Part 1 of this series, which you can see in the October R&R, discussed some of the physical changes that occur when you add heat to water and wet materials. That was the science-related side of the topic. Now here in Part 2, we extend that knowledge to the day-to-day application of heat on restoration drying jobs.
There are a couple of philosophies concerning the use of heat in restoration drying. First, the “heat only” advocates contend that heat is all you need. It is applied exclusively and universally on all drying projects. They ventilate the evaporated water outside the structure, relying on the outside air to provide the lower vapor pressure necessary for effective drying. Of course, the higher the moisture content of the outside air, the higher the temperatures that must be achieved in the wet materials. Then, there are those who use heat as just one more tool, using outside air when appropriate and convenient, but most often combining heat with LGR dehumidification and airflow strategies.