Step 1 Remove standing and excess water.

When homes flood water commonly ends up in the crawlspace. It is typical to find the insulation totally saturated and many puddles of water on the ground. In some instances the source of the water damage is inside the crawlspace and thousands of gallons of water create a pond on top of the vapor barrier. H2O Drying will start out by pumping out as much water as possible. We will also remove all of the wet insulation and take it away.



Step 2 Containment

Depending on the size of the crawlspace as compared to the affected area it may be necessary to set up a contained area. This is to speed the drying process. This is usually done by draping off a portion of the crawl space to separate the affected area from the rest of the crawlspace. The drape will be fixed to the floor joists above and drop to the ground. It is also possible to hang a “belly” from the floor joists. A belly is created by fixing the plastic to the floor joists covering all of the wet area above it. In either case the containment is set up to best suit the situation.

Step 3. Evaporation

Creating evaporation inside the crawlspace is achieved by placing heat exchangers directly into the crawlspace. H2O Drying will direct hot, dry air into the contained area. Most often we use heat exchangers that are fueled by a 200kbtu boiler placed outside. Each heat exchanger is connected to a pair of hoses containing heated thermal fluid. The hoses themselves become part of the drying system. As they lay on the ground they radiate heat to the ground helping to firm up the soil.


Step 4 Ventilation/dehumidification

As water is evaporated it is critical that all of that moisture be removed from the crawlspace. The more humid the air is inside the crawl 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.