Darren Foote

From a practical standpoint, one of the most important tools is education. Learn the craft from others who know it and have experienced it. Additionally, there are many important tools necessary for proper water damage restoration to accomplish the task at hand. Of course, equipment to create an enhanced drying environment is critical. However, if I had to narrow it down to the most important, it would be moisture meters. Only through proper understanding and use of moisture meters can we identify the affected areas, verify we have met our drying goals and document the process, which re-establishes the value of the property. Our job is not just to dry. It is to dry and verify.

After over 30 years of water damage restoration, I am amazed at how far the industry has advanced and am excited to see how far we will go. We used to be a bunch of carpet cleaners or insurance repair contractors who added water extraction and structural drying to our service offerings to meet the needs and requests of our clients. Seeing water damage become its own industry, and the tools developed or adopted in that process, has been incredible. We now have tools to dry out wall cavities and hardwood floors, poke holes in walls, drain multiple dehumidifiers simultaneously, remove wet pad from under partially installed carpet, and to extract water from carpet and pad. There have been enhancements in dehumidification equipment, air movers, airflow adapters and heat equipment. We have meters and IR cameras to find moisture and verify we properly dried the materials. We also now have mobile apps, which allow us to capture it all, monitor remotely as appropriate and provide peace of mind to our clients. Great things have happened, and I am sure there are many more to come.