Wet Carpet: Issues From Odor to Shrinkage

Your carpet, whether it is old or new is a valuable part of your home. It keeps your feet warm and cushioned, and insulates the floor. It ties the drapes and furniture together into one cohesive theme. But from large rugs to wall to wall carpeting, once there is an issue of wet carpet, there will be many problems to deal with.

If the carpet gets wet and then dries incorrectly, there might be staining, mold or mildew to contend with. A wet carpet must be taken cared of as quickly as possible to prevent these problems. A small spot, like from a slow roof drip might only take an hour or so to dry up, but a larger section or more water may take far longer. Do not assume that your carpet will dry on its own without a problem. Also, make sure to check the carpet’s backing and padding before thinking that the job is completed.

After the carpet, the backing and the padding are thoroughly dried, you must make sure that there is no odor, or potential odor sources. One of the best ways to accomplish this is with a thorough steam cleaning of the wet carpet itself. This can be done by yourself with a rented steam cleaning unit, or by a professional, whichever is your choice. Make sure that you follow all manufacturer’s directions if you do it yourself. If the area involved was not that big, you can spot clean the area and then sprinkle some baking soda, or carpet freshener on it. After steam cleaning is complete, you can follow up with a dusting of baking soda and cinnamon to really defeat and destroy odors. A large amount of mold or mildew on your carpet will mean extra steps to this process, as the mold/mildew must be removed and destroyed before proceeding as above. In the case of a heavy growth a commercial product may be necessary to prevent re-growth.

One of the most potentially destructive parts of a wet carpet is shrinkage as the carpet dries. Whether it is caused by drying on its own or from improper drying techniques, a wet carpet that dries too quickly will shrink, often to the point of being unusable. Stretching can be done, but only to a point- if the shrinkage is too profound, the carpet will be ruined. In most cases the stretching will need to be completed by a professional for best results. If your wet carpet is fairly new it may be covered by insurance, so call your agent to ask. If the carpet is not new, and the shrinkage is severe, it might be cheaper to just look into buying a new carpet.

Finally, do not neglect to check the condition of the floor beneath your carpeting, especially in the case of excessive water or water that remained for a lengthy amount of time. The longer that it takes to dry the carpet, the more likely it is that there will be grooving, warping or rotting of the wood beneath it. Stretching and cleaning your carpet or installing new carpet will make no sense if the floor beneath it is not any good.