A wet carpet can be nightmare fuel for any homeowner. And no, this doesn’t include a silly little spill that makes one little area of the carpet damp for a short period of time. No, this means when a leak has occurred or perhaps an appliance has broken and gotten water everywhere.
When this happens, the carpets in your home can become saturated with water, creating a nasty, funky smell in the air. After resolving the issue where the leaking water is originating from, you are then left to deal with the issue of getting the carpet back to its original condition.
The thing to keep in mind is that a wet carpet may not appear to be moist from the outset. There can be old moisture that is trapped below the surface of the carpet for a while, simply creating a little bit of a funky smell that is easy to write off.
Should this go untreated, that odor can fill your home and cause issues with the indoor air quality of your home. If that musty smell continues even with regular vacuuming and cleaning, it is safe to say that you are dealing with a wet carpet.
There are other signs of wet carpet that are much more serious. This can include constant allergy symptoms or sickness in family members as well as pets. Not only that, but there can be serious discoloration in various sections of your carpet too.
Letting Wet Carpeting Sit
If you come back after a weekend away and notice that your carpet is wet, it is possible to not know when the original leak has occurred and whether your carpet has been wet for a few hours or a few days.
The fact of the matter is that as soon as you determine the issue exists, it needs to be dealt with immediately. Leaving the carpet wet offers a series of risks.
The first is that it can result in serious damage done to both the carpet as well as the padding that lays underneath. Even worse, you run the risk of damage being done to your subfloor as well. This can mean substantial work that needs to be done to repair the issue.
Additionally, you run the risk of mold and mildew when moisture is allowed to fester. Getting rid of that moisture should be of the utmost importance because it can mean serious health problems for your family if left unattended.
With that said, there are ways to dry a wet carpet in your home.
Remove the Moisture
The most important step in the process is to stop the water from flowing into the carpet. The best way to do this is by using a wet vacuum. Wet vacs are great for moderate levels of moisture as it can suck up the water out of the carpet and allow the process of drying to begin.
Best of all, you can rent a wet vac if you think that you will only need one once every blue moon. Even if you want one on the premises, they are inexpensive enough that you can purchase one.
The key here is to get as much of the moisture away from the carpet as you can without having to completely pull it all up from the floor.
Create an Air Flow
Again, the idea here is to avoid having to completely replace your carpeting and avoid damage being done to your subflooring. If it gets that deep, you could be in for serious repair costs as the subflooring is structural and can create an unsafe space to walk in.
By creating as much of an air flow as possible, you can help that wet area get clear of the odor and moisture that plagues the room. Try to open a window, turn some fans on, and even put a fan on the floor to help get rid of the moisture and odors.
Bringing in high-powered fans is a great idea for this job. Still, if you have standard house fans, any kind of airflow is better than none at all.
You may want to even consider using a dehumidifier to suck moisture out of the air, helping the carpet to dry quicker than it normally would.
Replace the Padding
In cases where the carpet has been so saturated with water that it gets into the carpet padding, don’t try to salvage it. The carpet padding is made of foam and generally cannot be saved if it has gotten soaked.
Replacing the padding means getting rid of the moisture in that padding as well as preventing the main carpeting from becoming saturated with mold. This helps to keep the air quality in your home at a safe level and prevents excess moisture from hanging around and staying in your carpet.
Steam Cleaning
If your home has experienced a serious leak and subsequent water damage, it may be too late to go this route and calling in a professional can be the only way to go. But if the level of moisture in your carpet is of a moderate level, steam cleaning may be an option.
Steam cleaning is meant to clean (obviously) but it also removes any toxins that are in the carpet and helps to deodorize it as well. If you have a steam cleaner in your home (as many with pets do), this can be a quick and handy way to remove the moisture from your carpet.
Try using it in tandem with baking soda since that is a great way of lifting and removing trapped moisture in your carpet. Sprinkle it liberally over the wet areas of the carpet and allow it to sit for a half hour or so. Vacuum it up and the moisture should be gone or at least mostly removed.
There are many ways to remove moisture from your carpet depending on the severity of the problem at hand. Whatever you do, just don’t let it sit as the ramifications can be heavy.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. As a homeowner, I love working on projects around the house, and as a father, I love investigating various ways to keep my family safe (whether or not this involves tech). I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.