Setting air movers and dehumidifiers for wet framing, subfloor and wall cavities, run to moisture readings across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Structural drying uses air movers and dehumidifiers to take moisture out of framing, subfloors and wall cavities after a water loss. In Wichita the equipment is set for each room and material, and it stays in place until moisture readings reach the dry level. Calls are answered 24/7.
Drying is the stage of a water loss that most people cannot see. Once the standing water is gone the floors and the walls look dry, and the moisture is still in the framing, the subfloor and the insulation behind them. Structural drying is the work of moving that moisture out of the building, and it is measured in readings taken from the materials, not from the look of the room.
Air movers and dehumidifiers do different jobs. An air mover pushes air across a surface and into a cavity, so the moisture on the surface can evaporate and be carried away. A dehumidifier pulls moisture out of the air, so the air can take up more water from the materials. Together they work the building from the surface inward, and the crew sets them to suit the room.
Call (833) 490-5225 at any hour. Tell the phone team which rooms are wet and what the materials are, and whether the building has been heated or closed up since the water appeared. A crew is sent as soon as one is free, and the drying plan is explained on arrival before any equipment is run.
Keep cords and hoses off the floor where people walk, and do not run a plug-in fan or dehumidifier in standing water or where the floor is wet. Do not stand on a wet subfloor to reach a register or an opening. Keep children and pets away from the openings in walls and floors and from the running equipment. If you smell something burning from an electrical outlet or a cord, turn the equipment off at the wall and call the crew.
Before equipment is placed, the crew takes baseline readings in the wet materials and in the air, and it records the temperature and humidity in each room. The baseline is the number the drying is measured against.
Air movers are placed so their air crosses the wet surfaces and reaches into the wall and floor openings. Their direction and number are chosen for the room, and they are moved as the materials dry.
Dehumidifiers are placed to take moisture out of the room air. Their settings are chosen for the temperature and humidity found at the start, and they are adjusted as the readings change across the visits.
Where a readings map shows a wet cavity, a small opening is made so air can reach the framing. The openings are kept as small as the job allows and are closed only after the cavity has dried.
Readings are taken on each visit and compared with the baseline and the dry level. The equipment is removed only when the materials read dry, and the final readings are written into the log you keep.
It takes as long as the readings say, and the answer depends on the materials and how much water reached them. Drying is finished when the framing, subfloor and cavities read at the dry level, not after a set number of days.
A wet surface can look dry long before the framing behind it is. Wood holds water in its core, and a wall cavity can stay damp while the drywall face is dry to the touch. For that reason the crew takes readings in the framing itself, at the bottom plates and along the subfloor.
The crew explains the progress at each visit. You will be told which materials are reading closer to dry, which are slower, and what they are doing about the slow ones. A drying job should end with a log that shows the readings and the date each material reached its dry level.
Because the moisture is in the materials, not on the surface. Equipment is removed when the readings in the framing and subfloor show the materials are dry, and leaving it in place for longer is the only way to be sure the water is gone.
Taking the equipment out early is one of the most common reasons a building is closed up over moisture. The room looks finished, and the wall is repaired, but the framing behind it still holds water. The repair then traps that water inside the wall, where it can cause damage out of sight.
The crew will explain why equipment is still needed, and it will tell you when it can come out. If you want it removed sooner, ask what the readings show and what the risk would be before you decide.
Each visit's date and time, the readings in each material and in the air, the equipment in each room, any openings made and the dry level for each material. The log is the record your insurer and the repair contractor will use.
A log with only a line saying the room is dry does not show what was done. A useful log has numbers that can be compared from one visit to the next, so the trend is visible. It also shows which materials were removed and which were kept, and why.
Keep a copy of every log with the photographs. The repair crew will need the readings to decide when the framing is ready to be closed, and the insurer will need them to see how the loss was handled.
Equipment can be left running in the wrong place, openings can be closed too early, and a material can be missed in the readings. Each of these leaves moisture in the building. The crew checks its own work at every visit and records what it finds.
Moisture that is moved from one room into another can wet a room that was already dry. Doors and openings are arranged to keep the flow of air moving toward the equipment, and the crew checks the adjoining rooms on each visit.
Equipment itself can fail or be turned off by a power issue. The crew checks it at each visit, and it notes any gap in the drying in the log, so you know when the work was interrupted.
It can. Air movers are loud, and dehumidifiers change the temperature and humidity in a room. Cords and hoses cross floors, and openings in walls create trip hazards. The crew arranges the equipment so people can still use the house safely.
Ask the crew to show you where the cords run and where the hoses are routed, and to keep them clear of walkways. Children and pets should be kept away from the openings and from the equipment while it is running.
If someone in the household is sensitive to noise or to a change in humidity, tell the phone team before the crew arrives. The equipment can often be placed so it is less disruptive, and the crew will explain what it is doing and why.
Framing and the cavity behind drywall or plaster take the longest to dry, because air reaches them only through openings. The crew works from the openings and the baseboard line, and reads the framing across the cavity until it reaches the dry level.
A wet subfloor holds water between the joists and under the floor covering. Air is moved across the floor and into the space beneath, where that is accessible, and readings are taken on the subfloor and the joists until they match the dry level.
A building with several rooms affected needs equipment set room by room, because the air in one room affects the next. The crew keeps doors and openings in a planned position so the moisture is moved toward the equipment and not spread into rooms that are already dry.
A house that has been closed up or heated during a loss can dry differently from one with open air. Humidity builds quickly in a sealed room, so the dehumidifiers are set to handle the air, and the crew explains what it has changed in the plan.
Drying in Wichita is planned for the indoor conditions the crew finds on arrival, whatever the season. A dehumidifier is set to the humidity it measures in a closed house, and the crew adjusts it on each visit. A building that is kept warm and shut up during a loss dries differently from one that is open to the air.
Rooms below grade, such as a basement or a lower level of a split-level, are often the slowest to dry because the air there is cooler and damp. The crew checks the lower rooms with the same care as the upper ones, and it notes the ground-level readings in the log.
Wichita's flood history means many drying jobs follow a storm rather than a pipe. The October 2018 and May 2019 rains each brought heavy rain, and a house that is still damp after a wet season may need its drying checked again once the weather turns dry. The crew plans the readings around that.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent structural drying and dehumidification, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Checking for mold after a water loss, addressing it once the structure is dry, and getting the scope in writing across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Drying wet carpet, pad and hardwood where readings allow, and replacing them where they do not, across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Pumping water out of crawl spaces, and reading and drying moisture under slabs and floors, across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Testing wet attic, wall and floor insulation, removing what will not dry, and replacing it before the house is closed up across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
No honest price list exists for water damage work in Wichita, so this guide explains what moves a quote instead: how much water came in, how long it sat, whether it was clean or came from a drain, how many rooms it reached and how much framing must dry.
A search of public sources did not find a Kansas state licence for mold contractors, so a licence cannot be used as the check.
Start a water damage claim with your own insurer, in writing, and keep the records from the first day: dated photographs, drying readings, the written scope and every invoice.
A search of public sources did not find a Kansas state licence specific to water damage restoration, so the checks that matter are the paperwork you can ask for: the company's own insurance certificate, a written scope, the drying readings and a clear list of what will be replaced.
Some water damage repairs in Wichita may need a permit, especially structural, electrical and plumbing work.
A building is dry when its materials read at the dry level for each material, not when the surface looks dry.
A crew is sent as soon as one is free, and calls are answered 24/7. No arrival time is promised on the phone. In the meantime, keep the wet rooms closed off and move anything valuable out of the water.
Drywall can look dry while the framing behind it still holds water. Readings in the framing and subfloor show whether the structure is actually dry, and the drywall is judged against them.
Do not turn the drying equipment off without asking the crew, because the readings depend on it running. If a power cut or a fault stops it, call the crew so the gap is noted in the log and the equipment is restarted.
The equipment is set to dry the building, not to damage it, but some materials can be affected by long exposure to dry air or by the lifting of a floor. The crew explains which items are at risk, and furniture can be moved onto blocks or out of the room.
The crew reports the readings at each visit and tells you when each material reaches the dry level. You will receive the final log before the equipment is removed, so you can see the readings for each area.
Prompt drying greatly reduces the chance of mold, because growth needs moisture to continue. It does not guarantee there will be no growth, especially in a material that stayed wet for a long time. The mold section of this site explains how any growth is checked after drying.