Your Step-by-Step Guide to Drying Carpeting after Flooding and/or Water Damage

5/17/2019 (Permalink)

If your home or business has been damaged by flooding or a water leak, your carpeting may be a soggy, water-logged mess. When this happens, it’s imperative to dry the carpeting quickly in order to prevent damage to your walls, sub-flooring, and other structural elements of your building.  The good news is: the drying process is one you can often start on your own almost immediately after the incident! 

Here at SERVPRO of Eatontown / Long Branch, we know how devastating water damage can be to a home or business. As a leader in professional restoration services we want to help make sure you mitigate any damage that may occur to your property due to a water problem.

Here’s how to start drying your wet carpeting in order to prevent further damage:

Identify and Stop the Source of the Water Problem

The first step in saving your carpeting is to identify the source of your water problem and do your best to stop it, or at least to lessen it.

Remove Any Standing and/or Excess Water

Once there’s no more water coming in, your next step is to start to remove any standing or excess water.

The sooner you can start drying out your carpeting, the better your chances of salvaging it. If there’s standing water completely covering the carpet, you may want to rent a pump from your local hardware store to start extracting it.

Another useful tool is a wet/dry shop vac which can be used to suck up excess water from a saturated carpet.

Separate the Soaked Carpeting from the Floor

Once you’ve removed most of the water, now you will want to separate the carpet off from the floor.

Once you’ve pulled up the carpeting, you’ll want to dispose of the carpet padding. (Carpet padding is typically inexpensive and generally easier to just replace than to try to dry out).

Dry, Dry, Dry!

Once the carpeting is separated from the flooring, it’s time to do your best to dry both completely.

It’s often useful to move the carpeting to another totally dry area. Use high-powered fans and/or blowers on both the flooring and the carpeting.  SERVPRO has professional grade equipment that will do the job better than any home/retail equipment can do.

Replace and Clean the Carpeting

Once the floor has been cleaned and you’ve installed new carpet padding, it’s time to re-install and clean your carpeting. In most cases, however, replacing the carpet is the norm.

Bring In Professional Restoration Services

In cases of significant water damage, specialized equipment and training is often needed to thoroughly fix the problem and restore your property to like-new conditions.

Here at SERVPRO of Eatontown / Long Branch, we’re proud to be helping homes and business deal with water damage that’s gone beyond their control. We have all the necessary training and equipment to quickly and efficiently dry your wet carpeting, limiting your risk of mold/bacteria exposure and increasing the chances of saving your carpeting.