Drying devices after water damage

Question

Dear expert team,
in my apartment there has been a water damage due to a lacking water pipe during my holiday, that means the floor and 2 walls are humid. The mould has already been killed and now walls and floor have to be dried with drying devices. These devices reduce the air humidity to 30% and are supposed to run 14 days possibly 24 hours a day (due to the enormous noise level this is hardly possible). The drying company said to me that this would not be harmful to healthy people, one only had to drink more. How is this in case of CF, what do I also have to take into accout? Can I put the devices on at all when I am in the appartment or should I better put them only on when I am away?
Many thanks in adavance,
Best regards,

Answer

Hello,
The effect of drying a wall or floor with the help of special devices with the aim to avoid a new development of mould is theoretically faster and more secure to achieve if the air humidity is reduced continously and over a certain time. According to your information, the humiditiy is reduced to 30% over a time of about 14 days.
Ideally in living rooms the humidity should be between 40-60%. In case the humidity goes down, the human being has an inconvenient feeling. Very dry air is not favourable for the breathing, as the oxygen reaches the blood vessels worse via the alveoli, furthermore the mucosal surfaces suffer from this which tend to dry out at a reduced humidity of the air and therefore it can come e.g. to nose bleeding. These consequences depend however on the operation time (duration) and the sensibility of the human being.
The easiest would be to recommend that you quit your appartment for the 2 weeks of drying, if it is possible. In case it is not possible, then one has to follow the common sense (as often in life). Try to be out of the appartment during the work of the drying devices, avoid especially the reduction of humidity at night. To drink much and inhalation with 0.9% NaCl could help you to reduce the uncomfortable feeling of dryness or help that it does not occur at all. Short and like in your case limited periods of attendance in rooms with reduced humidity should not be harmful to you. It seems to be much more important to me, to achieve a good and effective sanitation of mould in your appartment, as mould in the appartment can represent quite often a reason for lung diseases.
Yours sincerely,
Yours
Dr. Christina Smaczny

01.08.2011