Drying Wet Carpet
Carpet is an important part of your home. It provides a comfortable non-slip floor for you and your family, is a softer surface, and can enhance the design aspect of the home’s interior. Though hardwood flooring and laminate are quickly becoming popular options, carpets are still a mainstay in many American homes.
One of the drawbacks to having carpet in the home is that it is harder to clean when it gets dirty. Spills, hidden crumbs, and dirt can get into the fibers of the carpet as well as the carpet padding beneath, making it difficult to clean.
Tips to Dry Wet Carpet Quickly
One of the toughest tasks a homeowner may face is attempting to dry out a carpet that has gotten wet. When water damage occurs in your home and results in a wet carpet, you need to know how to dry it out quickly so that you do not have to throw it away or deal with a foul odor. Here are a few steps you can take to ensure that the carpet is completely dry and useable going forward.
Start with Rags or Towels
For relatively small amounts of water damage, you can probably rely on materials like rags, paper towels, or regular towels to absorb the trapped moisture. The key is to press firmly on the damp area to make sure that the material is absorbing the water that has gotten deep into the carpet fibers and padding underneath. Again, this may only be effective for small spills, or you will end up going through towels quickly since they can only hold so much moisture. For greater water damage, you will need different ideas.
Remove the Carpet and Expose the Floor Beneath if Possible
If you can do so, removing the carpet from the wetness beneath can help speed up the drying process. Wet carpets will be slow to dry if they are in contact with floorboards or hardwood that is also wet. By spreading out the various wet materials, each can dry more quickly. Putting the carpet outside in the sun to air dry would also help. Check underneath the carpet to see what the extent of the damage is.
Vacuums Can Pull Water Out of the Carpet Padding
If the carpet is completely saturated, you will need something better than rags or towels. Vacuums can remove moisture that has spread through the fibers and the padding. A regular vacuum cleaner may not be the right tool for the job, so check the specs for your floor vacuum before picking it up to do the job. You may need to buy or rent a wet vacuum or shop vacuum that can handle the water without ruining the machine.
Use Fans
Air flow is a key step in removing large amounts of moisture from your carpet. Using large fans, air movers, or ceiling fans can speed up the evaporation process of the water in the carpet, turning it into water vapor that is in the air. you should also open windows or doors if possible.
If left untreated, the drying process can take a long time and end up permanently staining or ruining the carpet entirely. The quicker you can help the moisture be absorbed and evaporated out of the fibers and padding, the better chance you have of saving the carpet.
Remove Water in the Air with a Dehumidifier
With fans running and windows or doors open, the moving air will be pulling moisture out of the carpet in the form of a gas. To remove the water vapor in the air, you will need a dehumidifier. When all of these methods work together, you can remove as much water as possible from the carpet to prevent further damage.
Why You Need to Act Fast
Water damage is devastating for a home. If you choose a slow process for drying out the carpet that leaves moisture in your home for a longer period, you could see other negative effects.
Completely Soaked Structural Materials
If carpet is dried slowly, the moisture that it holds could seep into the flooring or walls nearby. This can compromise the integrity of the building, causing rot or even a room to collapse in extreme cases. Your best bet is to extract the water from the carpet and affected area as quickly as possible so the moisture doesn’t spread to more important materials.
Mold Growth
The more moisture that is in your home, the more likely the space is to grow mold, especially in dark areas. Mold thrives on the presence of moisture, so failing to dry out water damage quickly could lead to mold growth. This will be harmful to everyone in the home as it can release contaminants into the air.
Ruined Possessions
Excess water in your home can completely ruin personal items. You may have to invest in upholstery cleaning for your furniture if a wet carpet is in contact with these pieces. Anything with a porous material is at risk.
Working with Professional Carpet Cleaners
If the job is too big for you to handle, you will probably need to hire a professional carpet cleaning service to dry the carpet. A professional carpet cleaner may use steam cleaning, wet vacs, and other methods to remove the remaining water from your carpet and ensure that there are no wet areas.
For All Types of Water Damage, Consider a Restoration Company
The water damage that caused your wet carpet could be an even bigger issue that needs to be handled. For water extraction and cleanup, contact a Portland water damage restoration company.
Restoration specialists can help with everything from mold remediation to water extraction to remodeling after water damage destroys parts of your home. Whether the issue was caused by a failing submersible pump, a leaky pipe, sewage water backup, extreme weather, faulty appliances, or anything else, drying the wet area is crucial to protecting both the furniture in your house and the structural integrity of the building.
