Need to dry hard floors fast? Whether you’re dealing with spills, routine cleaning, or water damage, an air mover is the ultimate piece of equipment for speeding up the drying process. But to get the best results, it’s essential to use it correctly.
Unlike standard fans, air movers generate powerful, high-velocity airflow, helping to dry large areas or target specific spots more efficiently. They work on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, making them an essential tool for cleaning professionals, facility managers, and restoration experts.
Why is proper air mover usage so important? Thorough moisture removal prevents water damage, reduces slip hazards, and helps protect delicate surfaces like wood floors from warping or mold growth.
This guide will walk you through:
- Step-by-step instructions for drying hard floors effectively
- Tips for best performance and greater drying efficiency
- Key safety and maintenance recommendations to maximize performance
Let’s dive in:
How to Use an Air Mover on Hard Floors
For hard floors, these steps prioritize maximum airflow and ventilation instead of power, ensuring every last drop of the moisture is removed from any cracks and imperfections in the surface. Any amount of water left behind can warp or damage your flooring, especially if you have wooden floors.
Step 1: Assess the Area
Step 2: Remove Standing Water
Step 3: Pick Up Any Debris
Step 4: Treat the Area with a Sanitizer
Step 5: Position the Air Mover
Need to dry carpet too? Don’t miss our step-by-step instructions and guide to drying carpet and using centrifugal air movers.
Steps to Use an Air Mover to Dry Hard Floors
Step 1: Assess the Area
Before you do anything else, you need to evaluate all potentially affected areas. Not having the full scope of how much water you’re dealing with can lead to areas being missed and permanent water damage.
Here is a checklist of things to look out for:
- Visible water pooling
- Source of the water intrusion
- Discoloration or dark spots
- Warping or buckling of floor boards
- Loose or uneven tiles
- Flaking or peeling finish
- Any areas that feel soft or spongy
- Mold growth
If you are unsure about the extent of water damage, consider using a moisture meter to gauge the moisture levels or consult a professional restoration company to assess the damage and initiate the repair process.
Step 2: Remove Standing Water
Now that you’ve identified the problem areas, the first thing you’ll need to do is remove any standing water, and for hard floors, you’ll want to do that with a wet vacuum, mop, or absorbent agent. Hard floors don’t retain water like carpet does, so a combination of these will be the fastest and most effective way to remove the excess water.
Dry as much as you can in this step, then your air movers can tag in and finish the job.
Step 3: Pick Up Any Debris
Once you’ve removed enough water to use your air mover, make sure to remove any debris left behind on the floor before you start blowing air. This is a critical step because not doing so can create a larger problem and cause the air mover to circulate contaminants into the air.
Step 4: Treat the Area with a Sanitizer
After you’ve picked up large pieces of debris, and if you suspect mold development, treat your hard floor with a sanitizer before using your air mover. This will prevent any mold spores or harmful particulates from being thrown into the air.
Step 5: Position the Air Mover
When setting up an air mover to dry hard floors, you will want to position the air mover so that it is directing airflow at a low angle–as close to parallel with the floor as you can get for optimal drying. You’ll want to point the airflow directly at the problem spot on the floor.
Pro Tip: If you are using multiple air movers to dry one area, make sure they are distributed evenly, overlap their airflows, and consider daisy-chaining them if you can to ensure efficient drying and less strain on your circuit. For optimal drying, the rule of thumb is to have one air mover for every 500 feet of hard floor that needs to dry.
What is Daisy-Chaining?
Daisy-chaining is the capability to link more than one air mover together through the use of an onboarded electrical socket. This will allow you to connect up to three air movers in one series to maximize airflow and not overwhelm your circuit.
Dry at Medium Speed
Although it can be tempting to want to blast the area with as powerful of airflow as your air mover can muster, the recommended speed setting for hard floors is actually medium speed. This ensures that the airflow is efficient enough to dry the floor but avoids stirring up dust into the air.
When it comes to drying hard floors, a high-CFM, medium-power axial air mover is going to be the best option because it will send out a high enough volume of air to completely dry and ventilate the area. Use it in conjunction with a centrifugal air mover to target corners and other problem areas.
Tips for Efficient Drying on Hard Floors
Now that you’ve set up your air movers and your hard floors are drying, here are some additional tips to take your drying experience to the next level:
Ventilate Properly
Ventilation is crucial during the drying process because it forces the moist air that is being pulled off of the wet surface out of the area. Proper ventilation prevents the air from becoming overly saturated with moisture, which can hinder or even halt the drying process. Make sure your doors and windows are open—don’t leave any area you are trying to dry completely enclosed.
Dry Wood Floors at Medium Speed
Be very careful when running an air mover on hardwood floors. The high humidity levels in the resulting airflow from an air mover can cause hardwood floors to warp if the speed setting is set too high. Wood is sensitive to moisture and expands and contracts according to its moisture level. If the wood in the floor expands and contrasts too often, it can cause the floor boards to buckle.
Take Safety Precautions
Finally, hard floors can be very slippery when wet. Continuously monitor the drying process and take precautions like putting out wet floor signs or blocking off wet areas to prevent slipping hazards. If you must walk through a wet area, walk cautiously, taking smaller steps, slowing down, and watching your footing carefully.
Safety Tips for Air Mover Use
Although using air movers is generally straightforward, safety precautions can complicate the process if overlooked:
Prevent Overheating
It’s crucial to prevent your air mover from overheating. Keep air intakes and exhaust vents free of obstructions, and clean the machine after each use to avoid dust and debris accumulation.
An overheated air mover can hinder or halt drying, allowing continued water damage and potentially fostering mold growth.
Cord Management
Proper cord management is essential when using air movers. Neglecting this can create tripping hazards or electrical malfunctions. Keep cables away from standing water and ensure dry connections. Route cables outside high-traffic areas when feasible, and daisy-chain air movers if possible.
Electrical Safety
As mentioned, electrical safety is paramount with air movers, especially given their use in damp environments. Never use an ungrounded air mover in standing water. Be vigilant and make sure all cables and connections remain dry.
Ignoring electrical safety can lead to serious injury and irreparable damage to your air mover.
Quick Maintenance Tips for Air Movers
Now that you know how to properly use your air mover, here are a few additional quick tips to keep your equipment in top shape:
- Clean the fan and vents regularly to prevent dust buildup.
- Check for wear and tear on cords, plugs, and other components before using.
- Lubricate moving parts as needed if required by the manufacturer.
- Watch out for excessive vibration and tighten bolts and parts as needed.
- Never leave air movers unattended or running overnight.
- Store air movers in a clean, dry area when not in use.
- Make sure the cord is wound up when not in use.
Final Thoughts
If you’re still unsure about what to expect when using an air mover to dry hard floors, let’s quickly recap what you need to know:
Make sure you’re using the correct type of air mover for the job. Remember that axial air movers are optimized for airflow volume. For best drying results, use both axial and centrifugal air movers at the same time!
Don’t forget that while there are different steps required for using air movers on carpet and hard floors, the whole process boils down to pre-drying preparation, proper ventilation, and setting up your air mover to optimally dry.
If you suspect mold development, treat hard floors with a sanitizer before using your air mover to prevent mold spores and other debris from being picked up.
For drying hard floors, remove standing water with a wet vacuum, mop, or drying agent, and remove remaining debris from the floor to prep the area. Then, direct the airflow parallel to the floor for optimal drying, use multiple air movers if needed, and run them at medium speed to avoid throwing dust in the air while ensuring efficient drying.
Keep safety in mind while operating, and complete preventative maintenance to keep your air movers operational.
Preventive maintenance is a key step to making sure that your floor buffer stays operational, and your cleaning staff can clean and maintain your facility to the best of their ability. Some tasks are easy and can be performed by your janitorial team, like charging a dead battery, but others may require maintenance to be done by a service professional, like replacing a power cord.
If you have any additional questions about using your air mover to dry hard floors, contact an Imperial Dade equipment expert today. Imperial Dade has service centers across the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, and the Caribbean that can send out a licensed technician to your facility to perform the preventive maintenance services your machines need to keep them running.