Dealing With Damage to Carpets and Other Items After Flooding

11/20/2020 (Permalink)

Wet carpets are salvageable

Dealing With Damage to Carpets and Other Items After Flooding

If you have had a pipe break or other flooding event in Overland Park, KS, many of your items have likely been inundated with water. You are probably wondering whether removed items can be returned to their previous places. You may also be concerned about the possibility of a mold infestation. The future of your items depends on the length of their exposure to moisture and the source of the floodwater in your home.

Water Sources
Most flooding in residential homes comes from clean sources of water such as:

• A pipe break
• Broken supply lines
• Leaky faucets
• Other major leaks
  

When flooding is caused by clean sources, you can return your items as long as they can be properly dried. Because mold can grow very quickly after flooding, it is essential that you dry your possessions as soon as possible. If any large item was soaked for more than 24 hours, you should replace it.
Dirty water caused by septic overflows or large-scale flooding may contain contaminants that are difficult to get out of carpets and other items. If you have a carpet that spans the entire area of the flooded space in your home, it is generally more cost-effective to replace it than to try to clean and restore it after exposure to contaminated water.

Evaluating Your Items
The first step in the restoration process is to remove furniture and other objects to a higher, drier location. Dry immovable carpeting by opening windows and turn on as many fans as possible. You should inspect every surface of each item of concern. Sometimes, the tops of rugs or other flat items are dry while there is still moisture underneath. Similarly, material inside furniture can be wet even if the outside is dry.
After a pipe break or other flood in your home, you may be unsure what to do. Once you have stopped the flow of water, you may need to have dry wall torn out and your home may require other intensive remediation. A restoration professional can help guide you through the process.