The moisture can spoil the carpet and bring lots of other problems. In case the wet carpet wasn’t properly and timely dried in a short time the mold appearance is almost inevitable. Should we remind that the mold is a serious hazard for health? Additionally to the growing mold, the odors from the wet carpet will appear which will spread over the whole house.

Considering all the abovementioned in case you faced the carpet water damage, the right though is to seek for the team of professionals, who will help not only to avoid negative effects but restore the property as well. But before the technicians came you can also do some useful job. Signature Water and Fire Restorations prepared a quick guide in how to act if the carpet was damaged by water.

The Guide on How to Act When the Carpet Is Damaged by Water

Step 1: Don’t Panic! Stop and Think

When you find the carpet damaged by water usually the first reaction is to gather liquid immediately. But the right reaction would be to stop and think critically:

• Is it necessary to stop leakage? Check the source and, if necessary, stop the waterflood or leakage. So take care of pipes and plumbing, home appliances, or any other possible weak places, like a leaking roof. Before drying the carpet ensure you’ll not face the same issue in the middle of the process and you’ll not be required to re-do all the work.
• Prepare the space: proper drying is impossible if the carpet has some items on it. Take away the furniture and other things from it and leave some space for work performance.
• Be careful: the wet carpet is fragile, so try do not to walk on it to avoid further damage. Apart from it, you can make it dirtier with each step done. So ensure all toolkit components are brought at once, so no excessive steps will be done and no extra damage appears.

When the pre-work is done you can go to the second step.

Step 2: Water Gathering

The next step to do is water elimination. The efficiency directly depends on the tool you’ll apply. The best practice is to use the sump pump or wet vacuum cleaner, but the rag and bucket will also work. The equipment is chosen based on the volume of leaked water. So in case, you noticed the carpet drowned in water it’s possible a cleaning service involvement with professional equipment is needed.

At the same time, if the water flood was average and you don’t have the wet vacuum cleaner you can rent it in the local store to stay effective during your cleaning. Please be aware that the standard (usual) vacuum cleaners are not created for water removal, they have no special parts and enough power, so do not try to use them!

Step 3: Absorb

Carpets are done from very porous materials. So even if it seems the water has been gathered, the probability it’s still deep inside the carpet is high. Use towels for water absorbing. Cover the carpet by them, press and gather the remaining water inside the towel. In case you found this doesn’t work and there’s still a lot of water in the carpet, it may be a signal to involve a professional cleaning and water damage restoration company.

Step 4: Dry

The best friends during the drying process are fans, air conditioning and ventilating systems, and dehumidifiers which together work hard on water evaporation. The best practice is to check the carpet conditions each several hours in order either to relocate technics or carpet for better ventilation and dry evenly. You can even use the hairdryer at the final stages when the level of remaining water if low or in case the overall damage was minimal. That’ll speed up the drying. For better results hold the hairdryer in few inches away from the carpet applying to all damaged areas moving back and forth. Please note, that before checking results the affected areas should cool, otherwise the warmth may confuse and mislead you.

Step 5: Replacement

Sometimes, in case of extreme water damage, it can happen that drying didn’t help and the carpet wasn’t dried properly. This can lead to mold breeding and its spreading to the entire carpet. Such cases require carpet replacements for safety purposes.

Professional Involvement

Described rules are basic and will work in cases of low or moderate water damage that happened to the carpet. Some more serious cases may require professional involvement. Signature Water and Fire Restoration understands the inconvenience caused by water damage and strives to help people return their normal lives back in short terms. Call us at +1-224-515-0100 for more information!