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Arriving home you squish and splash your way through a soggy soaked mass of bloated carpeting. Water can wreak havoc on fabrics and carpeting is no different. Don't know where to begin? The best way to deal with a mess of this magnitude is to act quickly! Wet carpeting does more than just look and feel bad - it is dangerous to your health! Time is critical as the longer the fabric is saturated, the better the chance that mold, mildew, water spots, and/or bacteria will occur, rending the carpet completely useless.

Survey the scene. Where did the water come from? A water source like rain, a burst pipe, or other "clean" source has the potential to be restored with the speedy use of wet vacs and shampooning. Water from toilets or sewer backups, even long term flooding should be removed completely and trashed as they will most likely contain harmful bacteria and have just been wet for too long destroying the fibers resiliency. Now might be a good time to see if your insurance policy covers cleaning or replacement.

Drying the carpeting on your own is no easy task. First, remove the carpeting and always throw out the padding. Next, try to remove your carpeting either outdoors or try to prop it up as best as you can enabling you to run fans (preferably industrial type fans) in order to dry the carpeting as a whole - both top and bottom pieces. For smaller pieces, lug it outside somewhere to dry and completely air out. Professionals always recommend treating the bare floor with a bleach and water solution to completely disinfect and safeguard your home against the invasion of mold before reinstallation.

Carpeting, especially wet carpeting, is HEAVY. With that in mind, it might be a better idea to leave it in the hands of the professionals. These carpet cleaning dynamos will use a variety of industrial materials to try to salvage your flooring from powerful water extractions to industrial cleaning agents; they will get the job done right. They may extract the carpeting as a whole and take it to their place of business or they will do the job right then and there. Better equipped to handle weather factors like humidity and rain, as well as knowing the ropes, they are more likely to save your carpeting. As with any professional, get an estimate first, to help prevent surprises.

There is always a chance that despite your best efforts the carpet is trash. If this happens, don't just set throw it away, first check around for carpet recycling in your area. Old carpeting accounts for 2 percent of landfill waste with as much as 2.5 million TONS of the stuff pitched to the curb each year! Many foreward thinking companies are turning old carpeting into items ranging from parking barriers to roofing shingles!

Whether you choose to use professional carpet cleaners or do it yourself; time is of the essence. Do not wait to make the call to get help. Your quick action can save your carpeting - and your wallet!

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