In order to increase the rate of evaporation, what should the surface temperature of the...

The IICRC WRT body of knowledge explains that to increase therate of evaporation, the surface temperature of wet materials must beabove the dew point temperatureof the surrounding air. When a surface is warmer than the dew point, water molecules have sufficient energy to change from a liquid state to a vapor state and move into the air.

If a surface temperature falls at or below the dew point, condensation occurs instead of evaporation, adding moisture back onto the material. This condition directly opposes drying and can result in secondary damage. The WRT curriculum therefore emphasizes continuous monitoring of both air dew point and material surface temperatures to ensure evaporation conditions are maintained.

Relative humidity is not a temperature, and vapor pressure equality does not drive evaporation. Only maintaining surface temperatures above dew point ensures positive evaporation potential.

This principle is fundamental to restorative drying and is repeatedly reinforced throughout WRT psychrometric training.