Home Comfort

How to Clean Your Water Damaged Carpets

Gideon Anderson

Nothing is as bad as standing in cold, seeping water dispersing all over your floors and rugs with no end in sight. While in some cases you may get lucky and wind up with a flood in an uncarpeted area of your home, a lot of the instances water will end up in the carpeting and require different kinds of recovery in order to bring matters back to the way they were. There are two main factors that go into this: the kind of water, and also how long the water’s been about. 

For residential properties, the water in a flood crisis is typically going to be sterile, otherwise known as Category 1 Water. This can be unpolluted water that usually comes from portions of a house that doesn’t transport contaminants, like the water heater in the garage or a faucet in the bathroom. Carpets affected by clean water are only prone to mold and mildew after protracted exposure, and can usually be restored with prompt action. However, for Categories 2 and 3, that can be distinct levels of water that is contaminated, affected carpeting might be not worth saving depending on the area that’s affected. In case a living room carpet somehow gets soaked in polluted water out of a bathroom, the economical choice is almost always a complete replacement, as disinfecting and cleaning the area would probably run as much or more.

Another primary concern for your carpet is the duration of exposure to this water. If the flooding is addressed fast, such as when it occurs, the carpeting can usually be saved before any kind of damage happens. On the flip side, if you have come home after a long holiday to locate water pooled in your house, it’s likely that there is no way to keep your original carpeting and substitute is in order. Mold spores are omnipresent in the atmosphere, and even a 48-hour timeframe is all it takes for mold and mildew to start forming.

Carpet that may be restored will usually be managed from the water damage technicians as soon as they arrive on site. The first step is to extract the excess moisture using vacuums and other technical tools to get out as much fluid as possible before the air circulators are attracted in. If you would like to try and manage the drying all on your own, be cautious as a waterlogged rug will weigh quite somewhat more than dry carpeting. Also, if the drying isn’t done correctly, the carpet may delaminate when the bonding glue on the backing melts, causing it to peel off in the padding. If you are uncertain how to wash the carpet by yourself, leave the task to the professionals.

Given the best case scenario occurs and your carpet is properly restored, at the end of the job your technician will almost certainly perform the last carpet cleaning to bring your floors back to the way they were pre-disaster. If recovery isn’t an option, the restoration firm will probably set up a brand new carpet in the affected room, matching it up to fit the remainder of your carpet’s color and thickness. But no matter what the result is, be certain that the technicians don’t leave your carpet looking worse than before your emergency!

For any of your bombarded carpet cleaning requirements or flood cleanup, telephone the PuroClean professionals. Our restoration crews will provide an industry-standard estimate and create a correct plan of action to restore your carpet fast. Find out more about them right here.