How To Clean Carpets – North Shore Water Damage Repair
If your carpets have become waterlogged, you need to take steps to remedy this as soon as possible. Leaving the carpets will result in mould and mildew that is dangerous to your health. To properly clean flooded carpets, a North Shore water damage repair company gives certain steps you need to take.
Assess The Situation
Before you try cleaning a carpet with water damage, you need to assess the situation. You need to find the source of the water and, if necessary, repair this. You should also consider how long the carpets have been wet. The longer they have stood, the more dangerous and difficult it is to clean them.
If the carpets have stood with water damage for more than 24 hours, it is recommended that you replace them. This is due to mould and mildew starting to grow after 24 hours. If the source of the water damage was flood water, you should also replace the carpets because there are potential pathogens that you cannot get rid of. However, if it was for example, a washing machine flood, you can often save your carpets if you call in an experienced North Shore water damage repair service.
Start Drying The Carpets
If the carpets are not already dry, you will need to start drying them as soon as the source of the water has been dealt with. There are a few methods you can try including the use of a wet-dry vacuum. This is the easiest method for the average person to use, but you can also contact a water damage specialist to handle this for you.
If you are going to use a wet-dry vacuum, you will need to use single continuous strokes. The carpet will also need to be vacuumed a number of times before it starts to dry. You should also set up fans and dehumidifiers to remove the remaining moisture.
Cleaning The Carpet
When the carpet is clean, the first step you need to take to cleaning it is sanitising the carpet. This will remove the chance of mould or mildew growing in the carpet fibres or on the backing. There are special carpet sanitizing products you can get for this task. It is recommended that you look for an anti-microbial product.
Bleaching the carpet is not the best idea. While bleach can kill germs, it can damage the backing of the carpet and the floor beneath it. Bleaching will also strip any colour from your carpet and leave it with discoloured parts.
After sanitising the carpet, you will need to dry it again. To dry the sanitizer, you can use fans or heaters. You should not open the windows if there is rain or high levels of humidity. If the weather is clear, opening the windows can help with ventilation and the drying of the carpet. Once the carpet is dry, it should be as clean as you are able to get it.
Cleaning a water damaged carpet is possible, but not something you may want to do on your own. If you are unsure about cleaning the carpet correctly, you should contact a professional North Shore water damage repair service to clean your carpet. They will know what to do and whether your carpet needs to be replaced.
Go Green Carpet Cleaning has years of experience with water damage repair. You can get more details at their website.