Carpets can fall victim to water damage for a wide variety of reasons and there are a few things you can do to save carpet that has been exposed to water.

The type of treatment a carpet that has suffered water damage may need depends on the type of water it was exposed to and the length of exposure. The most common types of water damage are usually noticed very quickly, and carpets can be saved if the water is cleaned up and removed in a timely manner.

The easiest type of water damage to repair is when a carpet is exposed to clean water. This happens many times when a pipe in a house breaks and water floods a room or foundation. Since you are dealing with clean water, the real danger to your carpet is the growth of mold and mildew. Both can be serious health hazards, and if they form in your carpet, it’s highly likely that it can’t be restored.

The other two types of water damage are caused by unsanitary water and black water. Unsanitary water usually comes from a toilet that has overflowed and may have contained bodily fluids. Black water is water that comes from a broken sewer pipe or a sewer that has collected in a basement. If a rug has been damaged by black water, it is a total loss and should be disposed of as soon as possible, as well as any padding and tack strips from the room. This type of water damage may require professional attention and must be handled very carefully due to the risk of infection. Unsanitary water damage is a tricky case and saving carpet really depends on how much water damage is involved and how long it stays on the carpet.

If the water damage was due to clean water, the first step is to address the water leak if you haven’t already. It won’t help you start working on the damage if there is still a water leak in the carpet. Before you start working on the carpet, make sure you have a good pair of gloves that you can wear. Tack strips contain a series of very sharp nails and these can easily scratch you once exposed. Also, be sure to wear thick-soled shoes or boots so if you step on these stud strips you won’t hurt your feet.

Once you’re done, you should begin cleaning by removing the mat from its sticky strips and folding it in half. The best way to do this is to grab the rug near a corner with a heavy-duty pair of pliers and pull up until you can get your hand around the edge of the rug. Once you have this edge, work your way around the room to loosen the rug from the rest of the tack strip. This will expose the padding and allow you to remove it from the floor. This filler acts like a sponge and will stick to any water it touches. Because this will lead to mold growth, the filler should be thrown away. Remove the padding from the exposed part of the flooring and discard it. While the floor is exposed, give it a good rinse with a bleach and water solution. This will kill any mold or mildew that may have started to form and prevent it from forming. Allow to dry until you can visibly see that the floor is completely dry. Now fold the rug in the other direction exposing the other half of the padding. Remove this as well, discard it, and mop this half of the floor with the bleach and water solution.

Now place the mat back in place, flat on the floor. Use a wet vacuum to try to suck up as much of the water in the carpet as possible. This can take several passes, so be patient and try to get as many as possible. Once you have finished this process, you will need to remove the carpet from the floor and ventilate underneath. You can use anything useful to prop up the rug. Milk crates and cinder blocks work well and are usually easy to locate. The trick is to get the entire carpet up off the floor so mold and mildew don’t set in. Once the rug is elevated, use a few fans to blow cool air under the rug to help dry it out and dry out the floor. This will take several hours to complete and you should continue to check the carpet throughout the process and move the fans as needed to ensure that all of the carpet is dry. Allowing moisture in the room to escape is very important, and running fans will help move air and reduce humidity.

Once the carpet is completely dry, you can either replace the padding yourself or have a local carpet store come in and replace the padding and reinstall the carpet. If you’ve done a good job of drying the mat, it should be fine and you can use it normally. It may be a good idea to have it professionally cleaned after it has had a chance to settle back into place for a few weeks just to remove any deep grime from water damage.