Dealing with water damage in your home can be an overwhelming experience. The best way to deal with it is to know what steps you should take when it happens and act quickly. You should also know when it’s necessary to call the professionals in for help. The biggest questions you’re likely to have are "how can I fix my water damaged carpets" and "Is there something I can do to dry it or do I have to rip it out and replace it"? Don’t do anything drastic and learn what your options are when you’re dealing with water damaged carpet.
This is the first step and needs to be done before you start to dry the carpet. You need to determine the source of the water and make sure it has been stopped. Is the damage something you can deal with or do you need to call the experts? The only time you should take care of water damage on your own is if the water that caused the damage came from a clean source. For example, a leaky or broken pipe, supply lines, and rain or snow. Other water sources are likely to be toxic, like flood water that can contain contaminants like mold spores and bacteria that can be life-threatening. Carpet should never be salvaged when flood water is the cause of the damage. After you have assessed exactly what you’re dealing with you will need to start the drying process.
Carpet that has been damaged by water can quickly develop mold and become a problem. You must start the drying process as quickly as possible after you have figured out what you’re dealing with. Acting quickly gives your carpet the best chance of being saved if you can have it dried within 48 hours. But this isn’t always possible. There are situations where water damage isn’t discovered right away or there was a lot of water and/or carpet involved. You should wear protective gear like gloves, boots and a mask if you’re tackling the job yourself. You also need to keep people of the carpet as much as you can while it’s wet.
The inexpensive way to dry carpet is by using a wet-vac. The only problem with this method is that it’s time consuming. You will need to use long strokes with many passes to get the carpet dry. Using a wet-vac like a vacuum cleaner and pushing it back and forth will not remove the water. All this does is move the water around. Fans, blowers and dehumidifiers can be used to get dry the carpet even faster. Position them in a way so they will circulate the air in your home. If the weather allows, open windows but only is it’s not raining or humid outside. If you have padding under your carpet you will need to take an extra step to prevent issues with lingering moisture.
If your carpets have experienced water damage, contact the professionals at Ameribest Carpet Cleaning. We offer water damage restoration services and are ready to help!