Book/Document Drying

When fire or water damage occurs, speed is of the essence in restoring books and documents. Depending on the temperature and humidity, within 48 to 72 hours fungal growth begins, and after five days damp or wet paper records begin to chemically break down.

FireStar, Inc. utilizes two successful processes for document drying: air drying, a very labor intensive process that is most commonly used; and vacuum freezing, which uses "sublimation," a process that turns a solid to a gas in one step. This method, although very efficient, can be costly and is used mainly in the restoration of irreplaceable documents.