Generally, people apply wet joint compounds over the seams that are also known as drywall mud. When the finishing or tapping of the drywall is done, drywall mud is applied. If you are familiar with the application of drywall mud, you might know that the mud takes time to dry.
So, you might be interested to know how you can make drywall mud dry faster. If the drywall mud dries fast, you can do other works related to finishing out the drywall.
Well, several ways are available to make the drywall mud dry faster. You have to know details about the processes to choose the effective one.
Can you speed up drywall mud drying? How long to dry drywall mud?
Yes, you can speed up drywall mud drying. Generally, if you don’t apply any external way, the drywall mud can take from 24 hours to 48 hours to dry completely. Besides, if your house doesn’t have well ventilation, it can take more time.
So, many people like to use external ways to make the drying process faster. For example, they try applying heat, air, ventilation, etc., for making the drywall mud dry fast. Most of the time, these processes succeeded.
So, you can also speed up the drywall mud drying process. Each process might take a different time to speed up the drying. But using an external force to dry the mud is pretty convenient and effective.
How to make drywall mud dry faster?
You can use heat to make drywall mud dry faster. For example, using a furnace and room heater is pretty convenient. Moreover, you can also use airflow to make the drying process faster. Besides, if you want to dry a specific small area to dry fast, you can use a hairdryer on that area.
Generally, several ways of drying drywall mud are available. You have to know about different processes to choose the efficient one. So, let’s see how you can make drywall mud dry faster.
Use heat:
Heat is one of the best ways to make drywall mud dry fast. For example, you can use a furnace if possible. Moreover, you can also use room heaters or space heaters. You have to put the heaters in the newly finished room to make the environment warm.
This way the drywall mud will get more temperature to dry out fast. Moreover, the liquid contents in the mud will dry away from the mud leaving a completely dry drywall mud.
Apply air circulation:
You can also use air circulation or airflow to make the drywall mud dry fast. You can do it by either natural way or putting an external force.
For doing it, you can open the windows of the room to let the air circulation in and out. It will let the high humidity level out of the room.
Then the moisture content in mud will dry out and make the air in the room humid. This will help the drying process be fast.
Moreover, you can put the fans on in the room to let the air circulation fast. This will also cause the mud to dry quickly.
Apply thinner coat:
If you coat the wall multiple times, it will make the coat thicker. As a result, the drywall coat will take time to dry. So, if you apply a thinner coat, the coat will take less time to dry.
Generally, the first coat of the joint is pretty thick. But if you apply a thin coat first, the subsequent coats will also be thin. So, it will take less time to dry the overall joints.
Using fast-drying products:
Various types of drywall mud products are available with different properties. Nowadays, fast-drying drywall mud products are also being famous. So, you can choose the products wisely if you want to make the drying process faster.
Other ways:
You can also use a dehumidifier in your room to make the drying process quickly. Moreover, a drying machine can also help to dry the drywall mud faster.
What can you add to drywall mud to make it dry faster?
You can add various compounds to drywall mud to make it dry faster. For example, you can spray diesel fuel on the drywall mud will make it dry faster. But you must maintain the right amount of diesel fuel. Too much spraying or too little spraying will not be effective.
Many people use salt or plaster of Paris to drywall mud to make it dry faster. But these might decrease the property of the mud.
So, you should avoid adding excess materials to drywall mud to make it dry faster. You should use external forces like heat or air to make the drying process quicker.
Can you use a heat machine to dry drywall mud?
Yes, you can use a heat machine to dry drywall mud. Generally, any heat source is convenient for drying the drywall mud quickly. So, a heat machine will also make the drying process fast. Especially, if you want to dry a specific area faster, you can use a heat machine.
But you have to be careful while using a heat machine. Because drying too fast can cause shrinking the mud and cracking from the wall. Then you will need to coat again with the drywall mud. This process can be pretty disappointing and a waste of time.
So, using a heat machine is effective to dry faster doesn’t mean that you have to use a heat machine always. You can use a heat machine to speed up drying a specific space. But don’t do it if you don’t need to dry the wall in an emergency.
Will a dehumidifier help dry drywall mud?
Yes, a dehumidifier will help dry drywall mud. Generally, humidity is responsible to make the drying process slower. So, if you can dehumidify the environment, the drying will be easy.
If you use a dehumidifier in the room, you can reduce the time for your drywall mud to cure effectively. Moreover, the overall project will end in a timely fashion.
It has been observed that if the humidity in the air is more, the drying process requires more time. But if you can limit or control the humidity level with a dehumidifier, you can also speed up the drywall mud drying.
Is there a fast drying drywall compound?
Yes, fast drying drywall compound is available. DAP FAST DRY Premium Spackling is one of the high-grade spackling compounds. This compound is considered fast-drying because it can dry instantly within 15 minutes. Moreover, it also provides high strength and durability.
Another fast-drying compound is Hot Mud. This compound is a powder that has to mix with water. Then the formulation is like plaster and dries generally within 60 minutes. Sometimes the hot mud might dry only in 20 minutes.
Many other fast-drying drywall compounds are also available with different names.
How do you know when drywall mud is dry?
Generally, it takes 24 hours to dry the drywall mud completely. So, after 24 hours you can assume that the mud is dry. But if you want to know before the time whether the mud is dried or not, you can notice the following things.
By touch:
You can know whether the drywall mud is dry or not by touching the surface with your palms. If you can feel that the surface has a cold and clammy feeling, the surface is still wet. But if you don’t feel cold or clammy, the mud has been dried.
Visual inspection:
You can also notice the mud by visual inspection. For example, if the joint compound has darker patches than the shades at the edges, then the compound is still wet. But if the compound has the same shade at the edges and center, then the mud is dry.
Even most of the mud compounds become white in color when the compounds are completely dry. So, you can know by only seeing the color of the mud.
Smell:
Generally, all compounds have a distinct smell. But when the compound is in the wet form, it causes more smell. If you notice that the smell of the mud has been decreased, the mud has been dried.
Final Thoughts
Drywall mud is naturally fast-drying because of its chemical bonding. But still, it might take 24 hours to dry completely. So, if you want to make the mud dry faster, you can use heat to make the process quick. Moreover, you can also use air circulation, hairdryer, heat machine, dehumidifier, etc.