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How to Dry Out a Flooded House in New Jersey
Drying out a flooded house is not a matter of opening the windows and waiting. A house that has been flooded holds water deep in its structure, in the walls, under the floors, and in the subfloor, and that water does not come out on its own, however long you wait. Professional drying is the process that gets it out, and it is a process with a specific order and a specific way of being checked.
- ✓ Written for New Jersey homeowners
- ✓ Visit first, then a plan
- ✓ Call to arrange a visit
This guide covers professional drying in general terms, why fans alone are not enough, what not to do after a flood, and when to call a professional. It is not a do-it-yourself drying guide, because drying a flooded house is professional work, and the guide is about understanding the process, not about doing it yourself.
Professional drying in general terms
Professional drying starts after the standing water has been removed, and it uses air movement and dehumidification to pull the moisture out of the structure over days. Air movers push dry air across wet surfaces, and dehumidifiers pull the moisture out of the air, so the air can keep taking up moisture from the materials. The two work together, and the drying is checked with moisture readings during follow-up visits, so the process can be tracked and adjusted.
The drying plan is decided by the inspection and the moisture readings, and it is different for every house. A flooded basement dries differently from a flooded ground floor, and a house with plaster walls dries differently from one with drywall. Basements are common in New Jersey, and a flooded basement is one of the more common drying jobs in the state, because the water sits deep and the air circulation is poor. The structural drying and dehumidification page explains the drying stage in more detail.
Why fans alone are not enough
Fans move air, but they do not remove moisture from it, and wet air cannot take up more moisture from a wet wall. A household fan blowing across a wet floor will dry the surface, but it will not dry the subfloor underneath, and it will not dry the inside of the wall. The surface dries, the inside stays wet, and the moisture that is left behind causes problems later. That is why fans alone are not enough, in general terms, and why professional drying pairs air movement with dehumidification.
The other problem with fans alone is that they are not monitored. Professional drying is checked with moisture readings, taken over days, and the readings show whether the drying is working. A fan running in a room with no readings is a guess, and a guess is not a drying plan. Homeowners in Bridgewater and across the state who have a flooded house should expect the drying to be planned, monitored, and checked, not left to a fan and a hope.
What not to do after a flood
There are a few things that make a flooded house worse, and they are worth knowing about. Do not enter a flooded building until it is safe to do so, and do not touch switches, outlets, or appliances that are in or near standing water. Do not try to clean up floodwater yourself, because floodwater is contaminated water and the cleanup is professional work. Do not switch on fans or heaters that are standing in water, and do not use a household vacuum cleaner on standing water.
Do not paint over a stain, lay new flooring over a damp subfloor, or close up a wall that is still wet inside, however tempting it is to make the house look normal again. Those shortcuts trap the moisture in place, and the drying has to start again once the repair is undone. And do not throw anything away until you have photographed it, because the photos are the record of the loss, and the record is what an insurer asks for.
The drying stage, week by week
Drying a flooded house takes time, and the house will be noisy with drying equipment and busy with follow-up visits while it happens. The first days are the wettest, and the readings come down fastest then. The later days are slower, as the moisture deep inside the materials comes out gradually. That slowing down is normal, and it is not a sign that the drying has stalled. It is a sign that the surface water is gone and the deep water is coming out.
The follow-up visits are when the readings are taken and the equipment is adjusted. If a reading shows an area is still damp, the equipment may be moved, or the area may be opened up to let the air reach it. The flood damage cleanup page covers the cleanup stage that comes before the drying, in general terms. Drying ends when the readings show the structure is dry through, and only then does the repair stage begin.
When to call a professional
Call a professional as soon as the house is safe to enter and the water has receded, or sooner, from a dry place, if the water is still coming in. Describe what happened, where the water is, and whether it is floodwater, because floodwater is treated as contaminated water and that changes how the visit is prepared for. Have your photos and notes ready, and say whether the power is on and whether water is near the electrics.
The call is the start of the recovery, and the sooner it is made, the sooner the water can be removed and the drying can begin. A flooded house recovers in stages, and the first stage is the call. The stages that follow, removal, drying, cleaning, and repair, each depend on the one before it, and the order is what makes the recovery last.
Drying a flooded basement versus a flooded floor
Drying a flooded basement is a different job from drying a flooded ground floor, because the basement is below ground, the air circulation is poor, and the walls and floor are in contact with the earth. The water in a basement sits deep, and it soaks into the walls from the bottom up, while the water on a ground floor spreads across the surface and soaks down into the flooring. The drying equipment is placed differently for each, and the readings are taken in different places, because the water is in different places. A basement that is dried like a ground floor will be dried badly, and a ground floor that is dried like a basement will be dried slowly, for no reason.
Basements are common in New Jersey, and a flooded basement is one of the more common drying jobs in the state, which is why the difference matters. A basement flood often involves a larger volume of water, a longer drying time, and more follow-up visits, because the water has further to travel to get out, and the structure holds it for longer. The drying plan for a basement takes that into account, and the readings are what show whether the plan is working. A flooded floor and a flooded basement are both water losses, but they are not the same job, and the plan should reflect that.
Key Takeaways
- Professional drying starts after the standing water has been removed, and it uses air movement and dehumidification to pull the moisture out of the structure over days.
- Fans move air, but they do not remove moisture from it, and wet air cannot take up more moisture from a wet wall.
- There are a few things that make a flooded house worse, and they are worth knowing about.
- Drying a flooded house takes time, and the house will be noisy with drying equipment and busy with follow-up visits while it happens.
- Call a professional as soon as the house is safe to enter and the water has receded, or sooner, from a dry place, if the water is still coming in.
- Drying a flooded basement is a different job from drying a flooded ground floor, because the basement is below ground, the air circulation is poor, and the walls and floor are in contact with the earth.
Your Next Step
If this guide matches what you found at home, the next step is a visit — not a guess. Call and describe what you found, and the visit is arranged from what you describe. The Structural Drying & Dehumidification page explains what that service covers, and the structural drying page explains how drying works after the water is removed.
Do not enter a flooded room, do not touch electrics in or near standing water, and do not try to clean up sewage yourself — sewage is Category 3 black water and a health hazard.
Keep the guides on this site bookmarked: the first guide, the signs guide, and the preparation guide cover the checks worth repeating — after a leak, a flood, or a burst pipe.
Water Damage Restoration help is available across New Jersey. See water-damage-restoration in Milltown, NJ for one local example, or find your town on the service areas page.
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