SERVPRO, Whitehouse Flooding, and Understanding Moisture Removal

11/3/2019 (Permalink)

Flooded in Your Whitehouse Area Business? Call SERVPRO, "Like it never even happened."

Flood Damage, Materials, And Moisture In Your Whitehouse Area Restaurant

You might think that damage is damage when dealing with a flood in your building. However, the type of material used to construct your Whitehouse area restaurant has a significant effect on the harm received and losses experienced.

At SERVPRO, we understand how moisture has various outcomes on different materials affected by flood damage on your Whitehouse area commercial property. To pass this information on to you, we need to explain a variety of terms that we use to describe the relationship between materials and moisture.

•    Permeance (PERM): is the measure of water vapor flow through a specific material. A unit of permeance or PERMS - describes the total amount of vapor flow in grains per hour (GPH), through one square foot of a given materials surface, when the vapor pressure is at one Hg (1” of Mercury). It sounds a little complicated, so let’s put it into simpler terms.

o    Very Porous Materials, such as carpet and upholstery, have high permeance factors, which means that they absorb and release moisture quickly. You might use these in your dining area and seating arrangements.
o    Non-Porous Materials, such as plastics, glass, and vinyl, have low permeance factors, which means that they absorb little to no moisture during a flood — many materials used for menus, dishes, and even appliances.

•    Vapor Barriers; are a type of material that is either waterproof or has a permeance of 1 PERM or less. In other words, it is a material that moisture cannot enter, or cannot pass through quickly. Here are some examples.

o    Vinyl Wallpaper
o    Masonry Brick
o    ½” Plywood
o    Vapor Retarding Paint
o     Paper-Faced Insulation (Batten)

•    Hygroscopic Materials: are materials with a high permeance factor that readily absorb and hold onto water vapor that exists in the air.
o    Carpet
o    Insulation
o    Upholstery
o    Gypsum Wall-Board
o    Particle-Board

Your SERVPRO technician can help you understand why the harder the material is to penetrate, the harder it is to dry. For example, think about a beach towel and a piece of plywood. If you get both materials wet, the towel soaks up water rather quickly, while the wood takes longer to absorb water. However, when you set them both in the sun to dry, the towel dries much faster than the wood, even though it absorbed more water, faster.

Understanding the physical nature of materials allows our technicians to implement the correct equipment, tools, and products for a successful restoration. When we know our business, we can keep you in business!

SERVPRO of Greater Hunterdon County stands ready to provide 24/7 emergency flood damage restoration to business owners throughout the area, call today. (908) 788-8770