If you’ve cleaned your carpet and it’s wet or you’ve experienced a water leak, it can leave carpets wet which can lead to serious problems if not dealt with properly.
It’s imperative that you dry out your carpet as quickly as possible because leaving it damp for too long can lead to mildew which can cause health problems for you and everyone in your home.
There is a range of ways that you dry your carpet to prevent mildew from developing. Below, you can learn more about the best ways of drying your carpet to maintain their quality and remain safe.
How Long It Takes For Carpets To Dry
If you’ve had your carpets professionally cleaned, it will typically take around 24 hours for it to dry. Deep cleaning carpets on your own with special vacuums, such as the Bissell Pro Heat 2x Lift-Off Vacuum can also leave carpets with moisture that may require some time to properly dry.
For some carpets, they can start to significantly begin to dry after just six hours. So, the time spans that carpets dry will depend on the type that you have.
However, if your carpets have become wet due to flooding, it can take considerably longer for them to dry. This is because the flooding isn’t controlled compared to professionally cleaning carpets. Therefore, it can take three days for carpets to dry after flooding. You should seek professional guidance if your carpets are still wet after three days have passed.
Importance Of Drying Carpets
Ensuring that you properly dry your carpets, regardless of whether it’s from a professional clean or flooding is incredibly important. If carpets are left wet for too long, the area in between the floor and padding of the carpet can become an ideal spot for mildew and mold to grow.
Since mold is a fungus, it’s able to come through the carpet where it’s usually still not visible but you can smell it. Carpet padding absorbs the excess moisture from wet carpets which provides mold and mildew with an environment to develop.
With mold growing under your carpets, you and people in your home can experience health side effects to your respiratory system that include asthma. In addition to this, mold can cause illnesses and infections.
Identifying where the mold is and getting rid of it can be tough on your own. If it has spread, finding professional help would be the best option.
Signs Of Mildew In Wet Carpet
After 24 to 48 hours, mold can start to accumulate under wet carpets. The problem that people face when dealing with mold is that they’re unprepared for how fast it can develop if left unchecked.
A sour odor coming from your carpets is one of the biggest signs that there’s mold. Moreover, people in your home having breathing problems is a sign to look out for. Finally, any discoloration of your carpet can be proof that mold is growing.
Drying Carpet After Cleaning
Air Ventilation
Creating air flow and properly ventilating the room is the most effective way to dry your carpets. An easy way to accomplish this is to open your windows and allow fresh air to ventilate the room. Having windows open can also be a great way to remove any strong odors.
Opening windows tends to work best in weather that’s calm. If it’s raining or cloudy outside, it can cause the room to become more humid. Therefore, using fans can be a better option.
If you have ceiling fans, you can have them switched on for air to be directed right onto the carpet. You could also set up a desk and standing fans at either end of the room. This is an awesome way to boost circulation in the room to dry your carpets faster.
Blow Dry
Blow drying carpets is an incredibly fast way of drying your carpets. A lot of the time, professional carpet cleaners will ofter blow-dry as an additional service. While it’s a great way to dry the carpet initially, it doesn’t leave your carpets completely dry.
Therefore, if you do have your carpets blow-dried, be sure to still open up windows or have fans set up to keep air circulating throughout the room. This will help to dry the carpet even faster.
Air Condition
Many people like to turn to their air conditioning systems to dry their carpet. We recommend that you only use air conditioning systems to dry wet carpets at times when it’s raining outside and you don’t have any access to fans.
This is because air conditioning units don’t cause the air in the room to circulate as well as fans do. However, if you don’t have many options, you can use an AC system to help with the drying process but it may take a little longer.
Air conditioning units can also make it difficult to tell whether or not your carpet is properly dry. This is because touching your carpet after having the AC unit running can make it seem like it’s still damp, whereas, in reality, it’s just that the carpet feels colder.
Therefore, we recommend that you turn the AC unit down and let the carpet reach room temperature before you check how dry it is.
Conclusion
The methods for drying your carpet will be largely affected by how it got wet in the first place. If your carpet has become wet due to a flood or leak, it can be a pretty big task trying to completely dry it on your own.
To prevent mildew and mold from developing, it would be best to seek professional help for more extreme cases.
However, if you’ve performed a deep clean on your carpets or had them professionally cleaned, you’re provided with more options to dry your carpet thoroughly. Ventilation is the key. Having windows open or fans blowing ensures that there’s plenty of air to circulate throughout the room to dry your carpets. Using an AC unit should be a last resort as it’s less effective and can take more time.
You can use the tips mentioned above to feel more confident about the different methods available to dry your carpets. The time that carpets take to dry after professional cleaning should be 24 hours. After a flood or big leak, give it up to three days before calling a professional for help.
