Carpet Care Professional
Tips For Drying A Wet Carpet
Wet carpets are fairly common. It could occur either because you just finished washing it or because an amount of water was spilled. Drying it is important, lest it remains damp and provide a suitable breeding ground for organisms such as mold and other fungi that are harmful to your health. If the carpet is fairly small, getting it out of the house and letting it dry under the sun would be the most common and best solution. Dealing with a bigger carpet is another problem, so unless you want to immediately call a professional, you might want to try the following:
1. Wet vacuums and carpet steamers are a good way to get rid of the water from your carpet. You can either use a vacuum designed to removing moisture from the carpet or a steamer with a wet vacuum installed. Use it to remove all the water in your carpet and the padding underneath it if you have to. Remember to empty the tank of contents when it’s close to filling up in order to keep it from overflowing. Check out for spots where water has pooled even after vacuuming.
2. In order to better check if there are still some wet patches on your carpet, then you might want to lift it off bit by bit. You might have to remove the installation strips beforehand in one of the corners before lifting off this corner. A side or an edge that is easy to work with would be advisable too. You might have to fold it in one side to see the padding and the floor beneath it.
3. If the pad is only a little wet and the floor beneath it is dry, you just have to dry out the pad without having to remove the carpet. Keep your carpet edge lifted or raised and let a fan blow some air onto the damp spot. You could also use a vacuum hose under a carpet which you will put back in its place, and let the hose distribute its hot air over the pad. This will speed up the drying process, but might take a little longer than an electric fan.
4. If both the pad is still soaking wet, you will have to remove both of them even if they are quite large. The floor might buckle with the wetness if you don’t do this. You might want to enlist the help of other people to carry the heavier than usual carpet and padding. Take note that when dry, they are already quite heavy, and are even heavier when they are wet. Let them dry in a well ventilated place and do not reinstall them unless the floor is fully dry.
A carpet soaked with dirty water might not be saved, but if it is, then you have to use a steam cleaner to clean it first before drying it up. And most of the time this is enough to dry your carpet and pad. Contact professionals from http://www.carpetcareprofessional.com if you need help.