Flooding will happen on your property; it is inevitable that something will go wrong. Since one property management report suggests that more than 14,000 people a day in the U.S. experience water damage-related issues, it is fair to say that you are going to want the right equipment to deal with water and flooding. Repair and restoration are not easy, and to do it right you’ll need a selection of tools on hand that are best-suited for the work.
Vacuums, dehumidifiers, and desiccants are all incredibly valuable tools to help in the recovery of your business or home space. Each helps reduce the time needed to clear water and fix the damage. A shop-vac is able to quickly draw up large quantities of standing water from an area. Dehumidifiers will pull the moisture from the air so that it does not settle on anything and allow mold to grow. Desiccants will do the same as a dehumidifier, but are better suited for smaller spaces.
Additional items, like MBT absorbent materials, are a smart inclusion to your flood restoration toolset. Absorbents are able to soak up water messes that do not necessarily require a large machine like a shop-vac. Like desiccants, they are a valuable addition to the machine resources used for clearing out excess water.
Why Are Absorbents Useful?
Anything that absorbs water allows property owners to remove it from the area of a flood. That is the end goal of flood restoration, having your property returned to what it was before water burst onto the scene. There are mechanical tools that are a great help for absorbing water, like a shop-vac, which can extract large volumes of water to clear out the worst of the flood water. The downside to shop-vacs is that they have a limited capacity to extract water before they need to be drained. A heavy-duty tool like that will take in most of the excess flood waters, leaving only small pools. Those pools can be easily taken care of by absorbent pads, socks, or pillows.
- Absorbent pads can be spread out to soak up the water pooling on the floor.
- Absorbent socks can be used to redirect water flow.
- Absorbent pillows can be used to catch and absorb large drips.
Absorbent materials like pads, socks, and pillows are disposable, meaning you don’t need to drain buckets or shop-vacs when they have reached saturation Instead, an absorbent can be thrown right in the trash after it has soaked up as much as it can. Best used after the majority of water has been removed, absorbents add an extra option for cleaning up water during flood restoration.
There are several absorbent options, depending on your needs: MBT universal absorbents can soak up either water or oil, while OSMO products are designed to absorb large quantities of water only. Using the appropriate absorbent for a job is important because, just like having the wrong tool for a job, having the wrong absorbent can hamper restoration efforts more than help. You don’t want to have oil-only products (made for petroleum- and diesel-based liquids) as your only absorbents on hand during a water flood.
If absorbents seem like a good fit for your needs, the next step is considering which type of absorbent is best for your use (mats, socks, booms, pillows, granular, or OSMO) and how many you’re likely to need. Here are a few points to consider to help figure that out:
- Durability
- Duration
- Absorbency & Retention
- Type of Liquid
- Shape & Size
OSMO Flood Barriers and Thirsty Pads are two absorbents made for flood prevention and restoration, so they offer the best qualities for that purpose. Flood Barriers block and redirect water flows, while Thirsty Pads can be set down to catch dripping water and are brightly colored to alert foot traffic to the potential hazard.
Foot Traffic During Restoration
Of all available absorbents, why are Flood Barriers and Thirsty Pads two of the better options? The simple reason is because they are made with people and safety in mind. At any location where water is spilled or the area is flooded, it is imperative to put down some kind of wet floor warning sign, and OSMO products are built to redirect the foot traffic around flooded areas or water dangers by cautioning people from afar..
The universal bright yellow sign with the international symbol for slips, trips, and falls lets foot traffic know that there is potential danger in the area. OSMO Thirsty Pads and Flood Barriers have the warning signs built in and are made with bright yellow material.
Thirsty Pads are fully yellow so they can be dropped under a spill and no matter how they land they will get the message across. Flood Barriers are colored yellow at the top as well, and both products are clearly marked to help people avoid them.
Flood Barriers and Thirsty Pads Are:
- Highly Durable
- Super Absorbent
- Trash Disposable
- Reusable
- Easily Stored (before and after use)
- Compact
- Highly Visible
Having absorbents made for flood control, like Flood Barriers and Thirsty Pads, can help clean up water problems faster. Flood Barriers help to contain large amounts of water and Thirsty Pads offer high-capacity absorption.
Redirecting and Containing Water With Flood Barriers
The MBT Flood Barrier is a reusable (and disposable) super-absorbent barrier designed to protect areas from water damage in a flood. They are purpose-built to be durable enough to handle an excessive amount of water, swelling into a thick sock once they’ve reached saturation, and then usable as a guiding path when forcing water out.
A five foot Flood Barrier can absorb up to 4 gallons of water, and the ten foot Barrier can hold twice that much. They are long-lasting absorbents and even after they absorb their maximum, they can still be used as barriers against water.
The Flood Barrier’s easy-to-use and quick-to-deploy design means it is a great stop-gap solution for long- or short-term flash flooding. They are perfect for creating barriers (as the name suggests) to direct the flow of water out of your home or business. If you set a barrier or two around the exit door, it will help to avoid water splashing away from the exit as the door is opened.
If any water does manage to escape flood control measures but is not enough to warrant a Flood Barrier, Thirsty Pads are perfect for setting down to absorb any excess water.
Absorbing and Catching Drips With Thirsty Pads
Thirsty Pads are made to catch drips, spills, leaks, or even some water that gets past a Flood Barrier. Whenever there is flooding, be it from a broken pipe, a bad storm, or a big spill, Thirsty Pads can help contain and absorb the water. Thirsty Pads are excellent for use with drips and leaks. Placing a few Thirsty Pads under the source of trouble will add some much needed time to your ability to respond, since a pack of these adsorbents is able to take in around 5 gallons of water.
The go-to solution for any leak is typically putting something under it, most often a bucket, to catch the water while the source of the water is dealt with. Thirsty Pads can replace cumbersome buckets and catch water all on their own.
If all that you are doing is catching a drip, there will still be water to deal with at the end of your restoration process. You’ll need to drain whatever you’ve caught your drip in, which is a hassle that can be avoided with high-capacity absorbents like the Thirsty Pad. And Thirsty Pads, with their high-absorbency capabilities, can take in up to 5 gallons of water, which means that if you set down a few pads, you are not going to need to replace them for quite some time.
Absorbents are essential for work during flood restoration, and OSMO products like Flood Barriers and Thirsty Pads are made for efficient water absorption. Thousands of people file flood damage claims every month because flooding is not an uncommon problem in homes and businesses. You can mitigate your potential damages and losses by having effective flood fighting tools on hand. Flood Barriers and Thirsty Pads are great additions to your flood restoration arsenal.
For more information, be sure to take a look at our new flood control brochure for the latest water damage protection options.
If you would like to reach out to Meltblown Technologies directly, we are always available to help with your absorbency questions at 770-754-0600.