What Happens If Your Carpet Pad Gets Wet

Use a wet dry vacuum to clean up as much water as soon as possible.

What happens if your carpet pad gets wet.

Be it an overly wet carpet cleaning flood or other water damage the carpet padding must dry thoroughly to eliminate foul odors mold and mildew growth. Some carpets will shrink literally tearing themselves up from the floor. If your carpet padding has been wet for more than 24 hours there s a really good chance your padding is already infected with mold and it might not be safely salvageable. Wet carpet can be a perfect breeding ground for mold especially if the air is humid and the water remains in place longer than 48 hours.

Fast action is a must. Unattended wet carpet is prone to mold and mildew. At this point the two things the glue was holding together begin to separate and allows an area for mold to begin growing. If you do not have a professional dry out your wet carpet then you should at least remove the wet pad.

The padding under the carpet will need to be replaced if it s been affected in a flood. Water damage can flood your carpet causing the carpet and pad to get soaked. When you leave moisture sitting in a warm dark place these toxins will invade your home and once moisture and mold permeate a carpet pad it s impossible to eradicate. When your house floods it s not only the carpet that gets wet.

If the carpet is an area rug then the carpet can be placed outdoors in the direct sunlight during the warm hot months of the year to dry the carpet. To do that pull up the carpeting wearing gloves to reach the padding. It s important to act quickly in removing moisture from the. Then pull out the padding and dispose of it.

It s also the padding under the carpet. These machines are the most effective tools for removing water and can be rented or provided by water and smoke damage remediation companies that specialize in repairing residential flood damage. Some backing materials cause the carpet to discolor if they get too wet. If the backing and pad get wet it is very difficult to dry them and you run the additional risk of mold and mildew problems.

Cut the pad into strips roll it up and haul it outside. Drying both can be a trick. When carpet gets wet and is left wet it can cause problems like delamination that happens when there is excessive moisture which weakens the glue. Mold is incredibly toxic to humans and pets.

Use fans to speed up carpet drying process. If the carpet gets wet again or the carpet is exposed to elevated levels of moisture humidity then mold growth and related odors will likely recur.