How to Dry Out a Flooded House?

It can be both frustrating and frightening to witness your home being flooded. Such events may occur due to extreme weather events or something as simple as a pipe bursting. In either case, the damage from flooding can disrupt your life and make your home unlivable for a fairly long time.

The good news is that it is possible to get rid of that floodwater and get your home close to the condition it was in prior to the flooding event. In this guide, we will go over the various ways to dry out a flooded house.

How Do You Get Water Out of a Flooded House? 

If your home has been hit by a particularly heavy flood, you may have several inches or even a foot of water in your living space. In this situation, it is vital to get this water out of your home as quickly as possible.

If you are unable to get help from elsewhere at the time, your only option may be to scoop water using a bucket and empty it outside your home. However, if you have time to prepare properly, you should acquire a wet/dry vacuum and use it to suck up the water from the floor. 

If the amount of water in your home is too great for the wet/dry vacuum to handle, you will need to call in a professional with access to a submersible pump. This pump is attached to a hose that will suck up the water and empty it outside your home.

How Do You Dry Wet Walls Fast?

If your home flooded due to a leaky or broken roof, your walls may end up being soaked in water. Once you have gotten rid of any standing water in your home, you can dry wet walls using the following methods:

Setting Up Fans

You can set up an oscillating fan or multiple fans in the room and point them at the wall. Setting these fans in oscillating mode is a great way to dry your wall surfaces evenly.

Using a Dehumidifier

You can purchase a dehumidifier and set it up in the room. These devices are designed to extract moisture from the air, so they are likely to dry out the room’s walls. However, this can be a slow process.

Increasing Your Heating

The drying process typically involves evaporation. However, you won’t need to raise the temperature of the moisture in your walls to boiling point to carry out this evaporation process. Instead, you can speed up the evaporation process by simply increasing your heating by a few degrees.

Opening Doors and Windows

Opening your doors and windows is also another great way to speed up the wall drying process. The water evaporation process will generally be slow if the air in the room remains moist. By opening doors and windows, you can allow this moist air to leave and be replaced by dryer air that will help speed up the water evaporation process.

How Long Does It Take for a Flooded Wall to Dry? 

It can take anywhere from a few days to multiple weeks for your walls to dry completely. The length of time this process takes will depend on weather conditions, the wall’s initial moisture concentration, and the drying methods you have chosen.

For example, a wall will take longer to dry if the weather conditions outdoors are still cloudy, cold, and humid. Similarly, drying will take longer if your home doesn’t have built-in heating or fans to aid the drying process.

Will a Dehumidifier Dry a Wet Floor? 

A dehumidifier’s primary purpose is to remove moisture from the surrounding air. However, this doesn’t mean they’re capable of drying a wet floor by themselves. 

These devices may speed up the floor drying process by removing humidity from the air and increasing the water evaporation rate by a small amount. But there are much faster ways to do this.

For example, you can set up a dehumidifier in a room with a wet floor and then set up a fan close to the ground. This fan can blow the moist air above the wet floor toward the dehumidifier, leaving behind drier air that helps facilitate the evaporation process. This combination should speed up the floor drying process significantly.

How to Dry a House After a Pipe Burst? 

If your pipe has burst, the first step is to turn off the water supply. Following this, you should open your doors and windows to help the moist air in your home escape.

Next, you should place multiple fans in the flooded room. Finally, you can use the wet/dry vacuum to suck up pools of water. If you’re having trouble reaching certain spots with the wet/dry vacuum, you can opt to use a mop as well.

Once you are done sucking up any standing pools of water, you can set up a dehumidifier and allow it to do its job. Just remember to empty the dehumidifier’s water tank regularly.

How to Dry a House After a Flood? 

The process of drying a house after a flood is similar to the process of drying it after a pipe burst. However, the extent of the water flooding is likely to be more extreme. In this scenario, you should start by having a professional use a submersible pump to get rid of the majority of standing water. After this, you can follow the other steps described in the previous section.

What Heaters to Dry Out Water Damage?

Portable heaters are best suited for drying out water damage. These heaters have fans that blow warm air. This process helps displace moist air from the environment and apply heat to wet surfaces. This combination should help your wet walls and floors dry relatively quickly.