Can Carpet Be Saved After A Flood? Carpet Cleaning Questions Answered
Posted on: 5 August 2017
Remodeling your basement so that it can be used as a "rec" room, guest bedroom, and/or den is always a good idea. It adds to the resale value of the home, while providing your family extra space to play and hang out. The daunting issue comes with carpeting the basement floor. If there is a flood in the basement, the carpet will be soaked. Can you rescue the carpet? Can you clean it effectively? Or, will you have to rip it out and throw it to the curb? Here are are our flooded carpet cleaning questions answered.
It Is Possible to Clean and Restore It
It is possible to clean and restore flooded carpet. It is a lengthy and complicated process, but it can be done. It usually means pumping ALL the water out of the basement, since flood waters in these cases cannot leave without assistance. Leaving the water standing for weeks until it evaporates means that there will be NO WAY to clean and restore the carpet. It will be rotting beyond repair if left to sit under inches of water for that long.
Removing Water from the Actual Carpet
Once all of the standing flood water in the basement is removed, the next step is to quickly remove ALL of the water from the carpet. The water has to be extracted to prevent the start of mold growth. The water deep down in the carpet padding has to be removed as well. The carpet has to be machine-dried immediately after that. It has to be entirely dry before it can be professionally cleaned so that you are not adding more water to an already wet carpet.
Then Clean and Sanitize the Carpet
Now that all of the water has been removed and the carpet and carpet pad are dry, the carpet cleaners can come in and clean the carpet. Several passes over the carpet with shampoo and a mold-destroying disinfectant is necessary. This kills any mold that is starting while simultaneously removing all of the dirt that seeped into the carpet from the floodwaters.
When the Carpet Cannot Be Salvaged
There are also instances where the carpet cannot be cleaned. If the water was left standing on the basement carpet for a week or more, your carpet may already be on its way to rotting. If some of the flood water contained sewer waste (like the flood waters of Hurricane Katrina), there is also no way you can salvage the carpet. Excess water for too long and sewage are basement carpet killers. You will have to yank the carpeting and the carpet pad and throw it to the curb.
Contact a carpet cleaner, like Conscientious Carpet Care, for more help.
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