There are a number of effective ways to dry screed floors fast. The tips below are not specific to a type or brand of screed, but when talking about them, we can safely assume that manufacturers’ guidelines will state that their optimum natural drying rate is reached with a relative humidity of 65% and an ambient temperature of 20 degrees Celsius over the whole drying time. If you want to dry your screed floor quickly but safely, then you need to use our top tips.

Our top tips to dry screed floors fast:

1. Ensuring that the ideal screed drying conditions are maintained, keeping windows, doors, and the areas you intend to dry the screed in closed and watertight will ensure the screed floor has a better chance of reaching its target relative humidity.
2. Restricting access to the areas –  the less traffic and access to the area, the less chance of external factors affecting the drying time of the screed. For example, leaking hoses or trying to suppress dust with water. Leaving materials laid flat on the screed surface will also prohibit moisture from exiting so impeding the fast drying of the screed floor.
3. Laitance is a weak friable layer of fine particles that can form on the surface of concrete after it has cured. It can prohibit moisture evaporation and prevent the fast drying of screed floors. Removal of this laitance by simply running a 60 grit sander over the surface of the screed will help with the evaporation of moisture so drying the screed floor quicker.
4. Simple tasks such as flow testing each batch of screed on arrival. Each type and brand of screed is different so be sure to read the manufacturer’s data-sheet.
5. Testing is important to the drying of screed floors fast, periodically testing the screed floor’s local environment during the drying time will allow for close management. If you find wet areas or inconsistencies in drying it can identify problems and these can quickly be addressed.

These tips are straight forward but effective for drying screed floors fast. If followed they can help maintain a steady drying time of the screed. Your screed floor will dry fast and you will minimise the chance of problems.

Bonus Tip

Using boilers, dehumidifiers and air moving fans can help create the ideal conditions in a controlled manner so allowing your screed floor to dry fast but care must be taken to use these additional items according to our guidelines.