Direct Air Dryers Ltd

Each year in the UK the Insurance Companies are believed to pay out over £300 million pounds as a result of water damage to properties. Events like Boscastle and Carlisle create dramatic images, and there is much talk of environmental change. Although these things grab the headlines, most of the damage is caused by domestic breakdowns of appliances and plumbing systems, together with the inevitable water damage caused by fire brigade action.

In addition to the initial damage caused directly by the water, there are secondary problems with fungal growth and weakening of structures if drying doesn’t occur quickly. So it’s important that drying is prompt and effective. However it’s not just a question of speed. Drying things out too quickly, for example by using heat, can lead to cracking and warping. The traditional approach has been to aerate the affected areas with fast moving air from a fan, combined with de-humidifiers to mop up the damp air. Although reasonably effective, this approach is noisy and can also blow dust and debris around. This makes it very unpopular with people who may have to occupy their homes or business premises whilst this is going on. It can take several weeks to dry out a flooded home using these techniques and in areas like fitted kitchens it’s very difficult to dry behind and under the units.

Two engineers working in the water damage restoration business, Jack and David Elliott, reasoned that there had to be a better way. After many experiments they came up with a device that could put the air where it was needed, but with much less noise and disruption. Even better, they discovered that it reduced overall drying times by up to 50%. They christened their device the Direct Air Dryer.

The key to the design is to distribute precise amounts of turbulent air all over the damp areas. Too much and it just blows around ineffectively. Too little and it doesn’t dry quickly enough. The Direct Air Dryer or DAD system combines a series of intricate air distribution channels matched to carefully sized outlet vents to achieve the necessary effect. These are implemented in a tough reinforced PVC material that is rugged enough to be used almost anywhere. This type of construction means that the system can be implemented in a wide range of shapes and sizes to suit any drying problem. These DAD mats can be linked to standard industry air movers to make them more efficient. There’s even a system called ‘The Octopus’ which follows its namesake in having multiple tentacles that can be fed under floors and behind fitted units with the minimum of structural disruption.

Double sided versions of the mats can be used to dry out carpets and floors simultaneously and they can also be hung on walls or fed into cavities to dry out otherwise unreachable parts of a building.

After the Elliotts developed their original prototype they were unsure how to go about protecting their idea or getting it to market. That’s when they approached Trevor Baylis Brands whose Patent Attorney helped them submit, and eventually get, a Patent for their idea. Baylis Brands also undertook to find the best way of getting the idea to market. At this stage no-one knew whether the idea would really work in practice, so with the help of Baylis Brands trials were carried out in South Wales in a number of flooded properties. The result was a great success technically and after a few minor modifications based on the experience the designs were finalised.

Baylis Brands normally recommends to its clients that they should licence their intellectual property to someone who can maximise its potential. This provides maximum rewards but with minimal risk for the inventor. With the confidence of successful trials behind them, Baylis Brands tried to find someone who would take up licences for the Patent to manufacture the system. But there were no takers. Most of the equipment used by the industry is imported from overseas and there are no major UK manufacturers of this type of equipment and Baylis Brands was reluctant to go offshore with such a novel idea. The water damage and flood restoration industry itself operates on the basis of a network of franchises, with no obvious focal point for manufacturing. As no one could be found to buy a license on the Patent, Baylis Brands recommended that the best course of action was for the Elliott brothers to manufacture and sell the equipment themselves. The result was Direct Air Dryers Ltd. With the help of Baylis Brands, this company was created in early 2005 and started trading in early May. More details of the system can be found at www.directairdryers.com.

The initial reaction from the Industry has exceeded all expectations and the operators can see immediate benefits in reduced drying times with less disruption. Families and businesses can be moved back into their premises more quickly with major reductions in secondary costs such as hotel bills for the families and loss of profits for the businesses.

For the insurance companies there will be major reductions in the amount they have to pay out. Engineers working in the industry like the technique because it frees up equipment such as air movers and dehumidifiers more quickly, letting them deal with more jobs and reducing the capital investment required.

In addition to flood restoration work there are opportunities for the technology in the building industry, drying out buildings quicker gets occupants in quicker and rents starting earlier. This is even more true in Europe where because of the construction methods, drying buildings is a major construction industry cost. The system can also be used for carpet drying, particularly in hotels and public buildings where waiting for carpets to dry can mean a major loss of revenue or facilities. You could even use the system to dry out cricket pitches, tennis courts, and sports grounds to increase their utilisation.

Overall things are looking good for the Elliotts and they are looking forward to building a major business which has significant export potential. This is a success story for the UK, where yet again UK ingenuity has come up with a solution that may have worldwide potential. This time let’s try and keep it in the UK.

© Trevor Baylis Brands plc

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