Water damage is not pretty, and based on just what occurred and how long it’s been happening, things can become downright awful. Nothing is as bad as standing in cold, seeping water dispersing all over your floors and rugs with no end in sight. While in some situations you may get lucky and wind up with flooding in an uncarpeted area of your home, a great deal of the times water will end up in the carpet and need different kinds of recovery to bring things back into the way they were. Two chief factors enter this: the kind of water, and also how long the water’s been around.
This is unpolluted water that typically comes from portions of a home that doesn’t transport contaminants, such as the water heater in the garage or even a faucet in the bathroom. Carpets affected by sterile water are only prone to mold and mildew after prolonged exposure, and can normally be restored with immediate actions. But for Categories 2 and 3, which can be distinct levels of water that is contaminated, an affected carpet maybe not worth rescuing depending on the area that’s impacted. If a living room carpet somehow gets soaked in polluted water from a toilet, the economical option is almost always a complete replacement, as disinfecting and cleaning the area would probably run as much if not more.
The other main consideration for your carpet is that the duration of exposure to this water. If the flooding is addressed fast, such as when it occurs, the carpet can usually be stored before any kind of damage happens. On the other hand, if you’ve come home after a long vacation to find water pooling in your house, there is likely no way to maintain your original carpeting and replacement is in order. Mold spores are omnipresent in the air, and even a 48-hour timeframe is all it takes for mold and mildew to begin forming.
Carpet that may be restored will normally be handled by the water damage technicians as soon as they arrive on site. The initial step is to extract the excess moisture utilizing vacuums and other technical tools to get out as much fluid as possible before the air circulators are brought in. If you want to attempt to manage the drying all on your own, be careful as waterlogged carpet will weigh quite a bit more than dry carpets. Furthermore, if the drying is not performed properly, the carpeting may delaminate once the bonding glue on the backing melts, causing it to peel away in the cushioning. If you are uncertain how to wash the carpet by yourself, leave the task to the pros.
Provided that the best case scenario happens and your carpet is correctly restored, at the end of the job your technician will almost certainly perform the last carpet cleaning to bring your floors back to the way that they were pre-disaster. Sometimes, the cleaned carpet might actually seem better, based on how long it’s been since you’ve last had a cleanup. If recovery isn’t feasible, the restoration firm will most likely set up brand new carpeting in the affected room, matching it up to match the rest of your carpeting’s color and thickness. But regardless of what the result is, be sure the technicians don’t leave your carpet looking worse than before your emergency!
For any of your bombarded carpet cleaning requirements, call the PuroClean professionals. Our water restoration teams will provide an industry-standard estimate and create a correct plan of action to restore your carpet fast. Learn more about their services here.