Dryvex MC5200 Gets Fitness Center Back in Shape After Flooding

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When over seven inches of rain poured down in less than 36 hours, the Women’s Super Fitness facility in Milwaukee, Wis., just couldn’t handle the combination of storm water run off and sewer back up, resulting in a flooded athletic center and closure for the business. Residential homes and companies alike were deluged by torrential rains and record-breaking floodwaters in much of southeastern Wisconsin in June 2008. 

To get the Women’s Super Fitness Center back in shape and back in business, Wacker Neuson’s Dryvex MC 5200 open drying system was quickly put into operation.  Howard Wolf, restoration consultant for HW 3 Group, Richfield, Wis., knew he needed to act fast to prevent mold growth and moisture damage to the flooring, walls and related structures of the 10,000 square foot facility. 

“The MC 5200 unit suited us perfectly because of the limited access we had ventilation-wise, since this was a sublevel location.  Even though it’s summer, the ambient temperatures were still cooler outside the last few days, near the 70 degree range, and we needed to get a lot of heat pumped into the area in order to excite the drying out process,” Wolf added.

A tremendous labor and cost saving advantage of the MC 5200 is its exclusive Dryvection™ technology that uses outside air, rather than recycled air, to quickly dry flooded buildings and their contents and minimize business interruption time and reconstruction costs.  

After removing the visible, contaminated water from the lower level fitness area, HW 3 Group simply removed the baseboard trim and cleaned the area to get it ready for the drying process, eliminating the downtime and expensive removal and reconstruction of the drywall, studs and synthetic floor covering.  HW 3 Group placed the MC 5200 unit and ductwork at the entrance to the building, running dry, heated air to the floor, while pumping out the moisture-laden vapor from the upper level.  

As a 25-year restoration expert, Wolf was confident the MC 5200 was up to the task. 
“This unit will easily pay for itself in just a few jobs.  Initially we thought it might take five or six days to dry this job out, but I’m quite confident we’ll have this done even faster than that.”

Another essential element needed to quickly reduce damage and speed the drying process is the use of adequate air movers such as the Dryvex™ AM3000 in the affected area.

“We have about 40 air movers down there, and the air movement is critical to get the heated air exciting all the surfaces and than the MC 5200 unit exhausts and takes all that hot, moisture-laden air and gets it out of the building,” Wolf revealed.

Wacker Neuson’s jobsite support was also a key factor in keeping this project on time and on budget.  “The Dryvex customer service was just great.  I had a question about the unit on the first day, and one of the reps came down here at about 11pm last night to make sure everything was running properly.  It was of course, but I was impressed that he came down here at that hour to double check that everything was on track,” noted Wolf.

With more areas of the Midwest submerged by catastrophic and historic levels of flooding in 2008, Wolf feels that the MC 5200 will be seeing more action in the near future.  “This unit is really fuel efficient and so easy to work with…that made this a real good experience.  I know if we get a significant amount of rain here, or at another location like this, we would certainly be using this unit again,” he said.