What is a ‘Dry Standard’ and Why Does it Matter?

By Pat Muller, Ready 2 Respond Trainer

In water damage response, the process is not complete until all affected materials reach specific drying goals, which are typically referred to as a “dry standard.” This standard is established by obtaining moisture readings of nearby unaffected (dry) materials – which then serve as a benchmark for assessing the drying progress of affected (damaged) areas.

Using the dry standard in water damage response ensures that drying is comprehensive and prevents further damage that can occur if it is not – such as mold, mildew, and serious structural damage. It also helps prevent over-drying, which can cause other issues like weakened building materials, cracked drywall, and brittle or warped wood flooring.

How to Implement

You can establish a dry standard by using moisture meters to obtain readings from the same material in a nearby dry, unaffected area. Each different type of material will have a different dry standard, requiring separate readings for each. Wood, tile, drywall, and carpet will each have a distinct dry standard. 

A few tips for establishing dry standard:

• Use moisture meters to analyze and understand what items are wet – how high up walls, how far across flooring, and what contents are impacted. This is the area where extraction, inspection, and drying are needed – your affected area.
• Gather readings from each material in the affected area, then find similar materials in several different unaffected areas to measure. You can use adjacent spaces that were not impacted by water damage, upper or lower floors that were not affected, or other areas of the same room that are clearly free and far away from water intrusion.
• Relative readings and relative dry standards are not the same as true moisture content readings. Actual moisture content readings are more precise; however, they are not necessary for documentation or decision-making on drying projects.

To help your facilities team implement dry standard and other water damage response protocols, contact the Ready 2 Respond™ team.