What is an Air Mover?

10/25/2017 (Permalink)

What’s an Air Mover?

Air movers (aka “industrial air blowers”, “commercial blower fans” or “floor drying fans”) are used in construction and water restoration projects, having a wide variety of industrial applications. Their primarily used to increase air circulation, which speeds up water evaporation and reduces drying time. Compressed air is also used to maximize airflow in a blower fan or air mover.

Air movers are an essential tool when mitigation services are needed due to water damage or restoring flood or disaster damage. Some advantages of drying a building with the use of air movers are as follows:

• Low power draw
• High velocity, making them ideal for cooling and ventilation purposes
• Reduces water damage dry out time to carpets and floors, as well as wall cavities behind drywall
• Dries concrete and paint
• Removing fumes or gases from a workspace

TYPES OF AIR MOVER UNITS

The type of air blower affects the speed and direction of airflow and the amount of space that can be covered by the air mover. There are three major types of air blower units used in most commercial dry out scenarios:

1. Axial: Axial blowers are designed to move large amounts of air across a wide space. These tend to be larger air movers that produce high airflow. Unlike centrifugal air movers, which can direct air in several directions, axial air movers only move air horizontally. They’re ideal for drying walls or top-down drying treatments on carpets. They’re sometimes used for ventilation and equipment cooling.
2. Centrifugal: This type offers a more compact air mover designed for spot treatments. Centrifugal air movers draw air from several sources and direct it to a particular spot. They are often used in restoration work to dry hard to reach areas like under cabinets and in crawl spaces and closets. Most centrifugal air movers can be adjusted to provide airflow at a few different angles. Centrifugal blowers are heavy-duty air movers that produce lower CFM than axial air movers.
3. Compact: Compact air movers are versatile enough to be used for both large floor areas and small spot drying. With 1/4 horsepower motors, they still have the power to quickly and effectively dry areas, while also being quieter than centrifugal air movers and taking up less space. Small and lightweight, compact air movers are the perfect solution for drying small, hard-to-reach spaces such as closets, corners or under counters.

We at SERVPRO of Chatsworth will always assess each water damage situation independently and if our highly trained IICRC certified technicians determine that air movers are a necessary step to speed up the drying process, we have all the resources needed to help make it “Like it never even happened®.”

We sincerely hope these unfortunate situations never happen but if they do we are standing by 24/7 and can be reached at (818) 842-1400.