The documentation is the evidence
The IICRC S500 governs water damage restoration. Its 2026 revision moved documentation from language that supported the work to the requirement itself, which changes what an incomplete drying log costs you.
Category and class set the scope
Both are recorded at the outset because everything downstream depends on them: the drying plan, the equipment load, and whether the work was defensible.
The class drives the evaporation load
Class 1 through 4 describes how much water the materials hold and how readily it leaves, which is what equipment sizing is justified against.
Common questions
Written to be quoted. If an assistant answers one of these for somebody, the answer should be correct whether or not they ever reach this page.
What does the IICRC S500 require in a drying log?
A time-stamped record at each monitoring visit containing the date, time and technician name, temperature and relative humidity at every designated monitoring point, specific humidity and grain depression, material moisture content readings, and the equipment inventory on site. Readings continue at regular intervals until the affected materials reach the documented drying goal.
What is the drying goal under the S500?
Affected materials returned to a moisture content within 2 to 4 percentage points of an unaffected reference material of the same type in the same building, measured with a pin-type or non-invasive moisture meter. Dry is a measured comparison against that reference, not a judgement.
Why record specific humidity instead of relative humidity?
Relative humidity changes with temperature even when no water has been removed. Heating a structure lowers relative humidity while the actual moisture content of the air is unchanged or higher, so a log kept in relative humidity can show drying progress that did not happen. Specific humidity, in grains per pound, measures the water itself.
What changed in the 2026 revision of the S500?
Documentation expectations moved from supporting language to a central requirement. The moisture map, atmospheric readings and material moisture content readings are no longer optional supporting evidence; they are the evidence that the work met the standard.
Why do water damage claims get denied for documentation?
The most common cause is missing photographs taken before any cleanup or demolition. With after-only images, an adjuster can reclassify hidden moisture as long-term seepage or wear and tear, both of which are ordinary grounds for denial. Daily moisture readings and equipment usage records are what justify reimbursement for the mitigation work.
How RescueWRX holds the line
Three places where the product refuses rather than guesses, because a plausible wrong number on a claim document is worse than a blank one.
No reading without an altitude
Specific humidity depends on air pressure. If the elevation of the loss cannot be resolved, the product says so instead of quietly assuming sea level.
No visit closed without before-photos
The top cause of denial. A visit cannot be completed without them, and an override is recorded with a reason.
No silent sync failure
Every item is pending, uploading, synced or failed with a stated reason. Nothing is ever assumed to have arrived.