It was in April 2021 that the water damage occurred on a ferry in Sweden when a water pipe broke on passenger deck. Anticimex Halmstad was assigned to do the water damage restoration.

There was a layered construction between the engine room and passenger cabins. It was a surface of 200 m² with 70 mm thick isolation. It was important that the ferry could be in service during the entire process, so they had to do the restoration section by section. Anticimex used the methods called pressure- and suction drying.

“The ferry staff was very knowledgeable and had done great preparatory work”, says Anticimex’ drying technician Peter Jönsson (left).”

“They had started to empty water by drilling holes in the ceiling of the engine room and vacuum pumped out the water. They had also teared up the carpets in the cabins.”

Method: Pressure- & Suction drying

Anticimex started to dry section by section. They started with the middle layer on port side. This enabled usage of the cabins on starboard during the drying process. The ferry staff kept a few degrees tilt on the ferry to keep track of the water.

Much water had accumulated in the layered construction, so they performed suction drying for two weeks and thereafter suction-/pressure drying section by section in the passenger cabins. The suction drying technique is based on a dehumidifier drying the air in the room at the same time as a turbine creates a high negative pressure in the construction. When you thereafter perform pressure drying, the dried air is being led into a turbine, which raises the temperature and pressure of the air. The dry and very warm air is then forced down into the building construction via a hose system, which is connected to holes that are drilled in the construction.

Products that were used

They were mostly using combi machines from Corroventa’s rental park as well as several hose systems C25. They also used the very powerful combination of adsorption dehumidifier A4 ESX and turbine T4 ES with the hose system C25.

The process could be carried out smoothly without disturbing passengers on the ferry. Johan Persson at Anticimex says:

” We did not hear anything about anyone being disturbed.”

The assignment was estimated to ten weeks per section, but it only took eight weeks, however, an additional water damage occurred which delayed the drying with about six weeks.

Anticimex consulted with Åke Bratt at Corroventa before and during the drying process:

“We are very happy for the help and service we received from Corroventa.”