If the undesirable has somehow happened and you find yourself dealing with flood water damage in your residential or commercial premises, it’s quite natural to feel a little dumbstruck. Therefore, it is important that you know what you are dealing with, when to call for professional service, and an intermediate plan to minimize flood water damage in carpet. As the leading carpet flood water damage restoration team in Melbourne, one of the most frequently asked queries we receive is how to minimize water damage in carpets after calling in a professional service. Is there anything one can do before expert technicians arrive on the scene and solve the problem? Rather than pressing your ultimate panic button, read this article to understand the golden rules for water damaged carpeting.
Assessment of Situation
Before pouring chemical solutions and vacuuming to dry the carpet, one must assess the extent of damage properly. Have you located the source of flood water damage in carpets? Are there any harmful materials involved or is it safe to try and fix the damage by yourself? Flood damaged carpeting can be quite toxic. They contain several hazardous contaminants, such as mould spores and lethal bacteria. You should not try to salvage a carpeting which has been damaged by flood water without professional help.
After you have determined the level and source of damage, you know what you are dealing with. You can now start tackling the problem of how to disinfect your carpet. One must be equipped with protective gear including gloves, boots, and mask. Remember that you need to keep children and pets off the damaged carpeting until it has been treated professionally.
Drying of Carpets
Water damage in carpets foster the growth of mould and mildew which can damage the structure of its fibres. Therefore, once you know what you are dealing with, you next target should be speed. You must dry the carpet completely within 24 hours if you want to give it a chance for survival.
However, this is not always feasible. You may not even realise that you have water damaged carpeting for hours after it has occurred, or you might have trouble drying it completely because of inadequate knowledge and lack of professional expertise. Whichever the case, act as swiftly as you can and call Professional Carpet Water Damage Restoration in Adelaide services immediately.
You can use commercial wet/dry vacuum cleaners to absorb excess liquid after flood water damage. Although a cheap and inexpensive trick, vacuuming is a very time consuming process. It is essential to know how vacuum cleaners should be used. Use them in long strokes from end to end to dry the soaked area effectively. Simply pushing them around and moving them back and forth like a dry vacuum cleaner will not remove any water from damaged carpeting.
You can also use dehumidifiers, fans, and blowers to speed up the drying process. Set them up in such a way so as to circulate maximum air around the carpeting. Open all doors and windows increase the flow of dry air.
It must be noted that these instructions are only applicable to carpets without padding. Carpets with additional padding under them require a different method of treatment and drying.
How to Dry Carpets with Padding?
You cannot use the same carpet padding again unless you hire professional restoration services. Carpets pads are like giant sponges. They soak up a large amount of water in their pores and are very difficult to dry out. Their dampness causes mould and mildew to develop, along with foul odour and allergic reactions due to decaying.
If you have a flood water damaged carpeting with pads, lift it carefully to prevent spreading of water and remove the padding slowly. Note that you must use protective gloves for this step. Once the padding is pulled out, dispose of it properly, and lay down the carpet again. Then, as mentioned before, use your wet/dry vacuum cleaner with dehumidifiers and blowers to dry the carpet surface.
Decontamination and Disinfection of Water Damaged Carpeting
Once your carpet has been successfully dried, you need to think about how to disinfect it. No bacteria or mould spore should be allowed to linger on the dried carpet. Although you can either buy a steam cleaning machine or use your own home carpet cleaning solution, we recommend hiring Flood Water Damage Restoration which provide professional carpet restoration technicians to clear things up. Our expert technicians use a non-toxic anti-bacterial solution which prevents growth of mould, mildew, and bacteria.
Professional Carpet Restoration Services
Drying of water damaged carpeting is best left to Flood Water Damage Restoration professional technicians. Flood Water Damage Restoration offers a wide range of carpet cleaning and restoration services throughout Melbourne and nearby areas. Our experts and trained and certified from IICRC with more than 20 years of experience in this domain. Call us today at 03 4709 6086 to schedule an appointment and get a free quote of our services. You can also get in touch with our team by filling out the small contact form on the right side of your screen.