Waiting for concrete floors to dry can be a painstaking process, especially when you have a project to complete. There are steps you can take to help concrete floors dry faster.
The environment a concrete slab dries is makes a big difference in how fast or slow it dries. The conditions that have the biggest impact on drying time are:
- Airflow
- Temperature
- Surface Porosity
You can control these factors during many construction projects. There is no reason to sit back and complain about how slowly the concrete is drying.
How To Control Temperature
Concrete dries 50 percent slower when it is cold. The best temperatures for concrete drying are above 10 degrees and below 33 degrees celcius.
If you can seal off the space above your concrete slab and heat it during cold months, you will increase the drying rate. In a large space, like a parking garage, this could be a challenge.
You might consider saving large projects for warmer months to help the concrete dry faster. In a small space it should be fairly simple to seal the windows and doors and run heaters.
How To Control Airflow
During warm months you can open windows and let the wind do the work for you. You can run blowers and fans over your concrete at cold times or when there’s no wind.
The force of the air moves moisture away from the concrete as soon as it rises out. Without airflow, moisture saturates the air and doesn’t allow more water vapor to escape from the concrete.
Porosity and Cement Drying
It may not look like it, but cement is similar to a sponge. It has pores that can soak up water.
The pores also allow moisture to escape from a concrete slab. To help your concrete dry faster, make sure that it stays dry from rain or other sources of water that could seep into the pores.