What to do with water damaged carpets?
Home carpets can be the first casualty in a home flooding. When it is soaked for a long time, it can be beyond washing or repair. But can a flooded carpet still be salvaged?
Area rugs and carpets are prone to water and flood damage. Immediately remove them from floodwaters to increase its chance of being salvaged.
North Dakota State University has shared a comprehensive guide to determining whether a flood-soaked carpet or a home rug can still be saved. Their guide likewise featured several steps homeowners can take to clean up salvageable carpets.
“Here are some basic rules to help you decide whether to keep or throw out your rugs and carpeting: (1) You should discard wall-to-wall carpeting, most large area rugs and any rugs with foam backing if they were flooded with contaminated water. Getting them professionally cleaned generally isn’t worth the expense involved unless they are valuable rugs. (2) If you want to salvage carpeting soaked with contaminated water, consult a professional cleaning company that cleans carpets at its cleaning and drying facility. A steam-cleaning (hot-water extraction) method is best.”
Read the rest of the steps here.
When to toss a carpet
Home improvement website DoItYourself.com has also shared its guide on salvaging water damaged carpets. In their article, they likewise rounded up steps to take in repairing a water-damaged carpet. Fire Inspection Services
“Carpet that has been saturated in clean, sanitary water such as rainwater or tap water may be salvageable, depending on the type of carpet and how long it was wet. Water from toilets or other contaminated sources ruins your carpet for good. Carpet saturated with water considered to be “black,” such as groundwater or sewage, is not salvageable and should be replaced at once.”
Read more here.
Cleaning a flood soaked carpet
Home Design website Hunker.com also shared some tips on how to clean a flood-soaked carpet. In their guide, they came up with helpful tips that could salvage the rugs and carpeting.
“If you have recently had a water leak that has soaked your carpeting you need to work quickly to get it dried up. Leaving the water to dry out naturally can become a haven for mold and mildew. If properly dried out quickly, the carpeting can be re-used or re-laid, if it has been pulled up, with no further problems. The key to this, however, is the speed needed to effectively dry out the carpeting as quickly as possible.”
Check out the full write-up here.
Quickly removing the carpet from the flooding can increase its chances of being salvaged.
San Diego Water Damage Restoration
If you recently experienced flood damage or water damage, the team at Mighty Dry is here to help. Contact us today to get started restoring your home or business.