Plastic enclosure

Solutions for water damage and flooding

Dehumidify more efficiently using plastic enclosure

To speed the drying process, a limited surface where the damage occurred can be wrapped in plastic. The dehumidifier blows dry air in under the plastic sheet and creates an air cushion with a very dry climate concentrated on the water damaged area. In this way, the transport of moisture from wet to dry is increased, and the damage dries faster. The drier the ambient climate around the water-damaged material, the greater the transport of moisture will be. If the plastic enclosure is correctly carried out, large areas can be dried using one or just a few dehumidifiers. Alternatively, the dehumidifier can be used more efficiently and can dry a wall and a layered construction simultaneously, where the dehumidifier blows some of the dry air under a plastic sheet and some into a turbine that forces the air further down into the insulation.

To shorten the drying time, the temperature of the air used for drying can be increased. The warmer the material to be dried is, the more efficient and quicker the drying process will be, as the vapour pressure in the wet material increases. An increase as small at 10°C can halve the drying time* in some cases The combination of plastic enclosure and heat is a very efficient method for drying moisture-retaining material such as concrete, for example.

*Because the drying rate is directly proportional to the difference in vapour pressure, this means that drying at 30°C 20%rh is theoretically twice as fast compared to 20°C 20%rh.