It’s hard to imagine a more frustrating dilemma than discovering your carpet is unexpectedly saturated with water. It might have happened while you were at work, or during the middle of the night while you were asleep. Maybe you were quietly watching TV and then, out of the blue a water pipe burst, or a heavy rain caused flooding that seeped into your home. Regardless of when or how it happened, wet carpet is a serious problem that you have to deal with immediately.
Wet Carpets Require Immediate Attention
Carpeting that is totally saturated with water must be dealt with in a timely and methodical manner. If it’s salvageable, it must be thoroughly dried before mold or mildew has a chance to set in. If you are able to determine that it is worth trying to save rather than purchasing brand new carpeting, you’ll have to decide whether to perform the drying and clean up yourself, or call in the services of a professional.
If you have the time and inclination to do it yourself, you’ll need a well thought out plan. Remember, time is of the essence. Here are seven proven steps to follow to ensure you do the job correctly. With some persistence and hard work you just may save your carpets.
1. Determine the Source or Cause of the Wet Carpeting
If your home was not flooded from natural causes, the first thing you need to do is find out what caused your carpet to be saturated with water. Check your basement and/or crawl space to see if a water pipe might have burst. The same goes for checking underneath sinks in the kitchen and bathrooms, and wherever your water heater is located. If you find a leak, turn off the water connection leading to it, and then have it replaced or repaired before turning on the water again.
2. Remove Furniture From Rooms With Wet Carpeting
You’re going to need your furniture out of the way as you begin to try and dry the carpeting, and you don’t want the furniture itself to suffer any additional water damage, so move it right away to a dry area of your house.
3. Remove Water From the Carpet as Rapidly as Possible
Spread plenty of towels and blankets over the affected carpeting and try to sop up as much water as you can. If the water saturation is severe, you will need to rent a heavy duty, wet/dry vacuum cleaner like the ones used by professionals who deal with emergency flooding conditions. Remove as much water as you can with the wet/dry vacuum. This may require repeated vacuuming.
4. Set Up Fans to Help the Drying Process
Now that you’ve vacuumed up as much water as possible, employ some strategically placed fans to further aid the drying process. You’ll be doing yourself a favor if you don’t rely on regular household fans. Instead, seek out a tool rental service that carries high-power commercial fans for rent. Drying can take up to several days of operating the fans for 24 hours a day. Even after that, it is recommended that you leave them running for up to a week or more.
5. Run a High-Powered Dehumidifier
As you’re drying the carpeting with fans, simultaneously set up a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers will remove moisture from both the air and your carpeting. This will help to remove excess moisture and greatly reduce the chance of mold or mildew growth.
6. Steam Clean Your Carpets
Rent a steam cleaner for your carpeting. This process will go a long way to deodorizing and sanitizing the carpeting. If there are still detectable and unpleasant odors, repeat this process until the odor is completely removed.
7. Clean Your Walls and Baseboard
It is important to sanitize any walls and baseboards that may have come into contact with the wet carpet. Use regular household soap and bleach – in water – to thoroughly clean these areas (just be careful not to get any bleach on the carpet!).
If Cleaning Is Not Enough
If despite your best efforts in trying to salvage it, you find you need to replace your carpets, find a carpet company that has earned a position of trust and professionalism. Here in the Puget Sound area, Carpet To Go has expertise in both carpet service and installation, as well as a wide selection of choices available in quality flooring, including carpeting. Their motto is “Quality on a Budget,” and they have helped area residents and businesses with carpeting for over two decades.
Contact Carpet To Go today to learn more about how to deal with wet carpet!
