After Water Damage, Do You Have to Replace the Carpet?

12/8/2021 (Permalink)

We provide advanced water inspection, extraction, and drying equipment.

When water damage occurs, acting quickly is crucial. The sooner the cleanup process begins, the easier it is to keep the amount of destruction – and the cost of property restoration — at a minimum.

The fact is, carpeting and the padding beneath are often casualties of water damage. However, the decision on whether a carpet is salvageable comes down to where the flooding originated and how long the flooring remained saturated.

Types of Water Damage

Water and flooding events fall into one of the following classifications, based upon the source of the deluge:

• Category 1 – Clean water from a sink, supply pipe, or another sanitary source
• Category 2 – Gray water that is contaminated, such as shower drainage, toilet bowl, and washing machine overflow
• Category 3 – Blackwater from outside flooding, sewer backflow, or any grossly unsanitary or toxic source

How Professionals Deal with Water-Damaged Carpet

For Category 1 damage that occurred within the past 48 hours, professionals can usually salvage both the carpeting and the padding – without removing the flooring.

After a Category 2 event, the carpet padding must be discarded. The carpeting, on the other hand, can often be cleaned, treated, and reinstalled over fresh padding.

With Category 3 water damage, both the carpet and the padding need to be replaced. Before installing new carpeting, the flooring needs to be treated with disinfectants.

What to Do if Your Carpet is Flooded

If your carpet recently became saturated – and the flooding has a sanitary source – you may be able to mitigate the destruction.

However, experts in disaster restoration only recommend taking the do-it-yourself approach if you have the equipment and ability to thoroughly dry out both the carpeting and the padding within two days of the event.