Cutting Edge Equipment,
Ready at a Moment's Notice

Althouse Cleaning has hundreds of pieces
of drying equipment to efficiently dry out any water
problem that you may have. In addition to these items
pictured, Althouse Cleaning truck is packed with
equipment so we are ready to respond 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.

Every Althouse Cleaning truck carries a
powerful truck-mounted cleaning machine that
produces 200°F water at high pressures for maximum
cleaning ability, and a built-in high powered vacuum
to extract water quickly and efficiently.
Water Extraction
Equipment
Properly extracting standing water from carpet
or other flooring drastically reduces the time it takes to
dry a structure. Up to 90% of the water can be removed within a
few hours. In the past technicians used vacuum wands connected
to a portable or truck-mounted system. Afterward the
carpet was removed from the house to dry.
The problem with this method was
that carpet is 50% more vulnerable to damage when removed.
Even worse, some technicians set blowers to force air under the
carpet. This not only puts additional stress on the weaked
material, but often creates flapping edges that slap the carpet
against the hard floor.
Top Down Drying
(In Place Drying)
Of course a carpet can hold a lot
of water. However the carpet pad beneath it holds even
more because it is very similar to a sponge. In place
drying is the process of putting a lot of
weight on the carpet and pad combined with strong vacuum
action. One of the first tools of this sort was the Water
Claw®.The Water Claw® consisted of a vacuum
head about the shape and size of a laptop computer. The
technician would stand on it, balancing himself with a
the waist-high handle built onto the unit.
His body weight would squeeze water from the carpet and pad,
and the water would be sucked up into the portable or truck
mounted vacuum tank. The problem with this method was that it
was slow because the technican was constantly standing on the
Water Claw®, moving it about a foot, standing on it again,
moving it another foot...

The Dri-eaz Rover offers several advantages to
the Water Claw. It is self propelled, so no time is wasted
getting off, moving and getting back on the unit. It also
weighs nearly 100 pounds and therefore helps squeeze out even
more water than the weight of the technician alone. It can turn
360° and move easily within inches of walls.
Click here to see the Rover® in action on our
television ad video clip...
Air Movers
(Blowers)
The purpose of an air mover is to lift moisture
off of surfaces and to suspend the moisture into the air. As
the moisture is removed from the surface, it is
replaced by new moisture from below the surface. In
this way materials dry all the way to ther core.

The moisture in the air is then removed by
dehumidifiers (see below).

Dri-eaz "Jet"® air mover is a great
multipurpose drying unit. It is designed for optimal air
distribution and uses a minimum of electricity. Eight jets can
be linked together and still use only one 15 amp circuit when
using the "Low" setting.

Dri-eaz SaharaPro3® turbo air mover. These are
best used for drying carpet and creating a vortex air current
inside a room to maximize evaporation. It can move up to
2700 cubic feet of air per minute. Air is drawn in
from the side and blown out in a fan pattern across the floor.
An extra pair of feet allow it to be tilted to blow slighty up
as well.
The Dri-eaz "Ace"® axial air mover blows nearly
2,000 cubic feet per minute (cfm) while using only 1.5 amps of
electricity. The unit can be used parallel with the
floor, tipped slightly up or slightly down. It can also be
dircted straight down onto the carpet or up to dry a ceiling.
Two or three units can be stacked to dry out a damp
wall.
Several Dri-eaz Ace air movers can be
stacked for storage and transportation. This is helpful
when trying to put a maximum amount of water damage restoration
equipment in the limited space of a box truck.
Dehumidifiers
Moisture suspended by air movers will remain
until it resettles or is taken out of the environment.
Dehumidifiers draw in moist air and blow out dry air. The water
vapor is cooled and collected in an internal resivoir. The
water is then pumped out through a hose to a nearby drain
or bucket. Dehumidifiers range from table top size to
units nearly as large as a semi truck trailer.


Dri-eaz "Evolution"® Low Grain Refrigerant
dehumidifier continues removing moisture from the air long
after standard refrigerant dehumidifiers give up. It is also
more energy efficient, drawing only 5 amps of power while
removing over 70 pints of water each day. A similarly sized
conventional dehumidifier would draw 6.4 amps and remove 64
pints.

This dessicant dehumidifier® continues drying
until there is virtually no moisture present. Unlike
refrigerant types of dehumidifiers, it can work in freezing
temperatures. Instead of a water hose leading to a drain,
dessicant dehumidifiers use a flexible 4" vent that blows
very moist hot air directly outside.
Specialty Drying
Equipment
Situations arise where regular air movers can
not efficiently remove water locked in certain
materials (i.e. wood floor planks) or in inaccessible
areas (i.e. inside of walls, under cabinets, etc.). Specialty equipment and advanced
techniques are needed to extract this moisture and avoid damage
and mold growth. More...
Moisture Probes and
Moisture Meters
Water Damage technicians use moisture probes to determine
the extent of area that water has spread. The probe allows
the technician to see if the pad is wet even when it is covered
by dry carpet.
It is very important that technicians monitor
the drying progress over the days of drying, and to
be able to prove when the structure is dry enough to eliminate
the threat of mold or bacteria growth. Moisture meters measure
relative humidity in the air as well as the amount of moisture
in various materials such as wood, sheetrock, brick, etc.
More...
|