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Secondary Damage   Once water has had time to go as far as it is going to go, the damage up to that point is considered primary damage. After that, secondary damage begins to take place. The idea is to minimize secondary damage. The greatest solutions in the world can’t prevent what has already happened, but we can try to prevent what has yet to occur. So, we try to keep the damage that has yet to occur to a minimum. In a flood, the obvious part of the problem is too much water. The not too obvious is water vapor. As the floors, walls, and cabinets are soaking in standing water, the air is filling with water as well. The air can hold a lot of water. Once the relative humidity gets above 60%, mold begins to become active and grow. While the house or building is soaking in water, and as the amount of moisture in the air continues to rise, the structure may begin to swell. When the doors are not closing properly, that is a good indication of structural swelling. It is critical to remove the standing water as quickly as possible, and then proper structural drying techniques should be applied to minimize secondary damage as much as possible. Once the standing water has been extracted, and materials that were ruined were removed, the next thing to accomplish is get the moisture in the air under control. Dehumidifiers are used to reduce the amount of moisture in the air. Once the relative humidity has been brought below 60%, that will bring the mold problem under control to an extent. Items that got wet like hardwood cabinets will need the air to be much dryer, as quickly as possible, to do them much good. Some items are easily dried like carpet and drywall while other materials can be more stubborn. The actual humidity in the air must be below 40 grains per pound to dry hardwood or concrete in any kind of timely manner. That means when the room temperature is 70 F the relative humidity has to be below 37% to restore hardwoods or concrete to pre-loss moisture conditions any time in the near future. It takes a particular type of dehumidifier to do that. It must have low grain technology. Refrigerant dehumidifiers do not have the capability to dry below 40 grains per pound.