Today’s restorers are very busy, and many times miss a few critical areas that could make a BIG difference in their drying success. Remember – “Be Good at the Little Things and You Will Accomplish Big Things!” See the most missed “little things” that could make the difference in being good vs. being great at drying structures and contents and obtaining great customer service scores!

1. Meticulous Extraction

slow down so carpet will dry within 24 hours and carpet pad, if saving, will dry within 48 hours. Take multiple passes with the specialty extraction tool and use the slowest setting. You will have much shorter drying times!

2. Containment

set better containment to focus the hottest, driest air on the wettest materials and to protect the unaffected areas from the affected areas. Place warning signs to keep everyone out of the affected areas. There should ALWAYS be containment placed. Take photos to show your containment!

3. Air Movement

use air movers better to speed evaporation, but moving them daily to focus the hot, dry air across the wettest materials. You CAN’T leave the air movers in one spot and expect to dry effectively! Take photos of your equipment setup to show your drying plan.

4. Temperature Control

use higher temperatures in the affected areas to speed up evaporation of moisture from wet materials. Try to reach 80 degrees F or above after the first 24 hours of drying in affected areas. Always stay below 100 degrees F ambient air temperature. Take infrared thermometer readings of wet materials and try to reach 100 degrees F wet surface temperature or above to speed up evaporation, especially in class 4 situations. It is advised to stay below 105 degrees F wet surface temperatures to avoid collateral damage.

5. Documentation

Always provide photos of first and last day moisture content readings of all affected materials you will are drying to prevent future issues and allegations of incomplete drying. Use a penetrating moisture meter, if possible, to avoid false positive readings. Must record type, brand, model of moisture meter used and try to use the same one throughout the drying project. You may need to record dry readings of materials that were not affected if they are near wet materials to prove they were not affected. Follow the Path of the Water!

6. Customer Service

Provide Accuserve’s Elite Experience every time for the policyholder and look for “WOW” moments. Find a way to impress them with your professionalism and taking care of their home and personal belongings. Make sure all technicians are in a clean uniform, photograph ID badge, waterproof shoe protectors and drive a clean, well-logoed truck or van. Give them a level of comfort during your initial inspection by showing them your IICRC certification card, what services you are certified in and explain how industry standards protect them. Make sure they understand how important it is to leave equipment running and for you to inspect daily.