Flooding can be devastating to any home. Even a small flood can have big consequences and when that water has drenched the carpeting that’s been installed, the effects can be significant. Extraction is key to preventing major flood damage and, if you don’t act quickly, you could be facing thousands of dollars in repair and replacement costs.
The biggest issue is excess amounts of moisture getting trapped beneath the carpet and triggering the growth of hazardous mold and mildew underneath. Not to mention the physical damage that water can cause when it’s allowed to remain in place both on and under the carpeting. This can destroy your carpet and severely damage the flooring beneath it.
Depending on the extent of the flooding, you may be able to clean up the mess yourself through simple extraction and cleaning techniques. But there are plenty of variables that dictate whether you can effectively do the job yourself or if you’ll need to call professional help to take care of the problem. Let’s take a look at the benefits of carpet cleaning after your home has sustained any type of flood.
Water Extraction from Your Carpeting
The goal here is very simple – remove as much water from your carpet as possible. This will reduce the amount of bacteria and germs that remain in the material. But you should also be careful about ascertaining where the water originated from as that will play a role in how you go by attempting to extract it.
The amount of water that’s flooded in will also have an influence on the methods you ultimately select to clean up the mess that’s been made.
The First Signs of Water Saturation
Maybe a pipe has burst in the kitchen or a tub has overflowed in the bathroom. Whatever the reason for your carpet getting submerged in water, you need to get it out as soon as possible. In cases like these, the amount of water that has flooded the room may not be overwhelming and you can start applying dry towels to the areas of the carpet that have gotten wet.
Just be careful about knowing where the water is coming from. You want to be sure there won’t be any more coming out to flood the room and your carpet all over again after you’ve cleaned everything up. But what’s even more important is knowing if the water is contaminated in any capacity. If hazardous or toxic material has made its way to your carpet by way of this flooding, then you have an even bigger problem than you first thought.
Now your carpet is unsafe to remain in the home and it will need to be removed at once. You shouldn’t live with a carpet that has been submerged in water that has come from your toilet or a sewage pipe. These are both incredibly bad for the health of you and your family.
If, however, the water is clean and you can manage to absorb all of it on your own, then you may proceed using those dry towels. A wet-dry vac can also be very useful for picking up excess moisture from a soaked carpet.
Odor Penetration
Once you’ve finished, you may detect a strong musty odor coming from the carpet. The trick is to try and remove the water out of the carpet before that aroma sets in, but if you didn’t catch it fast enough, that’s okay. You still have options.
For starters, you need to improve the air circulation in the room. That will help to dry the carpet out and air it out at the same time. Fans can be very useful for this task, particularly those that oscillate. Put as many as you can find in the room with the carpet and open the windows. Get the airflow moving in that room so your carpet can dry completely.
You may also want to place a dehumidifier in the room with the wet carpet as a way to reduce the levels of humidity and help it dry faster.
Proper Cleaning
Now that your carpet is fully dry you need to have it cleaned and disinfected so as to prevent any mold growth that might occur under the carpet. Call your local professional carpet cleaning Baton Rouge to give the carpet a steam cleaning to obliterate any germs and bacteria that may be apparent in the carpet fibers and backing or may have seeped under that to the backing and the floor below.
This is a very important step that you must not skip. Some homeowners think they’ve handled the problem once there is no evidence of moisture in the carpet. But that’s only part of the equation, you need to have it cleaned or you could run the risk of the carpet getting damaged beyond repair.
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