Carpet flood in 2nd story apartment! How long should I have dehumidifiers running for a 30 gallon spill?

Question

My aquarium leaked, and I had 30 gallons of water spill to the floor on to the carpet. I live on the 2nd story of an apartment, and so the downstairs neighbor got flooded too. Apartment management called some contractors in right away to prevent mold and stuff. They rip up the carpet and padding, and remove the ceiling of the downstairs neighbor. They cut up some drywall at my place too.

Anyway they ran 2 dehumidifiers downstairs for 3 days. They ran one dehumidifier in my place for 3 days and I thought it done. They come back a few days later when I'm away, and then put back 2 dehumidifiers and have been running them for the past 3 days. They claim that the concrete under the carpet is still wet, but I can't feel any wetness. The area of water damage is approximately 10'x6.5', and the room size is around 12x22. So how long do you need to run dehumidifiers for? How can my downstairs neighbor be dry in 3 days but mine not be dry that fast?

Answer 1

Hi
I am going to assume that you have underpad below the carpet and that’s where most of the water will be sitting. If they dried the carpet in place without lifting up the carpet it can take 4 or 5 days to dry. And yes the concrete can take on water. They should have a moister probe that can tell if the area is still wet. Ask them to test the area with you there to show you how the probe works. By the sounds of it they remove most of the water from the downstairs apt when they removed the carpet, pad and drywall. This is why it is drying quicker then yours.

Flood restoration for 14 years

Answer 2

Its probably dry they are just being extra sure. I cant believe 30 gallons was that big of a mess. Ive shot nails into water pipes and they leaked for days. One time we were putting cabinets in a newly remodeled bathroom and we broke of the water pipe, it was squirting for like five minutes while we ran all over the house looking for the water shut off, now that was a mess and it dried in like two or three days with a couple of those big carpet drying fans. They probably forgot or are being super cautious

Answer 3

The spill occurred in your apartment and it may still be dripping downstairs ... It may look dry in your place cause the water is moving down. Just let the contractors do the job.

Jonnie