How To Clean & Dry Wet Carpet?

How To Clean & Dry Wet Carpet? A wet carpet is not a very uncommon problem. But to clean and dry a wet carpet is not an easy task. The entry of water into your living space can take place in many ways. A leaking pipe in your bathroom can leave your carpets wet and soaked. An open window on a rainy night can let in a good amount of rainwater inside your home. In some cases, the rainwater can inundate your basement and carpet may well be under it.

There can simply be many ways the carpet can absorb water and become wet. While all care should be taken to make sure that the carpet never gets in touch with water, especially large amounts of water, if it has indeed happened, you should immediately take measures to clean and dry the wet carpet.

Should you leave the wet carpet as it is?

You can’t afford to leave the carpet wet for long. Not only will this lead to decay and rot of your carpet, but it can also leave a lingering bad smell in your room. Carpet installation is an expensive proposition and you would not like to incur the cost just because you could not save your carpet from getting wet and soaked accidentally. However, there are ways by which you can limit the damage and keep your carpet safe even though it has been underwater for a few hours or a few days. The key is to get into action the moment you noticed that water has seeped into your carpet area. If it is left just like that it can damage even the flooring and the subfloor.

Here are some ways that can help you clean and dry wet carpet:

Get rid of the moisture

The first thing you should do is to plug the source of water into your living space. Once the water has stopped coming up to the carpet, you can concentrate on removing the water or moisture from the carpet. For this, you can use a wet vacuum which is quite effective in removing water and moisture from the carpet. You should wet vacuum the carpet until it is reasonably clean and dry.

Allow airflow

An important way you can expedite the process of drying inside the room is by allowing free airflow. For this, you should open all the doors and windows. You can also switch on fans. Additionally, you can hire some high-powered and heavy-duty fans and let them create an air-storm inside the house. This will quicken the process of drying and removal of moisture from the carpet as well as from other things that might have got wet and moist.

Remove carpet padding

If the water has found its way to the carpet and made it moist, it is certain that the carpet padding is also wet and moist. Now, you need to either replace the padding or dry it properly. Drying the carpet padding would require putting it in the sun till it is completely dry. If your carpet is small and there is enough sun without any possibility of inclement weather, you can put the carpet also under the sun.

Do a steam-clean

Once the carpet is reasonably dry with the help of a wet vacuum, you can steam clean it. This will remove all the dirt, toxins, odors, and growth of bacteria and microorganisms. You can steam clean yourself or take the help of a professional service. The high temperature of the steam makes sure that all microorganisms are killed and effectively cleaned.

Use some baking soda

Baking soda is an effective moisture removing agent that can be used to extract moisture from deep inside the moist carpet. You only need to sprinkle a liberal amount of baking soda over the carpet and leave it for half an hour before wet vacuuming the entire carpet. This will make your carpet dry and feel fresh.

How To Clean & Dry Wet Carpet? –
Final thoughts

Apart from these measures, you should also check out other items for water damage such as furniture, cupboard, cabinets, fixtures, etc. You should open and wipe them. Let fresh air flow through all such areas that are likely to be wet or moist. If you leave them open for a couple of hours, they would dry up but if you leave them as it is, the moisture inside them would stay and damage the material. Another significant aspect of cleaning and drying the wet carpet is to disinfect the surfaces of all adjoining rooms.