Prevent Molds And Damage To Your Carpet By Wet Carpet Drying

If your carpet has been soaked in flood water and sewage water for over forty-eight hours then you may have no choice but to discard it. Flood water often contains bacteria that are harmful to humans. If your carpet was simply exposed to water from busted pipes or from other sources and the carpet has not been exposed to dirty water for over forty-eight hours, then you can get a professional carpet cleaner to clean the carpet for you and to do the wet carpet drying. But if you prefer to do the work yourself, then you just need to make sure that you do a really great job at cleaning the carpet and getting it dry. It should be easy if you have small or medium-sized carpets but if you have big wall-to-wall carpets then you really should consider hiring a professional.

Now to do the wet carpet drying on your own, you must first find a way to take out the carpet if it is not glued to your floor. This means removing carpet tacks and staples, rolling the carpet and taking it out to the driveway of patio. If the carpet is soaked in water try to lift it a few feet from the ground and place supports underneath to let the water drain out of the carpet. Once the water has drained and no longer too heavy, you can take it out and lay it out on the concrete driveway or in your garage.

Once the carpet is outside, tear out the foam padding underneath. The foam padding is usually cheap and can easily be replaced. Removing this padding will help you do the wet carpet drying more easily. It will also help you clean the underside of your carpet and prevent mold from developing.

After removing, just leave the carpet out and focus on cleaning your floor. Make sure that the water problem (leaking pipes, etc) has been addressed so that you can clean your floor and get it dry. Make sure to use a disinfectant on your floor to kill germs and bacteria. Use a fan to dry out the floors and keep windows and doors open to limit the humidity in your home.

Next you can proceed with the wet carpet drying process. You can rent a steam machine and buy carpet shampoo to use on the carpet. The steam machine will do a better job at cleaning the carpet than a regular water hose. But if you can't rent a steam machine, you can just make use of a regular garden hose to wash both sides of the carpet. After washing both sides of the carpet with water, use the carpet shampoo to form foam and to clean the carpet.

Remove the shampoo from the carpet by hosing it down. If you could not find carpet shampoo, you can use other cleaners. Just make sure to read the label so that you know if it can be used for carpets or not. Some cleaners may damage the color and the fiber of your carpet. After cleaning the carpet, use a wet vacuum to suck out the water and leave it under the sun for a more effective wet carpet drying.

Remember that successfully doing the wet carpet drying will also ensure that molds and mildew are prevented from growing and thriving in your carpet and in your home.

Richard Barthallo distributes information on water and sewer damage issues for Wet Carpet Iowa City IA and Carpet Drying Rock Island IA

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