When water damage strikes, it’s important to have an accurate assessment of the extent and severity so that appropriate drying equipment can be placed in order for your home or business back up quickly.
Once the water has been removed from all standing locations, heavy-duty fans and dehumidifiers will be used in the afflicted areas. Depending on the sorts of materials damaged, drying might take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks.
After the drying process is complete, your technicians will check the status of your water-damaged areas at frequent intervals to ensure that there’s no moisture building up in unexpected areas. Because IICRC-certified experts are trained and equipped to constantly monitor the progress, they’ll move the fans and dehumidifiers regularly to different trouble areas as they gather fresh readings in affected areas.
The extra time and effort involved in this step ensure that your dry time is as short as possible, while also restoring the moisture levels in your property to a healthy level (between 30-60%, under normal conditions) that will prevent mold formation.
Simply said, a moisture meter is a simple yet crucial instrument that measures the amount of moisture in a material. The moisture readings are given as percentages. Wood-specific meters are most commonly used and come with a relative scale for non-wood materials.
A third gypsum scale is available on some meters. These are the meters that should be used for testing the moisture content of sheetrock. The accuracy of the meter is dependent on multiple variables, including the type of meter used (listed below), the type of material being tested, and the aptitude of the user operating the test.
Pin-Type
Pin-type moisture meters insert two pins into the substance being tested. The two pins on the meter are inserted to a depth of normally up to 5/16 of an inch. The conductivity of the area between the pins is where the moisture is measured using an electrical resistance value. This means that the electric level of conductivity between the pins is calculated to determine how much moisture is in the penetrated material.
By pressing the pins against the surface of the material, readings may also be taken. Pin-type meters are sometimes thought to be invasive because they poke small holes into the test material, but pin-type meters are the most accurate at determining the precise location and depth of moisture build-up since they can obtain measurements at various depths of the substance and provide information on its location and percentage moisture.
Pinless
Pinless moisture meters are a non-invasive type of sensor based on the idea of electrical impedance. While pinless moistures scales function similarly to pin-type meters, they don’t need to be driven deep within the material. They can usually measure a depth of up to ¾” to 1″ and are particularly useful for detecting issues when there is no visible damage, such as concrete and other subflooring. They can also be used to detect essive moisture behind or beneath flooring and other finished surfaces.
All-In-One
An all-in-one meter is a tool that combines a pin-type and pinless meter into a single meter. This sort of meter can check both ways to determine broad problem areas before pinpointing the location of moisture accumulation. This is an extremely versatile and handy piece of equipment for restoration professionals since it uses the same scales as the two separate kinds of meters.
