After water damage to your home, one of the first cleanup tasks you should tackle is salvaging your carpet, as water can damage it permanently. Here, we will walk you through a step-by-step guide that will help you save your water-damaged carpet and protect it from further damage.
Steps to Save Water Damaged Carpet
1. Determine the Type of Water Damage
It’s important to assess the type of water damage before you start saving your carpet. If the source of the damage is due to rain or a busted pipe, you can start restoring it yourself.
However, if the damage is due to flood water or an appliance malfunction, the water is likely contaminated and may contain harmful contaminants. Avoid handling it on your own, and call water damage professionals as soon as possible.
Note: it’s best to replace your carpet if it’s affected by black or grey water, as it can be a huge health hazard for your family.
2. Remove the Excessive Moisture
If the water is clear, your priority is to remove as much water as you can from your carpet. Put on safety gloves and start extracting the water using a wet vac. Go slowly and pull out water in large quantities from each area of the carpet.
To remove water from corners and hard-to-reach areas, blot them using paper towels and apply pressure until they are no longer soaking. After removing most of the water, feel your carpet. If it’s slightly damp, instead of soaking wet, turn on the fans and open the windows.
Tip: To ensure thorough drying, rent mechanical fans and dehumidifiers.
3. Get Rid of Carpet Padding
Even if you dry your carpet completely, you won’t be able to salvage the padding underneath. Also, keeping water-damaged padding under your dried carpet will ruin all your hard work by increasing the risk of mould growth and bacterial infestation.
It’s because carpet pads are designed to increase the comfy feeling of your carpet and provide noise insulation. However, due to their spongy nature, they retain all the water when they get soaked, and it makes them a hub for mould and bacterial growth.
So, it’s best to ditch the soaked pad and let the experts install a new one to increase your carpet’s lifespan.
4. Sanitise the Carpet
Once your carpet gets dry, apply an appropriate sanitiser to it. Doing so is important to prevent mould growth or other health hazards to your family. Invest in an antimicrobial cleaning solution that can kill any remaining contaminants on your carpet and make it safer for your family and pets.
5. Eliminate Musty Odour
If you notice a musty smell on your carpet weeks after the water damage, there are chances of mould growth in your house. To test it out, sprinkle baking soda over the smelly areas of your carpet and leave it for a few hours.
Vacuum the powder and check again for the odour. If the smell persists, there is a high chance of mould growth under your carpet. Don’t try to tackle it by yourself without any help.
Give Us a Call
If you want to save your water-damaged carpet with DIY methods, you must act quickly and try to remove as much water as possible. If the area is small, you can handle the extraction, drying and cleaning by yourself. But for larger areas, you need help from the experts.
Our professionals work in collaboration with the restoration crew and ensure proper water extraction from your carpet. After thoroughly drying your carpet, we use our efficient carpet cleaning methods to disinfect the carpet and restore it to its pre-damage condition.
Saving your carpet after water damage can be tough and challenging. But with a quick response and these step-by-step guides, you will have a higher chance of success. However, if the damage is from black or grey water, it’s best to look for a new carpet to prevent long-term diseases and infections.
