If your home has suffered a leak, you’re probably imagining that your carpet can’t be saved from the damage. However, if you know the right tools to use, along with the right carpet cleaning alexandria service, you can repair water damage without any added stress. Water damage can be one of the more difficult problems to fix when it comes to your home carpet, especially if you’re dealing with a larger area rug or wall-to-wall carpeting. However, even if your carpet has undergone a significant amount of damage, you can restore it to good health with the right help. Since moisture is a carpet’s worst enemy, you might end up having to deal with other unexpected issues as a result of water damage, such as odor, bugs, and discoloration. That’s why it’s important to start putting your carpet through the correct maintenance as soon as possible. If you’re ready to return your carpet to its original state, here are a few tips to use.
Assess the Damage
Before making a move, you’ll want to know just how deep the damage goes. Are you looking at a small, hardly noticeable stain? A giant mess? Is your stain faded or discolored from contact with rusty or otherwise dirty water? The reason it helps to know exactly what kind of a stain you’re dealing with is that it will guide you toward the safest, most practical answer without your having to dabble in a bunch of DIY cleaning adventures that still leave your rug looking stained. For instance, if your rug is discolored or looks rusty or moldy, you should spare no time in getting your rug to the dry cleaners. Certain water damage stains need to be professionally handled in order to be eradicated, while others only need a bit of household cleaner to look their best again. If you have a tile rug or a berber carpet, you can easily get rid of larger damaged areas by cutting out the tile or damaged section and installing a brand new square of fabric. However, for most other types of rug, you’ll have to get a bit more creative.
Use Strong Cleaners
While most of the time it’s not encouraged to use strong, abrasive cleaners like bleach or alcohol, severe water damage sometimes calls for more drastic measures. If you have a rug that’s already suffering from mold growth, you need to treat the area with a strong chemical cleaner in order to kill the bacteria quickly. While other household cleaners like vinegar and baking soda can also effectively neutralize unpleasant smells and kill bacteria, rugs that are already far along in the mold or mildew growth process will benefit from stronger stuff. When treating your rug, use a concentrated solution so that you don’t have to use as much product. With any cleaner, remember not to over-wet the area. The faster your rug dries, the safer it will be from mold or mildew growth. This goes for your rug’s underfoot padding as well. If the padding is salvageable, try drying it outside or using fans. If not, throw it out and invest in a new pad.
Dry Quickly
As with any home cleaning job, drying your rug is the most important part of the process. If you’re having dry, sunny weather, leaving your carpet outside to air dry can be the perfect way to expedite the process. However, if you have anything less than ideal outside weather, you can try to speed up cleaning by using an iron over a damp towel or cloth, moving back and forth across the area until the patch is completely dry. You can also move your rug into a smaller room and start running fans to get the air circulating. As long as you don’t leave your rug to dry in a stuffy, uncirculated room where it’s likely to come into contact with dirt and dust before fully drying out, you should be alright.
Consult a Professional
Some stains are simply too tough to tackle on your own. If your home has had severe water damage due to leaking, you don’t want to take any chances with your home rug. If you start to smell anything off or notice a persistent water stain that just isn’t drying on its own, take your rug to a trusted dry cleaning service to have it professionally treated. Even if mold hasn’t had the chance to develop yet, getting your rug quickly cleaned and dried will spare you and your family from having to deal with the presence of mold or mildew in the coming days or weeks.