You may want to have a look at your insurance cover and see if carpet water damage is covered under your policy. However, if you are going down the DIY track, you may need to be weary of the following issues.

Is it worth purchasing new carpet?

If there is mould or sewage involved it is highly recommended the carpet is thrown away. A professional flood restoration technician should be able to discern whether the carpet is recoverable in any case.

Are there Wet Walls Involved?

This is the one thing that can catch people out is that they don’t realize that it is not only the carpet that is wet by the subfloor and walls are also wet. Structural drying should be done professionally or mold can start to cultivate within a day. One way a professional flood damage restorer would do this is by venting air inside the walls using specialized ducting.

Are there water damaged timber floors underneath the carpet?

Timber floors can easily expand, buckle and bow when they are wet. One way a professional can restore this is by using an Injectidry to suck the moisture out of the floor. Vacuum plates are installed on the floor over a period of time to take the moisture out of the floor. Typically there is a dehumidifier placed in the middle of the room to suck the moisture out of the air. It must be noted that an Injectidry system may solved the problem in all cases.

How to restore the flood damaged carpets

A blower can be placed between the carpet and the padding. The floor underneath the underlay may also be dried in the process. However, again it is important to note that this method will not always work in all cases.

Do you have rubber underlay underneath the carpet or foam underlay?

Most homes that we have see in Australia have either rubber or foam carpet padding. Please note that foam in some situations can take a long time to restore. As mentioned earlier, it may be more efficient to replace foam underlay.

Only some issues have been considered here. The main issue to understand is that mould can grow within 24 hours if the conditions are right. Which is why it is important to dry down building, carpets, floors etc to acceptable moisture limits. Failing to do this can lead to a mould problem which can cost a lot more to fix.

If you need carpet drying services in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast is served by New Life Restorations. Alternatively if you have experienced a fire at your property and need it professionally cleaned New Life, we can clean it with our Fire Damage Restoration services.