If I got water in my carpet, do I need to replace the carpet or how do I treat the carpet?

Question

There was a pipe that sprung a leak in between the walls and drained to the lowest point in the house which is a small area of the carpet in the master bedroom. We got the leak fixed and so now we have been trying to get the water out of the carpet with a carpet cleaner. The only problem is that we keep getting more water out of that area and feel that the water that is left over from the leak in the wall is still draining to that area. Even though we keep sucking water out, we are getting a musty smell in the house and it seems like a never ending process. Is there a better way of handling this without hopefully not having to replace the carpet in that area?

So far with the home carpet cleaner we have gotten at least 5 buckets of water out of the carpet in that area. We think that most of the water that needed to drain to that area has drained there but want to make sure that we dont have a mold issue. We started using carpet cleaner to help with the smell.

Answer 1

Also, if the carpet is new and has a warranty. The warranty is now void. The water will pick up chemicals from the Wall insulation, and depost them in the carpet. Remember the new carpet may be covered by your home owners insurance.

Answer 2

How much water?
Clean water? Sewage? Flood?
The issue is a bit deeper than the carpet in any case, and certainly any staining will leach to the pad, and come back up into the carpet.
With more details you might get more exact answers.
Obviously if it was clean water, or a wash bucket spilled over, then you'll likely have no issue at all, and normal soaking with water alone does not degrade most treated carpet, as well as the fact that most carpet is synthetic fiber anyway.
Replacing certainly would be the better choice if the water was sewage or flood water, and replace the pad as well.
You may want to edit and re-post this Q?

Steven Wolf

Answer 3

If it was just clean water it needs to be extracted as soon as possible and carpeting should be lifted and dried with fans such as turbo fans with the understanding that within 24 - 48 hours the backing that maintains the carpets integrity begins delamination and 36 to 48 mold and mildew growth begins.
We need to know more about the event you are trying to describe. How much water a 2 gallon bucket, 10 gallons, 100 gallons etc. was it a leak or a spill? What immeadiate action was taken if any? How long ago did the event occur and what are the conditions now?

Answer 4

Pull the carpet off of the tack strip, and roll it back to a dry spot. DO NOT CREASE THE CARPET, just roll back - REMOVE the rebond pad from underneath. If tack strip is black around edges, remove tack strip. Put a fan on the slab and dry the slab. When slab is dry roll carpet back and vaccuum. Put fan on carpet - allow to dry. Have carpet cleaner come in and clean carpet. Have installer come in - install NEW pad, tack strip if you removed it, and restretch carpet into place.

You'll never get the carpet properly dry sitting on top of a soaked pad - and that's where the mildew smell is probably coming from. If you see black on the slab - clean with 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Dry completely.

Answer 5

If you have home owners insurance it will cover a pipe leak. They will come evaluate and repair carpet and floors, you will have to pay a deductible.

Answer 6

don't mean to be a bummer but it is going to be somewhat unlikely that you will recover from a mold issue, it's insidious... your time and $ might be better spent replacing with new carpet or if it is a flood prone area, some tile ...

Answer 7

If it's clean water, I would use a wet/dry vac to suck up most of it, and just let it dry...Dirty water; you may need a professional dry rug cleaner...