4 Speedy Efforts To Undertake When Your Carpet Is Caught In An Unprecedented Flood
Posted on: 27 October 2016
If you're going through unprecedented rainfall with imminent flooding, chances are your ground-level home is going to get caught in the submerge. While you can probably roll up smaller rugs in your home, you can't do much to protect your fixed, wall-to-wall carpets. Once the flooding subsides, follow these tips to prevent your wet carpet from facing irreparable damage.
Use A Water Extraction Machine
A water extraction machine has been engineered to remove water from different areas, including your carpet. This machine can be extremely handy when your carpet is saturated with floodwater because it sucks out the remaining water from the inside of your carpet to expedite drying time. A water extraction machine can come in handy if you live in an area prone to floods. Alternatively, if you don't want to purchase, you may be able to hire one from a home improvement store. Drying the carpets is the first priority, so do everything you can to get it started quickly.
Run Your Split System Air Conditioner On Dehumidifying Mode
While it isn't the priority function, many modern air conditioners have dehumidifying modes built into them. Simply turn on this mode and let the air conditioner suck out the excess moisture in the air. This will dry your carpets faster. If possible, open up the windows and let natural ventilation expedite drying. If you don't have an air conditioner, use the cold drying function on your hairdryer to speed up drying as much as possible. Never use the heat function because this could end up shrinking carpet fibres.
Shampoo The Carpets
Floodwater isn't something that comes out of a tap, so you can expect it to be filled with bacteria and other germs that could make your family sick. Once you've completely dried your carpets and know you can still salvage them, consider shampooing it to remove all the bacteria, dirt and debris accumulated on it. Carpet shampoo is available at any home improvement store. You will need a carpet shampooing machine to sanitise and remove carpet dirt, which is usually available at home or carpet retail stores.
Deodorise The Carpet
Baking soda doubles up as a natural cleaner and deodoriser to make sure that the deluge leaves no nasty odours behind. Wait for the carpet to dry completely before sprinkling this baking soda on the carpet. Let it sit for several hours before sucking it up with a vacuum cleaner.
These cleaning steps should have your carpet looking good as new once again. The drawback is that these machines can be expensive investments when floods happen rarely in your home. Professional carpet cleaning can also help ensure your carpets get back to normal.
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