After your carpet sustains water damage, it doesn’t take long for mold to grow and do a lot of harm to your floors. If you are a homeowner who has experienced a double whammy of flooding and power outage over spring and summer storms, your carpet is especially susceptible to mold growth. The thing about mold and moisture is that it can exist without you even knowing it’s there, especially in porous materials like your carpet, carpet pad, and insulation. If you have experienced anything like this, you should call an expert at Extreme Carpet Care to handle your water damage repair needs. Here are a few ways you can begin to take care of your carpet on your own.
Call the Water Damage Pros and Dry Things Out
The sooner you can begin to clean up your carpets after damage, the sooner you can stop mold from growing under your carpet. A few tools that can help start the process are fans, bleach, and cleaners. Floor dryers can help to speed up the drying process. Mold exposure can cause serious health issues. It irritates the nose, eyes, throat, and lungs. Breathing airborne mold can trigger allergy-like symptoms.
Remove The Water You Can See and Feel
Start by using a wet/dry vacuum to clean up as much water as you can. These types of machines are most effective for removing water. They can be rented or provided by repair companies that specialize in repairing home flood damage.
Use Fans to Speed Up Carpet Drying Process
It might take several days for the fans to completely dry out wet areas. The good thing is that they will help to circulate the air and reduce moisture. Keep the fans going 24 hours a day for at least a week or so. Homeowners can rent these high-power fans from home improvement stores with tool rental service. You can also use a dehumidifier. This machine can remove the excess moisture, which makes the air feel cooler and reduces mold and mildew growth. Any machine that speeds up the drying process will help the recovery of your floors and carpet.
Steam Clean Carpet and Flooring
You can also begin to steam clean your carpets to properly sanitize them and deodorize them after water damage. However, the padding underneath might need to be replaced. Replacing the pad is less expensive than replacing all the carpet.
Sanitize Walls and Baseboards
Anything that has been touched by water should be sanitized, especially if stormwater is involved. Clean all walls, hard-surface floors, and other household surfaces with cleaning solutions. You can sanitize with a solution of 1.5 cups of bleach to 1 gallon of water.
Check The Furniture
Do not forget to check out your furniture. You can also prop the furniture up on foam blocks while you get the carpet cleaned. When the experts come to clean, you will need to remove all rugs and furniture from the rooms.
Call The Pros
It can be a pain to clean up carpets and water damage. Call an expert at Extreme Carpet Care for water damage repair and let us handle the hard work. We have all the knowledge and equipment to get the job done quickly and safely. Our team will take care of your home and get it back to normal.
