Is It Okay to Keep Wet Drywall?

Can you let drywall simply dry out? This is one of those questions homeowners might have after a flooding event. If you've recently moved to a flood-prone area for the first time, you may be faced with how to handle drywall damage for the first time. The answer is pretty simple. Soaked drywall should never stay in a home. The next step is to remove drywall just above the flood line. This is considered the easiest and cheapest option because you'll only need to replace the bottom half of your drywall. However, the truth is that even this "easy hack" for removing wet drywall still requires a considerable amount of demolition.

It's understandable that homeowners want to avoid the time and cost that go into flood remediation. However, allowing drywall to stay can result in big costs for both your home and health. Let's talk about why keeping wet drywall is so dangerous.

Why Does Drywall Need to Be Removed After Getting Wet?

Why can't I just dry out my drywall instead of tearing it out? It's tempting to simply run some fans and dehumidifiers following water damage at your home in the hopes that this will suck moisture from your walls. Unfortunately, the gypsum material within your home's drywall soaks up water like a sponge. While you actually will need to air out your home with fans and dehumidifiers while tearing out your wet drywall, these are only considered supplemental tools.

Its never ok to leave wet sheetrock in the wall, even after drying it out.

You also shouldn't decide whether you want to keep or tear out your drywall based on how it feels to the touch. The General Services Administration (GSA) points out that "hand dryness" is not an appropriate check when determining if drywall needs to be removed. The agency notes that water may have flowed behind the wall. In addition, drywall and other porous surfaces that have registered moisture content after 48 hours must be removed. Insulation that has become wet or moldy should also be removed and replaced.

There are several dangerous consequences in play when we allow wet drywall to remain in our homes. Here's what you're looking at if you don't act quickly:

• Your Walls Won't Survive: Wet drywall won't be able to retain its structure once it finally dries. Exposure to moisture for a prolonged period during a flood event compromises drywall's structural integrity. The short of it is that your walls will begin to sag and soften. Over time, this will turn into visible cracking and warping.

• Mold Will Form: Your walls won't be able to dry fast enough to stop mold from forming. How long does it take mold to form on drywall? The damage often begins just 12 to 24 hours after water exposure. It's not an exaggeration to say that the clock is truly ticking on getting drywall out once your home sustains water damage. When inhaled, mold causes serious health risks. Early signs that you've been exposed to mold in your home include a stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, wheezing, burning eyes, and skin rash. For immune-compromised people or those suffering with asthma and chronic lung disease, there's a serious risk for lung infections. Mold is also linked with chronic illness.

• Moisture Transfer Will Occur: What happens in your walls doesn't stay in your walls. Did you know that untreated wet drywall can actually transfer moisture to other components of your home? That means that furniture, flooring, and other materials that you were able to save may still become damaged or exposed to mold.

Homeowners who simply "air out" rooms with wet drywall or try to cover up the cosmetic damage of flooding by painting their water-damaged walls are also making another type of mistake. They aren't getting a chance to pull up their walls to get a look at the water damage on the other side. By removing your drywall, you can also swap your wet insulation for fresh insulation to reduce mold risks.

Is There an Alternative to Removing Wet Drywall?

Unfortunately, you're out of options if your home's drywall is already soaked because of a flooding event. It's essential that you properly remove, dispose of, and replace wet drywall. However, you can make plans now to ensure that this same level of damage doesn't happen the second time around. As we know, a home that becomes flooded once due to storm surges and severe flooding is very likely to have another flood event. Here at EnduraFlood, we've heard from customers who were forced to tear down their walls to replace drywall several times in the span of just three to five years in the midst of the major storms that rocked Florida recently before making the switch to our products.

At EnduraFlood, we've created the first waterproof drywall system. When you renovate with our products instead of merely replacing your drywall with ordinary drywall that's vulnerable to moisture, you can avoid the need to ever tear your walls out again. Our waterproof drywall allows you to open up your walls to air out insulation. EnduraFlood customers report getting their homes back to normal at a rate of one room per day. That's a big difference compared to the months-long process that most homeowners endure when getting drywall replaced. Explore EnduraFlood today!