Effective Drying and Mould Remediation

Water damage can be one of the most destructive forms of attack to a building and its material components.  When water ingress occurs it can cause severe deterioration to masonry brickwork or concrete walls, spoiling and delamination of plaster and decay to structural timbers.

More importantly failing to deal with water damage promptly and efficiently can have serious consequences as a client of ours nearly discovered.

We were instructed to undertake a damp survey in a rented apartment in Leeds recently for a worried landlord that had received a number of complaints about damp and mould following a burst water pipe which occurred some months prior.

The property in question was a first floor apartment which was tenanted. A few months prior to our inspection a cold water pipe from the boiler burst causing water to flood the living room and cascade down the front wall.

The landlord was informed through the letting agency of the disaster who instructed a local plumber to investigate and repair the leak immediately. From advice taken from the letting agent no further action was undertaken with the exception of installing a small domestic dehumidifier for a total of three days to dry the building out (or supposedly).

Weeks after the burst pipe the tenant became anxious as the property started to grow very mouldy. The letting agency informed the landlord that mould was the result of a condensation / humidity problem caused by the tenants lifestyle and they needed to open windows more often and stop drying clothes inside.

Weeks later when issues were not resolved, the landlord decided to get professional help and advice and instructed ourselves to undertake a damp report on the property.

Our findings revealed the wall, plaster and timbers affected by the leak some months prior were far from dry. Spoiling of the plaster and decor had started to occur and moisture levels within the skirting boards were in excess of 26% WMC (Wood Moisture Content).  The leak had saturated the wall and plaster both materials of low porosity which had resulted in deep pockets of saturation, moisture entrapped within the masonry which is difficult to remove and would take months to dry naturally.

As a consequence of not acting promptly the saturated wall and surfaces began to dry slowly allowing moisture within the wall to evaporate raising humidity levels resulting in secondary damage, with slow decay to skirting boards and the appearance of mould throughout the affected rooms.

Dryfix quickly produced a report for the landlord to which was forwarded to the insurance company for evaluation. Our recommendations were to undertake a mould remediation programme allowing the walls to be cleaned professionally and the installation of a specialist speed drying system to remove excess moisture from the saturated walls and finishes and return the building to a normal dry state.

The insurance company agreed with or findings and instructed us to proceed without further delay.

A professional mould remediation programme was drafted in accordance with IICRC S520 Standard code of practice and undertaken by one our trained mould remediation technicians.

Mould is a hot topic at the moment with the debate of toxic moulds and the risks to health. Over the years I have attended numerous lectures and courses on moulds and taken part in and listened too debates of whether or not moulds are damaging to our health. Despite attending so many lectures and doing my own research i’m not entirely convinced 100% by either argument. The study of moulds (mycology) is extremely complex and although through studies and courses we have attended and gained a good understanding of moulds, we are not a mycologists, we are practitioners and understand the scientific community from time to time retract statements and previous views on the basis of new evidence usually found through technological advances. This is why, when there are significant areas affected by mould we perform mould remediation programmes as a precaution, safeguarding the health of the occupants and our workforce.

The objective of our fungal / mould remediation programme is not to disinfect or sterilise but rather to restore the environment and affected surfaces to a ‘normal’ fungal ecology level. The environment being cleaned, is separated and hermetically sealed from other non affected rooms using polythene sheeting. The affected area is negatively vacuumed ensuring a minimum of five Pascal’s in air pressure is achieved between the affected area and the adjacent rooms, this ensures there is no risk of potentially dirty air carrying mould spores spreading into adjacent rooms.

The air within the working area is also filtered through a highly specialist HEPA  (High Efficiency Particulate) filtered extraction system and ducted externally which has the capability of removing 99.97% of all airborne particulates down to 0.3 micrometers (µm) in diameter.

Once all surfaces have been effectively cleaned using a specialist microbial solution a swab test of the affected surfaces was undertaken to ensure all surfaces had been cleaned thoroughly and effectively.

A specialist speed drying system was installed to promote drying of the wall and surrounding surfaces.  In this circumstances the affected walls were sealed again using polythene sheeting to reduce the drying area and concentrate the drying system on the affected walls only, this avoids wasting time and expense in open drying the rest of the building which wasn’t affected.

The drying system involved pressurising the tented area with extremely dry air produced from a desiccant dehumidifier.  A desiccant dehumidifier unlike a refrigerant has the ability to produce extremely dry air using absorbent materials which have a high affinity to moisture, this allows these machines to drain moisture from the air producing extremely dry air down to 1% relative humidity (RH). By pressurising the tented walls with extremely warm and dry air moisture within the wall is encouraged to evaporate.  The wet process air produced by the desiccant as a by produced is ducted into an industrial refrigerant dehumidifier which condenses the wet air into a liquid for appropriate disposal.

Measurements were taken and recorded from the affected wall and surfaces prior to the  installation of the drying system. A series of inspections were undertaken during the week to monitor the drying process and after seven days of operation the wall had returned to a normal and stable dry condition and the system could be removed.

Upon completion of our work a drying certificate and certificate of cleaning was produced for the landlord and insurance company.

When disasters with water occur it is essential you act promptly for failing to recognize the extent of damage may result in retained water damaging the structure and surrounding materials or causing unsightly moulds to occur.

Dryfix Preservation are accredited by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) the world’s largest certification body for the disaster restoration industry. All of our staff are qualified water restoration and drying technicians as well as mould remediation technicians all trained and educated in the most efficient and up to date drying and cleaning techniques available.

When your in need of assistance with water damage, drying repairs or mould remediation do not hesitate to contact us.

Dryfix Preservation Limited ” Yorkshire Leading Damp and Timber Specialists”

for more information visit our website www.dryfix.net

Russell Rafton

C.S.R.T / I.S.S.E

Dryfix Preservation Surveyor