# Structural Drying > Structural drying across Central Kentucky with industrial air movers and LGR dehumidifiers, dried to a measured target and logged daily. Canonical page: https://www.alldrybluegrass.com/structural-drying/ When a water emergency occurs, water penetrates walls, flooring and framing, and getting it back out is what structural drying is. Our professional team uses commercial grade drying equipment, and we know by measurement rather than by appearance when the building is finished. ## Why fans alone do not dry a structure Drying is extraction, evaporation and dehumidification. Extraction lifts the bulk water mechanically, and every gallon lifted is a gallon that never has to be evaporated. Air movers strip away the thin layer of saturated air clinging to a wet surface, which is what lets the material keep releasing moisture. Then dehumidification takes that water back out of the air. Without it, air movers simply relocate the moisture to the coldest surface in the building, and the problem moves into the ceiling. A fan does the middle step and neither of the others, which is why a room can be blown at for a week and still fail a reading. ## The role of the dehumidifier A domestic dehumidifier is built to hold a comfortable room at a comfortable humidity, and it loses efficiency as air gets drier and cooler. That is exactly the condition at the end of a dry-out, which is when it matters most. Low-grain refrigerant units are built for the other end of that curve. They keep pulling water at low humidity, which is what takes a structure to a dry standard rather than merely comfortable. That final stretch, from damp-but-not-obviously-wet down to dry, is where mold is prevented or not. ## The dry standard is set by the building 1. Read unaffected material: Same material type, elsewhere in the building. That reading becomes the target. 2. Map the affected area: Thermal imaging to find it, meter readings to confirm the extent and depth. 3. Set equipment to the load: Air mover count and dehumidifier capacity sized to the volume and the amount of water in it. 4. Log daily: Readings recorded each day, which is also what an adjuster wants to see. 5. Stop when the numbers agree: Not when the schedule says so and not when it feels dry. Full project management services, including repairs (rebuild), are available. ## What can be dried in place, and what cannot - Carpet pad: A sponge by design. Almost always replaced rather than dried. - Wet insulation: Loses its R value and holds water against framing indefinitely. - Saturated drywall: Cut back to a straight line above where the water wicked to. - Particleboard and MDF: Swells and delaminates. Rarely worth attempting to save. - Hardwood and framing: Usually savable, and often saved, if the drying starts early. - Concrete and masonry: Holds far more water than people expect and releases it for weeks. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long does structural drying take? It depends on the material, the volume of water and how long it sat before drying started. Two to four days is typical for a contained residential loss. Older buildings with plaster or solid masonry take longer, because those materials hold far more water and release it more slowly. We log readings daily rather than quoting a fixed number in advance. ### Can I just rent fans and a dehumidifier myself? You can, and for a very small spill it may be enough. The limits are that consumer dehumidifiers lose efficiency exactly when you need them most, at low humidity, and that without moisture readings you have no way of knowing whether the material behind the surface is dry. Most of the mold jobs we see started as a water job somebody dried themselves. ### Why do you have to remove drywall if you are drying the room? Because drywall wicks water upward inside the sheet, and the cavity behind it holds moisture that airflow in the room never reaches. Where water has wicked high, the sheet is cut back to a straight line above the damage so the cavity, framing and insulation behind it can dry too. ### How do you know when it is actually dry? We take a reading on unaffected material of the same type elsewhere in the building, and that becomes the target. The affected material is dry when it reaches that number. Readings are logged daily and the equipment stays until they agree. ## Related pages - [Water damage restoration](https://www.alldrybluegrass.com/water-damage-restoration/): The service this is part of. - [Basement flooding](https://www.alldrybluegrass.com/basement-flooding/): Where drying is hardest. - [Mold remediation](https://www.alldrybluegrass.com/mold-remediation/): If drying started too late. ## Contact - Phone (Lexington, Georgetown and Nicholasville): (859) 780-7419, answered live 24/7 - Phone (Frankfort, Shelby and surrounding areas): (502) 465-8891, answered live 24/7 - Location: a service-area business with no public address; technicians travel to the property - Service area: Lexington, Georgetown, Frankfort, Shelbyville, Nicholasville, Versailles, Harrodsburg, Wilmore, Lawrenceburg, Taylorsville, Carrollton, Eminence, Kentucky - Rating: 5 stars across 35 Google reviews