There are a number of disasters that can happen to a home such as flooding. When the inside of the home is exposed to high amounts of water the home is at risk. Mold will begin to develop after a flooding, wood will rot and other structural problems will begin to occur. You will need to act quickly to restore a home after it was flooded. One common question when restoring a home after a flood is whether or not their carpet can be saved. Over saturated carpets are never good and most carpets are replaced. However with a professional flood restoration service they may be able to save your home’s carpet and its pad. There is a lot a professional will consider when it comes to saving your carpets. Carpet Dry-Tech will share when carpets can be saved and how it is done.
What is Considered Category 1, 2 & 3 Water Damage?
To determine if carpet can be saved or they if they should be replaced, one question is the type of water the carpet was exposed to. The water type is broken down into three categories.
• Category 1. Clean water from a broken pipe or rainwater that was not mixed with any type of contaminates. Carpet exposed to a category 1 can be saved. However, this is only if the carpets are cleaned within 48 hours of exposure. Water will degrade after 24 hours, which makes it impossible to save the carpet and the padding.
• Category 2. Graywater in which there is some contaminants present in the water. Graywater can come from an overflowing dishwasher, sump pump, or drain overflow. Graywater has some contaminants. Although carpet can be saved, the restoration process must begin fairly quickly and more aggressive cleaning treatments are often required. You will have just 24 hours of exposure to save your carpet. If you wait too long, you will need to replace them.
• Category 3. Blackwater which has a high amount of contaminants and pathogens which not only effects the carpet but can make the entire home a hazardous environment. If the sewer line backed up into the home, or really dirty water from outside entered the home, you will often have a category 3. If the carpet is exposed to a category 3 water types, you will need to replace the carpet along with a lot of the wood inside the home.
How Do You Preserve a Soaked Carpet
If you have a category 1 or 2 water type, your carpet and its padding can usually be saved. It starts by airing out the home and the extraction of the flood water. A pump will suck out the water if the water is a few inches deep. If the water only saturated the carpet, a special vacuum like water extractor machine is used to suck out as much water as possible. In some rare cases, the carpet may be removed to better extract the padding. A dehumidifier machine(s) are placed in the flooding site which will help remove the moisture in the air and in the walls and floor, including the carpets. Once all of the moisture has been removed, the carpet will be chemically treated to kill and prevent mold, mildew, and other fungi from developing. If your carpet was exposed to a category 2, the treatment process will be much more intense. Once the carpet has been treated, your carpets have been saved!
Water Extraction, Structural Drying, Carpet Cleaning, Deodorizing & More in Marietta, Roswell, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Atlanta & Greater Woodstock, GA
Flooding is a serious problem and can make saving your home’s carpet very hard. With professional water damage restoration services you can succeed in restoring your home. For water damage restoration, or other carpet care services, contact Carpet Dry-Tech today.
