Dry It Out or Tear It Out: Drywall, Carpet, Floors and Plaster After Water Damage

It depends on four things: what the material is, what kind of water soaked it, how long it was wet before drying started, and what the moisture readings say. Plaster, solid framing and concrete are often dried in place. Carpet pad, insulation and ceiling tile usually come out. Drywall and carpet soaked with clean water and dried early can sometimes stay. Anything porous soaked by sewage or flood water is generally removed. The decision belongs to the readings, not the look of the surface.

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The four things that decide it

Every dry it or tear it decision comes back to the same four questions. What is the material, and does it hold water or shed it. What was the water: clean from a supply line, gray from an appliance drain, or black from a sewer or from outside. How long was it wet before drying started, measured against the EPA's 24 to 48 hour window. And what do the readings say, day by day, as it dries. A contractor who decides on sight alone, in either direction, is guessing. The rest of this guide takes the common materials one at a time.

Carpet and pad

The pad under a carpet is a sponge, and it is usually the first thing to go. The EPA advises throwing away materials that soak up a lot of water and cannot be cleaned and dried, and notes that absorbent materials such as carpet may have to be thrown away. The carpet itself is more often saveable than people expect when the water was clean and it was extracted and lifted early, so the pad can be replaced and the backing and subfloor dried. Carpet soaked by sewage or flood water is generally removed. Under a federal flood policy, FEMA says removing carpet installed in a basement is not paid for, so in a flooded finished basement the cost of pulling it is usually the owner's.

Drywall

Drywall is paper over gypsum, and it wicks water upward. Clean water caught early can sometimes be dried in place by opening the wall at the base, taking the baseboard off or drilling small holes behind it, so air reaches the cavity. Where the lower part reads saturated, a flood cut removes a strip at the bottom and leaves the rest, which is far less work than replacing a whole wall. Drywall soaked by sewage or flood water, the CDC advises, should be removed and discarded, along with the insulation behind it. The EPA's refinishing line of 15 percent or less on a moisture meter is the test before any wall is closed up or painted.

Plaster and old framing

Many houses around Syracuse, and most in the city, Liverpool and East Syracuse, were built before 1940 with plaster on lath and solid wood framing. Plaster holds up to clean water much better than drywall: it does not fall apart when wet, and it can often be dried in place, slowly, with dehumidifiers and air movement. It takes patience rather than demolition, and the readings decide when it is finished. The risk with old walls is hidden water in the cavity behind them, which is why readings are taken at the base and in several places, not only where the stain shows.

Hardwood, engineered floors and subfloor

Solid hardwood that has cupped after a leak is not always ruined; dried slowly and evenly it often flattens enough to be sanded and refinished, although that is a decision for after the readings, not before. Engineered floors and laminate over a foam underlay trap water beneath them, and are more often removed so the subfloor can dry. Whatever sits on top, the subfloor and the joists below are the part that has to reach dry before anything goes back. The EPA says drying usually takes several days to weeks, so a floor that looks fine on day two is not yet a floor that can be closed in.

Insulation, ceilings and finished basements

Fiberglass insulation that has been soaked holds water against the framing and is usually removed; the CDC says insulation contaminated with sewage or flood water should be discarded. Ceiling tile is on the EPA's list of absorbent materials that may have to go. Ceilings below a leak should be checked for sagging before anyone stands under them. Finished basements combine every hard case: carpet, drywall, framing against a cold foundation and, in a Syracuse summer, humid air at dew points around 60 degrees. If the water came from outside, FEMA's basement rules put finished walls and floors outside flood coverage, which makes drying in place, where the readings allow, worth asking about.

Why the readings, not the date, end it

Anyone who promises a house will be dry in a set number of days is guessing, and anyone who closes a wall because it feels dry is taking a risk with the owner's money. The EPA says wet materials dried within 24 to 48 hours will in most cases not grow mold, which is the reason to start quickly; it is not a promise, and nobody can make one. What ends the drying is the log: the same points read each day, written down, until they reach the refinishing line and indoor humidity is back in range. Keep that log. It is the evidence for the insurer and the starting point for whoever quotes the rebuild.