Can My Carpet Be Saved After a Flood?

A flooded carpet isn’t a rare occurrence in homes. These floors are great for creating a warm and cosy looking home environment and they feel great during wintertime. But they are also quite vulnerable when it comes to high humidity levels, spills, and flooding.

In most cases, home carpets get flooded by a leaky pipe, when kids forget taps open, when a storm hits or when a water heater gives out. Some more uncommon causes for carpet flooding are due to a local flood when your area experiences high rainfall.

Whether your carpet can be saved usually depends on the type of flood you have, how long the floodwater has been allowed to sit, and how old your carpet is.

Here are a few basic tips that can tell you whether a carpet can be salvaged or not.

Clean VS Contaminated Water Sources

First, you will need to determine where the floodwater is sourced from because this will give you a good idea of whether your carpet can be saved or not.

Clean Water Sources

Was the carpet flooded by clean tap water leaking from a burst pipe or did clean rainwater pour through a hole in your ceiling to cause the flood? In this case, the carpet can very likely be saved if the correct cleaning and drying techniques are followed.

Contaminated Water Sources

However, if your carpet was flooded by a busted sewage line or if it was swamped by a local flood then it can be contaminated. These toxic contaminants can have severe implications for your health since they can contain numerous toxins, bacteria, and usually result in mould growth. In this case, it is much better to replace the carpet with a brand new floor covering.

For How Long Was The Carpet Wet?

The longer the carpet stays wet or submerged underwater, the less likely you are to save it. Here is the average timeline for carpet salvation.

24 – 48 Hours

If your carpet was flooded for less than 48hours by a clean water source then it is very likely to save the entire carpet but you will need to get it professionally cleaned and dried.

Over 48 Hours

After 48 hours, the chances of saving your carpets are greatly reduced even if the floodwater was clean. In this case, it is better to get the carpets replaced because they are not very likely to be restored properly even with industrial cleaning and drying equipment.

Carpets Will Only Survive If They Are Thoroughly Cleaned

If your carpets are flooded by a clean water source and you start drying them within 48 hours, the chances of saving them are pretty good but only if they are properly cleaned.

The carpets will need to be machine washed with carpet shampoo or steam cleaned. Steam cleaning is preferable since it also kills germs and bacteria.

All traces of moisture will need to be extracted from the carpets. This is done by using industrial extraction vacuums, dehumidifiers, and lots of industrial fans.

The only way to effectively save and restore a flooded carpet is with professional assistance. Household cleaning agents and cleaning tools are ineffective for eliminating contaminants, they cannot effectively remove all traces of dirt and grime, and without proper cleaning, your flooring is very likely to start to stink, and mould growth will soon start to appear all over the floors.

Now that you understand the scenarios in which your carpets can be saved or not, you will know when to call Electrovac. With these professionals, your chances of saving your beautiful flooring greatly increase and you can keep the costs of the water damage to a bare minimum.