Trying to restore wet materials in a mobile home can be challenging for several reasons. First, a mobile home is typically built on a metal chassis so it can be towed with 2x6 wood floor joists, 2x2, 2x3 or 2x4 wood wall studs with the wood roof trusses sitting on the exterior load bearing walls. Sometimes, the wood wall studs are 16” apart and sometimes, in cheaper models or in interior, non-loadbearing walls, 24” apart. Because these homes are mass produced in factories, the flooring (generally carpet or sheet vinyl) is installed under the walls making it very difficult to lift carpet without first cutting it away from the sill plate and could still leave wet carpeting under the wall sill plates. Particleboard is a common subfloor material and will swell easily when wet and could require replacement.  

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An initial thorough inspection is critical to identify what materials have lost structural integrity, (particleboard, MDF baseboard, etc.) supported by good photos showing the extent of the damages, so you can validate amount of demolition recommended. You will typically see more demolition required when mobile homes are flooded simply because of the use of cheaper building materials and the way they are mass produced. The HVAC ductwork is typically under the mobile home with supply vents in the floor, so it is easy to lift a floor register to inspect the layers of flooring.  Flex duct is common because it is cheaper and many times becomes weighted down with water when flooded, potentially separating from the vents.  

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Fiberglass batt insulation under the mobile home is common and is covered with a plastic belly wrap that is generally waterproof and, in some cases, they claim, rodent proof. There may be metal skirting around the edge of the crawlspace to keep the wind from blowing under the home, which is good for separating outside conditions from crawlspace conditions, if necessary. Because broken water lines will always drain downward due to gravity much of the water will be caught in the belly wrap making it critical that it be inspected and drained. Once draining is complete, wet insulation dried or removed, and ductwork inspected, the belly wrap can actually be used as a tent to trap air under the mobile home by using lay flat ducting to deliver hot, dry air from the dehumidifier exhaust under the mobile home and tapping the belly wrap closed as best possible to contain and circulate the dry air. Remember, to have the driest, hottest air enter under the mobile home where it was the wettest and have the air exit the belly wrap tent on one end of the mobile home so you create negative air pressure, just as we would when drying any crawlspace.

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Record the grains per pound of dry air (gpp) entering and leaving the tented area in the crawlspace so we can see how much moisture is actually being removed from the air inside your drying chamber. Many times, you can duct the dehumidifier exhaust under the mobile home through the floor vents.  The goal is to dry affected materials that can be saved back to pre-loss moisture content conditions. In mobile homes many times this is the affected wood framing in walls, wood subfloors (if structurally sound), and wood floor joists under the mobile home.  It is critical that moisture content readings are recorded daily until drying targets have been reached.  Remember, all wood materials must be returned to less than 20% moisture content using a penetrating moisture meter to prevent destructive microbial growth from occurring.

In summary, take good photos of any swelling or deterioration of materials during your initial inspection that were affected by the water loss because mobile homes typically use particleboard, medium density fiberboard (MDF), and oriented strand board (OSB) more than normal homes and may require more demolition.  Also, identify if any affected carpet is installed under walls, thus complicating its drying and removal.  Finally, make sure to Follow the Path of the Water down into the crawlspace to drain the belly wrap and dry any salvable wood materials from below by using the belly wrap as a vapor barrier to help circulate dehumidified air under the mobile home under negative air pressure, if possible.  Take photos of your final moisture content readings and tell your "drying story" with well-labelled photos, a good sketch of the floor plan, psychrometric & moisture content readings, and a detailed moisture map.

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