Most company owners would give their left arm to have a couple of hours to explain to a customer just how great their company is. Almost every action, attitude and guideline in a company can be called marketing.

How long has it been since you took your last water restoration class? Two years? Five years? Longer? We’ve talked to dozens of people over the years who assume that, “I went to water class a couple of years ago, so I remember everything I need to know.” With all the changes in technologies and standards in water restoration, that’s a very dangerous assumption.

Drying science has advanced to the point where nearly any material item in a structure can be dried. There are many tools and techniques to achieve drying goals, and a true professional will have all of these tools at their disposal.

There are five things I do with my inspection kit that most restorers don’t think of doing. Put these into practice and you’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on during your restorative drying projects. Also, you’ll get more for your money out of your current meters.

Have you ever had to hammer in a nail with a wrench? Or had to pry open a paint can lid with a hammer? It can be done; it’s just a lot tougher. It’s a cliché, sure, but still true: A job is most easily done with the correct tool.

One of the most disruptive things for a customer is the hassle of having water-damaged drywall replaced. Days of tear-out, replacement, taping, mudding, skim coats, priming and painting can ruin a customer’s attitude.

The goal of every restoration job is to safely and efficiently return the indoor environment to pre-loss condition for the customer. Part of this responsibility is to address the quality of the air inside the structure.

Imagine your mother’s house was flooded and you had to choose someone to perform the restoration. Would you want Joe Dry, ASD, CR who uses 10-year-old equipment but knows drying so well that he gets the jobs done fast, completely and with awesome customer service, or Bubba New, who knows nothing about drying except to plug in this really good equipment and come back in three days?

Restoration professionals be warned: All moisture meters give false information. This can lead the user to false positive or negative results when looking for water in building materials. Readings can also be easily misinterpreted.

The focus lately in water restoration has been on increasing evaporation in materials to speed drying. Increasing evaporation is obviously a key to drying structures faster. But now that we can increase the speed of evaporation, remember that all that water has to go somewhere.