How to restore water damaged carpet

Carpets do really make a home look beautiful and neat, especially if the color of the carpet is eye-catching or attractive to the eyes. But once the carpet gets wet, expect some immediate heavy cleaning to do or else the wet carpet might become a source of health problems for the family. Wet carpet may attract molds, mildew, fungi and other bacteria that are harmful to humans hence immediate cleaning and restoration is needed to prevent the possible occurrence of diseases. But before doing any restoration, assessment should first be made whether the wet carpet is soaked with clean or dirty water. If soaked with clean or sanitary water, the water must be extracted immediately from the damage carpet and should be dried within 12 hours. The water damage carpet may also be treated with a disinfectant to prevent molds, mildew and other bacteria from forming.

To speed up drying, the wet carpet should be elevated and placed in an area with enough ventilation. Fans may be used to speed up drying.

If soaked with dirty or unsanitary water such as from flood, water coming from toilets, dishwashers or other unclean sources, the damage carpet should be discarded obviously for health reasons.

Some carpet manufacturers usually don't replace carpets that are damaged by flood.

But if you choose not to discard the soiled carpet since it has a sentimental or monetary value to you, you may restore the damage carpet but you should wear protective gears such as gloves and boots before cleaning it.

The wet carpet should first be treated with disinfectants obviously to fend off any bacteria before extracting the water. The padding underneath the damage carpet should also be removed and discarded. The padding should be replaced with a new one since it is less expensive to replace it than have it restored.

After extracting the water on the wet carpet, it should be placed in an area with enough ventilation to allow it to dry. The drying time will depend on the size of the carpet and the nature of the damage.

The area where the damage carpet was placed -- or the sub-flooring -- should also be cleaned thoroughly, treated with disinfectant and dried to prevent mildew and other bacteria from forming.