Can this carpet be saved?

[oldskoolguy]

Almost 4 1/2 years ago, my grandmother’s basement flooded I believe due to a storm. She called in the pros to dry the carpet and remove water, but the carpet was still in rough shape... that’s when I stepped in with my Kirby Sentria to vacuum and shampoo the carpet. After the process of such, the carpet looked fine and I was able to get the carpet back to a desirable look. Fast forward to today, she had to get new carpet because of another flood in her basement last year, and just recently her water heater leaked, drenching no more than half of her basement’s carpet. Thankfully, she got a new water heater, and I am able to extract water from the carpet, the worst part was soaked to the part where walking on the carpet would splash water up (like walking through a puddle). Thankfully, I was able to extract a good amount of water from there and the carpet is not as wet, but still am getting a lot of water up. So far, I’ve removed approximately 28 gallons (2 5/6 full shop vac tanks (6gal) and then 23 full 1/2 gal tanks in a Bissell ready clean) of water. The carpet is pretty damp stil, and may take a while to dry before it is ready for cleaning. But given these circumstances, I ask, is it wise to try to clean the carpet with my Kirby shampooer and vacuum or is it more wise to have it replaced?

 

[kirby519]

If it is just clean water from the water heater chances are that it can be saved. You really need a commercial extractor to remove more water than a shop vacuum can. Fast drying time is critical. I'm not referring to the ones we can rent at the local store. Go to a equipment rental place and rent one with 100 psi of pressure and dual vacuum motors.

Also you need to lift up the carpet and put some commercial power dryers blowing under the carpet as well as over the carpet to speed up dry time and therefore minimize mold growth.

You should also clean it with a sanitizer in a commercial extractor to minimize mold growth. I would recommend doing this while the carpet is still wet. Maybe once again after. Also put a dehumidifier in the area. Again to speed up dry time and minimize mold growth.

The Kirby shampoo system isn't going to cut it. Or have a commercial carpet cleaning company do this. Most of the time it is recommended to just replace the carpet and pad because of the possibility of mold growth. It takes several days for a soaked carpet to dry.

 

[huskyvacs]

Correct. The Kirby shampooer is just a surface cleaner, not a deep cleaner. It's like bailing out the Titanic with a soup ladle.

You should let the pros handle this, otherwise you're going to be dealing with a lot of mold and musty odors within the next months. It's not really a DIY job due to the mold risk that will pop up over the course of the year if not done properly.

But as a DIY job you can get the carpet as dry as possible, pull it up and leave it flat in the driveway to air dry and deodorize it in the hot sun (this being February that's going to be hard to do). You'd have to toss the foam pad out because you'd never be able to dry it and if there's ever a perfect mold garden it's foam. Once down to the bare floor, then put some industrial fans on the basement and try and make a swirling tornado-like vortex with the air so it dries better and you're not just shooting air in one direction. Once it's dried, going over it with a mop or scrubber and hot soapy water (and maybe some fungicidal cleaner) and then letting it air dry again should get that all fixed up. Then assuming they would do it, you'd just have to call in a carpet crew to lay down a new foam pad and then re-tack down the old carpet for you. It would be a bit cheaper than just laying down new carpet every time there's a flood.

I have low pile carpet in my basement that used to be glued down, but after 40 years it's let go. There is no padding or underlay, just bare concrete under it. I have leaking issues too, all I have to do is hit it with the shop vac and fans and wait a day and a half and it's dry again. The moisture breathes out through the carpet fibers and nap. I'd love to have a nice full carpet down there some day but I doubt it will happen until the bug and water issues are fixed.