Dealing with Carpet Water Damage in Your Home
Carpet is enjoyed by many homeowners and renters because it makes the home cosy and inviting. It offers insulation and keeps the floor warm so that you do not have to walk across a cold floor during the winter time. It is important to keep the carpet clean at all times because a dirty carpet is very unattractive and it can be unhealthy too. Carpet can harbour germs and bacteria in the fibres if it is not cleaned regularly. It can also cause allergies and trigger symptoms in a person that already has respiratory problems or a weakened immune system. This problems are even more evident during carpet water damage situations.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to keep it clean, carpet water damage caused by flooding will happen, and you are left with a dirty and soaked carpet floor. When there is any water damage to your carpet, you need to act quickly to prevent further damage, regardless of the amount of water that has spilt. If the source of the flood was not caused by a natural disaster, such as a hurricane or tsunami, then find the source of the water and stop the leak. Then, you will need to remove all furniture and other objects that were sitting on the carpet because those can cause water stains, and your belongings will also sustain water damage.
Any foot traffic on the carpet should be kept to a bare minimum until the carpet is dry. Keep off of the carpet before and after it is cleaned up to prevent dirt from getting on it, which will only cause stains. If you have insurance, then it is best that you have a professional company work on it because they will have all of the necessary equipment and knowledge to perform the job right the first time.
If you decide to do the carpet water damage job yourself, then you will need to rent a wet and dry vacuum or some other carpet water removal device to get the water out. Even after the carpet appears dry, go through it again to ensure that the machine picks up every last bit of moisture. The water and excess moisture need to be dried quickly and within 24 hours from the time of flooding to reduce the possibility of mould growth and the spread of bacteria.
In almost all cases of water damaged carpet, it is better that you have a water damage restoration company repair it, even if you do not have adequate insurance coverage. Having a certified crew will save you time and could save you money in the long run when you get all of the furniture off of your carpet, you will want to elevate your carpet and put the fans to blow underneath your carpet. Make sure that you are setting up the industrial size fans properly.
You have to be sure that you understand how you can make the fans blow and keep the cords away from any wet spots. You do not want to ruin the fans or put yourself in a bad situation because you do not put enough care into keeping the cords away from the water.
While you are letting the fans dry out the carpet, you want to make sure that you leave them to run for at least 36 hours. After you put up the fans, you may also want to put up dehumidifiers so you can be sure that you are getting all of the moisture that you need.
At the twelve hour mark, you should go back through and check to make sure there has been significant progress made. If the floor is still soaked, you may want to bag the project and get new carpet.
At the twelve hour mark, you may have had mould develop already. When mould develops you want to make sure that you realise that the mould can be an allergen that is dangerous to breathe in and it may be detrimental to anyone that is breathing while in a home with carpet water damage.