What Are Some Tips To Dry Out A Wet Carpet?

If you are having a small rug or carpet that is wet, the best thing that you can do is to remove it from the floor and hang or lay it outside until it completely dries. However, if you are dealing with a wet wall to wall carpet, or a piece of carpet that is very large to remove, you can try to dry it in its actual place.

How to know if a Carpet is Wet?

While it might seem a silly question, sometimes you fail to identify the wet carpet, as will not appear to be moist. You might have some old moisture trapped below the carpet surface. There might be a leak in the corner of the house that you frequently fail to check that is making your carpet wet.

One of the best ways to identify the problem of carpet moisture is through the foul carpet odour emanating from the affected areas. If this is left untreated, this odour will continue to permeate your indoor air and this can stink up your home.

If you have noticed a musty odour that does not go away with regular cleaning and vacuuming up your carpet, ensure that you are dealing with a wet carpet. Other signs that indicate trapped moisture include continuous sickness and symptoms of allergies among you pets and family members. Carpet discolouration is also an indication of wet carpet.

Tips for Drying a Carpet

If you are having a wet carpet at your home, there is no time that you can lose. Follow these steps for drying carpet properly as well as preventing the spread of moisture, mildew and mould.

Removing the Moisture

The most important part is to stop water from flowing into the area where there is a problem. The easiest way of getting rid of carpet moisture is by removing it with the help of a wet vacuum. These vacuum cleaners are the perfect tools for getting rid of the carpet water. they are relatively inexpensive and you can easily rent on such equipment from a home development store.

Assessing your Furniture

If you are having furniture and fixtures in the rooms, check if the moisture have affected those items as well. While you can remove, dry and replace some of the objects, others such as the upholstery furniture require special attention. Unfortunately, you will have to dispose of the items that have been severely damaged by water.

Creating Flow of Air

Try to create more flow of air in the wet area so that there are no carpet odour and moisture from the area. Open the windows of the room or the hall, turn on the fans and put an additional fan on the floor so that the carpet can dry out faster. Fans that have high power are the best for the job. However, if you are having standard fans, you can even use that, as little airflow is better than none. Consider using a dehumidifier that would help in the removal of more moisture from the atmosphere.

Replacing the Carpet Padding

In most of the cases where the carpet saturation is more, the carpet padding is a goner. Replace it to prevent the main carpet from becoming saturated with carpet mould.

Steam Cleaning

Wet carpet steam cleaning helps in removing the toxins and acts as a carpet deodorizer. You can do this yourself as well or can take the help of Carpet Cleaning Hobart which provides best experts. The steam produced by these machines have high temperatures that can destroy most of the toxins from the carpet. It can also help in carpet mould removal effectively.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is a wonderful agent when you have to remove the moisture from the carpet. Simply sprinkle a liberal amount of baking soda over your carpet and allow it to sit for at least half an hour. Now vacuum up the baking soda and enjoy fresh carpets.

Sanitizing Other Surfaces

In order to prevent further growth of carpet mould and mildew, clean the other surfaces of the room thoroughly. Scrub off the walls and baseboards and remove the traces of water and any mildew from your room.

Drying a Wall-to-Wall Carpet

Moving The Furniture Off The Wet Carpet

You need to do this in order to check the carpet and the padding underneath it. It is important to remove the furniture as quickly as possible so that you can start working on your carpet. If you leave the furniture on wet carpet, it will cause damage to both the furniture and the flooring

Remove As Much Water As Possible From The Carpet

You cannot check the entire floor for the presence of water, but you need to check the carpet padding beneath the carpet. There are several different ways by which you can get rid of the water.

• Rent a vacuum that is capable of removing water. Remember not to use the regular vacuum that are present in the house. This is because a regular house vacuum is not capable enough in handling vacuuming up carpet moisture. Vacuum until you get no more water.
• Alternatively, you can rent a hot water extraction unit. You can also check with a local carpet cleaning company and see if you can rent the vacuum cleaners and other carpet cleaning equipment from them. This helps in sucking the water from the carpet, although you will have to check beneath the carpet.

Check The Amount of Water Beneath The Carpet

Getting rid of water on top of the carpet is the beginning. Get rid of water along the floor as well as in the padding present beneath the carpet, else, the floor could buckle. Walk across the carpet. If there is a sopping or squishing sound whenever you perform the task, make sure that there is stagnant water under the carpet.

Raise The Carpet From The Floor

Start raising the carpet from the corner. Use pliers and a pair of work gloves and start the process of separating the carpet from the floor and padding. You are going to dry the floor beneath the carpet, otherwise, it could cause buckling on the floor. Avoid cutting the carpet, because it will be incredibly difficult in putting them back together.

• You can also lift off the carpet and pull it off from the installation strips at one of the corners. You can also do this on the edge of the carpet if you are having a short side that is easy to access and work with.
• Fold the corner or side of the rug over so that you can easily see the carpet padding. 

Blow Air Between Carpet And Padding

You are wanting to try to dry the pad without even removing the carpet, especially if the pad seems to have only gotten a little damp and the sub floor seems to be dry.

A dehumidifier in a closed room will help you in pulling out the moisture faster and this can be rented from the rental companies.

Keep the corner or side of the carpet raised that you have lifted. Use a fan to blow air under the carpet unto the pad. Turn up the heat and open the windows to reduce the timing of drying.

Attach a vacuum hose to the exhaust of a vacuum and put those hose under the carpet, placing the carpet back over the hose. The hot air will cause the carpet to float over the pad and speed up the drying process.

To Get the Services on Call

Carpet mould growth is extremely common in homes in areas that are frequently affected by floods. There has been excessive dampness and moisture. Having mould in your home can be extremely dangerous to your health that cause all kinds of adverse health symptoms and discomfort. If you assess your options but believe that, the mould damage on the carpet is past the point of remediation.

Ians Cleaning Services is a leading carpet cleaning service provider and provide services in Hobart and its surrounding areas. We have a team of highly trained flooring experts who are committed towards helping the homeowners in finding the perfect solution for flooring for their homes. We will provide best carpet cleaning tips on our visit. 

Read Our Articles For More Info: 

• How to Get Rid of Chewing Gum From The Carpet

• How To Get Poop Stains Out of the Carpet