You come home and all of a sudden disaster strikes, the whole floor of your living room is wet due to leaving a window open during a rainstorm. There are many ways to dry your carpet, but not all of them are applicable given the circumstance. You must act fast or your carpet will deteriorate quickly due to being over saturated. The good news is that in most cases you can dry your carpet faster than this will happen.
1. Call in the Professionals
This is the recommended option for high risk cases. For example, a flood comes through your town and soaks your entire living room. Professional carpet cleaners can use machines that suck the water out of your carpet and have them dry in no time at all. Depending on your home owners or renters insurance, this may even be covered at no extra charge to you.
2. Rent a Wet Vacuum
It is also possible to use your own wet vacuum if you have one. This is a great option when you have just a section of the carpet that is soaked. The vacuum will soak up all of the moisture right out of the carpet and then you just have to worry about the padding.
3. Dry the Padding
Carpet sits on a padding that is just underneath your carpet. If the padding gets soaked, it is imperative that you dry out the padding as well. In the case that you leave the padding saturated, the carpet will get wet and you will most likely get that rancid mildew smell. You can dry the padding with a fan by lifting up your carpet and placing a fan to blow over the area. The padding can get a little wet and you won’t have to lift up your carpet to dry it off. When in doubt, dry it off by lifting up the carpet and using the fan technique.
4. Dry the Floor
As with the padding, water that remains on the floor can also cause damage to the above layers. You should take care of this after you dry the padding and this can be done with a mop if you remove the padding.
A wet floor that isn’t properly cared for can result in secondary damages that will ultimately bring much more headaches and costs. Act quick and smart to take care of your property.
Have any other carpet drying techniques? Let us know.