pulled up and wiped down to remove standing moisture. This process is repeated until all visible water is gone.

Step 2 : Install containment

It is important to direct heat onto the wood floor. A plastic barrier is placed over the wet floor, we call this “tenting”. The vacuum panels are left in place to provide airflow.

Step 3 : Evaporation

H2O Drying will direct hot dry airflow to the water or affected area. To do this a heat exchanger is set to blow directly into the containment area. It is sometimes necessary to dry hardwood flooring from below also. If the floor is laid on top of a wooden subfloor H2O Drying will usually set up drying equipment below the floor in order to keep the two levels in relative balance.

Step 4 : Ventilation/dehumidification

As water is evaporated it is critical that all of that moisture be removed from the room. The more humid the air is above the affected materials the slower drying occurs. To overcome this H2O Drying sets up a thermostatically controlled exhaust to remove excess heat and humidity. While in some cases dehumidifiers are used exhaust is the preferred method. The exhaust we construct on site creates a river of air, exchanging hot wet air for cooler dry air. This allows us to remove gallons of moisture per day instead of only pints.