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Can Carpet Dry After Water Damage?

After water damage occurs, many people wonder if they can dry out their carpet or if they’ll need to replace it entirely. When a water leak, burst pipe, flood occurs in your home or business, it’s crucial to get a water restoration company out immediately to get the area cleaned up and dried out. Often the carpet can be dried out and saved. The carpet pad, however, will almost certainly need to be replaced. While this is an expense that many homeowners would prefer to avoid, it’s definitely much cheaper than having to re-carpet an entire basement or main floor.

The key to saving the carpet after water damage occurs is pumping out water quickly, getting any dirty areas clean, removing water from the carpet itself, and then getting water removed from the surrounding air.

Using high powered equipment, water restoration professionals can remove water from your basement, kitchen, or other room much more quickly (and effectively) than you’ll be able to with a wet vacuum. After the water has been removed, the clean up process will start.

Before any dry out efforts begin, walls and other hard surfaces should be cleaned with either soap and water or a solution of diluted bleach. This is especially important if sewer water or flood water is responsible for the damage. Cleaning up contaminants from gray or black water is vital to ensuring the health and safety of your family. Once walls, baseboards, and other areas have been scrubbed down, a water restoration crew will begin the dry out. They’ll get the area clean and then shift their efforts to drying carpet, furniture, and other porous items.

Pulling up the carpet to remove the wet pad is often necessary to prevent mold growth. The carpet will be vacuumed out with pro-strength wet vacuums and blowers will be used to circulate air over any items that are still damp. Like a hand dryer, the rapid movement of air will encourage further drying out to mitigate damage.

Dehumidifiers will also be used to suck as much moisture out of the air as possible. Drying out the air helps aid other dry up efforts while reducing the likelihood of future condensation.

If you’ve had water damage, call a local water restoration company immediately to improve your chances of minimizing the damage and avoid paying to replace your carpets.

Additional resources:
How mold grows in a home
Water restoration advice
Recovering after a home flood
Determining if you have mold
How much does it cost to restore a flooded basement?
Mold remediation costs
When does mold growth happen after water damage?
What to do after a basement flood
Is that bad smell after water damage dangerous?
Who can clean up my wet basement?
Is wet carpet bad for my family's health?
Do I need water restoration?
Getting mold off of carpet