Calculators # Drying equipment cost calculator Drying equipment is billed per unit, per day. That structure is normal, but it is also the most disputed line item in restoration, and the arithmetic is simple enough to check yourself. This is a screening estimate, not an appraisal.Your policy governs your claim. These numbers exist to help you ask better questions, not to replace an adjuster's or a contractor's estimate. Air movers Air mover rate per day ($) Dehumidifiers Dehumidifier rate per day ($) Days on site This calculator needs JavaScript. The reference table below covers the common cases. ## The formula (air movers × days × daily rate) + (dehumidifiers × days × daily rate) = equipment total ## Worked example Twelve air movers at $28/day for 8 days is $2,688. Two dehumidifiers at $95/day for 8 days is $1,520. Equipment total: $4,208 — before labour, materials or the initial extraction. ## Reference table Equipment-days for common job sizes (reference, JavaScript off) Air movers 3 days 5 days 8 days 12 days 4 12 20 32 48 8 24 40 64 96 12 36 60 96 144 20 60 100 160 240 Multiply equipment-days by your invoice rate to get the air-mover total, then add dehumidifiers separately. ## Assumptions - Daily rates vary by region and by firm. Enter the rates from your own invoice rather than trusting a national average. - Most firms bill a partial day as a full day, so an eight-day job is usually eight billable days per unit. - This covers equipment only. Labour, extraction, antimicrobial application and disposal are separate lines. - A day of equipment is supposed to be justified by a moisture reading, not by a schedule. Ask for the daily monitoring log. ## What to do with this number If your figure and the invoice disagree, the gap is almost always in one of three places: the number of machines, the number of days, or the daily rate. Ask for the equipment list showing each unit and the dates it was on site, and compare it against what was actually in your rooms. People routinely remember four air movers where the invoice bills eight. If the count and the days match and the total still looks high, the question moves to whether the last few days were justified. Equipment is supposed to come out when the material reaches the documented dry standard, so ask for the daily moisture readings and look at what the last billed day showed. A reading still above the dry standard justifies the day; no reading at all is the actual problem, and it is a documentation failure rather than a pricing dispute. Raise it in writing, with the log attached, to both the contractor and your insurer. If the contractor billed your insurer directly under an assignment of benefits, the dispute is largely between them — which is one of the practical consequences of having signed one. Where you cannot reach agreement, your state department of insurance takes complaints about claim handling and that route costs nothing. ## How coverage is actually decided on a water loss Coverage on a standard homeowners policy turns on two questions, and neither of them is how much water there was. The first is whether the event was sudden and accidental. The second is whether the water came from inside the building or from outside it. A supply line that bursts is sudden and internal, and it is the most common covered claim there is. Gradual damage is treated differently: a leak that ran behind a wall for months is usually excluded as a maintenance issue, because the policy covers events rather than deterioration. External rising water is excluded as flood and needs a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer, typically after a 30-day waiting period. Backup through a sewer or drain is excluded from the standard form and needs its own endorsement, which most homeowners do not have and do not know they do not have. No page can tell you whether your specific claim will be paid — but knowing which of those four doors your loss walked through tells you what the adjuster is evaluating. ## What to document before anything moves The documentation that decides a claim costs nothing but the ten minutes it takes, and it cannot be recreated later. Photograph wide first so the room and the extent are established, then photograph the source of the loss itself — the split line, the failed connector, the stain where water entered. Cause drives coverage far more than the amount of damage does, so the picture of the failure is worth more than the picture of the puddle. Then photograph the water line on the walls, the spread across the floor, and each affected item with its model and serial number legible. Keep receipts for anything bought because of the loss. Ask the restoration firm for the daily moisture readings and equipment log at the start of the job rather than the end — those are the documents that settle an equipment billing dispute, and a competent firm produces them anyway. Above all, do not throw damaged property away until the adjuster has seen it or authorised disposal in writing. Rules vary by stateInsurance regulation, assignment-of-benefits rules, mold requirements, and licensing are set by state. This page reflects state insurance department guidance as of 2026-08-17. Verify with your state insurance department. General information, not insurance, legal, or medical advice. Your policy governs your claim, and no page can assess your specific loss. Sources (2) - IICRC — ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration (Fifth Edition, 2021) (accessed 2026-08-17) - Insurance Information Institute — Understanding your insurance deductible / water damage coverage (accessed 2026-08-17) By The Water Damage Papa editorial team Last reviewed: 2026-08-17 ## Related questions - Insurance - Drying - Mold - Documentation - Glossary - ACV vs RCV claim payout calculator - Mold risk timeline calculator