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Mitigation Minute

Welcome to the Mitigation Minute MicroColumn by LearnToRestore.com! This column provides quick, actionable tips to enhance your water mitigation efforts. Each tip is crafted to be simple, effective, and easy to implement with your team and company. Stay tuned for practical advice that can enhance your drying and mitigation services, save you time, and improve customer satisfaction.

Why the ANSI/IICRC Standards Matter

December 10, 2024 8:19 am

The process of developing or revising an Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) American National Standard (ANS) Standard of Care (e.g., ANSI/IICRC S100 for carpet cleaning, ANSI/IICRC S500 for water damage), starts off with a Consensus Body (CB) (i.e., authoring and approving body) consisting of industry experts and following the ANSI procedures. Over a period of several years, this group will meet, typically weekly, to discuss the details of the processes and procedures for the services covered by the Standard. There will be lengthy, detailed discussions about a single paragraph, sentence, or

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Let’s Demo!

November 12, 2024 7:48 am

As water damage contractors, our job is to dry stuff. Sometimes, we dry can materials, like carpet or plywood subfloor. Other times, we have to remove a material to access something else we need to dry, or because it’s contaminated. For example, we remove drywall and insulation to expose and dry the wall cavity framing and sheathing. It’s easy to fall into the mindset of ‘this is an emergency’ and focus solely on the demolition. Undoubtedly, time is a critical factor in minimizing damage, controlling mold growth, and other aspects. However, we must always

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What do Dehumidifier Chart Factors Represent?

October 8, 2024 8:49 am

With Desiccants, it is about processing the air, or Air Changes per Hour (ACH). The higher the Class, the more ACHs are needed to capture the humidity or create a better vapor pressure differential. Class 1 = one ACH; Class 2 = two ACH, and Classes 3 & 4 = 3 ACH. For refrigerants, let’s use the LGR class factors. Class 1 Factor  = 100 Class 2 Factor = 50 Classes 3 & 4 Factor = 40 Simply put, on a Class 1 loss (least potential evaporation), you divide the entire cubic feet of

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Moisture Content – What is it?

September 10, 2024 8:40 am

Our meter shows Doug Fir bottom plates at 25% MC. What does that mean? Let’s start with what it doesn’t mean. It’s not that the wood is 25% full and can only hold another 75%. The term is actually “moisture content by weight,” and it can be higher than 100%.  MC by weight is a comparison of the weight of the wood to the weight of the water in the wood, expressed as a percentage. Usually, a percentage compares part of something to all of something. With MC, we compare two different parts. Example:

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The Purpose and Importance of Documentation

August 12, 2024 8:27 pm

We constantly hear about the importance of documentation, often required by clients and insurance companies. But why is it so important? What is the purpose of writing down so many things and taking so many pictures?  Some reasons include: Clarity on services being provided, the payments required, and who is paying the bill. This is accomplished through Contracts and Change Orders. Policyholders often assume the contract is between the contractor and the insurance carrier. It can be an interesting relationship, for sure, so understandings and expectations need to be clearly established. Liability protection. Can

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Introduction to Class of Water Intrusion

July 23, 2024 8:03 am

What is the Class of Water all about? Its purpose is to estimate how much water will evaporate from wet materials to determine how much dehumidification is needed. If there is more evaporation than dehumidification, it could result in secondary damage as that excess humidity moves into drywall, framing, contents, etc.  Think of it like this: Someone’s digging a hole to install a swimming pool. They don’t have a truck to haul the dirt, so they plan to pile it into the driveway and hire a company to come daily to remove the dirt.

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What’s With All the Negative Pressure Around Here? (And Why It’s A Good Thing)

June 11, 2024 7:00 am

On many water damage projects, we should create a condition of negative pressure also called negative air or a pressure differential. The main purpose of this negative pressure is to eliminate cross-contamination to unaffected spaces.  We create negative pressure by pushing or pulling air out of our contained space, causing air from the surrounding spaces to come into the space, replacing the air being removed. Think of how turning on the exhaust fan in a bathroom would cause air to come under the door from the hallway to replace the air being exhausted out.

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