Imagine the scenario. You’ve just returned home after a few hours to be greeted with a pool of water cascading past you when you open the door. Alternatively you’ve come home to find that your boiler has burst, your washing machine has dumped water all over your floor, or you have a burst pipe – either way it’s a pretty serious mess. So what do you do?
Remove the source of the problem
Firstly and obviously you need to stem the flow of water. If it’s a washing machine for example then turn the taps off at the pipework. If the leak is coming from an unknown source, then the best way to deal with it is to not go hunting for it. Instead locate the main stop valve and turn it off.
Remove all furniture and fittings
If it’s safe to do so, the next stage is to take out all furniture, fittings, and belongings that have come into contact with the water. For best results, if it’s a dry day, place everything outside or if you have a dry room in the property you might want to store items in there.
Dealing with your carpet
The first thing about a wet carpet especially if you want to save it is that you need to work fast. Mildew spores can form within 24 hours and once that happens and your carpet goes bad, it’s very difficult to save it. In addition to mildew, the glue that holds the backing to the carpet will start to break down and it can be pulled apart like a grilled mozzarella sandwich. This is known as delamination. To prevent this, speed is of the essence.
Call in the pros
Firstly the main priority is to remove any residual surface water using anything you can. Whether that’s by using a broom or a squeegee you’ll need to prevent further water from soaking into your carpet. The next step is to remove the carpet from its tack strips. Use a pair of pliers and some work gloves and peel it back. This gets air to it right away preventing the formation of any mildew. Finally, once you’ve done this you should call in the experts. So who do you call?
Many carpet cleaning companies also specialise in flood water extraction and as a result have the necessary equipment and tools to be able to remove the maximum amount of water. Powerful vacuums with strong suction can extract way more water than your standard vacuum cleaner while equally powerful floor driers dry the carpet backing and the floor area. They will do everything they can to save your wet carpet and have it returned to normal as quickly as possible.
Hopefully you’ll never have to go through this scenario but if you do, it’s good to know what you should do in the circumstances. By acting fast and calling in the pros, you’ll stand a far better chance of saving your carpets, belongings, and a great deal of heartache.
At Carpet Cleaning Kings, we’ve been helping families and businesses restore their carpets for many years but in addition we’re also experienced flood water extraction specialists. We’re available 24/7 in your time of need so give us a call on 1300 7000 75 today.
