When excess water is on your property and doesn’t get addressed immediately, building materials, furnishings and other porous objects will absorb the water and become damaged in the process. Sometimes, the damage can be easily dealt with, especially if there is a small amount of water that is clean. But other times, the damage is more difficult to handle, because the water involved is heavily contaminated. One thing in particular that may suffer water damage is your carpet.

Carpeting is a costly expense, so it can be especially concerning to find it in a ruined state and think it needs replacement. However, carpet water damage isn’t unfixable, and carpet replacement isn’t always necessary.

In some cases, your water-damaged carpet can be salvaged and restored with professional water damage restoration and carpet cleaning services. Whether or not your carpet can be saved depends on several factors. Two of the biggest things to consider are the extent of the water damage and the duration of the damage. The longer a carpet has been wet, the more damage it will sustain.

Most importantly, though, whether your water-damaged carpet can be saved depends on the type of water that damaged it.

Water Damage Categories and Whether Your Carpet Can be Restored

Water is classified in three different categories: category 1, category 2, and category 3. The higher the number, the more hazardous the water and the worse damage it will cause.

Category 1: Can be Restored

Category 1 water damage involves damage done by clean rainwater or clean water sourced from a broken pipe or anywhere else you can get drinking water. The water contains little to no contaminants, making it safe to come into contact with. Any contaminants that the water contains are minor and can be cleaned. Carpets affected by category 1 water can be salvaged within 24-48 hours. To save the carpet, professional technicians will sanitize, clean, and restore the carpet and its padding.

If the carpet has been wet for longer than 24-48 hours, then the water may become contaminated because of the lack of proper treatment, turning into category 2 water. Substances like chemicals, hair, soap, and metals can help turn clean water into contaminated water with enough time.

Category 2: Immediate Action is Needed to Restore Carpet

Category 2 water damage involves contaminated water that can cause illness if a person comes into contact with it or swallows it. This water is also known as gray water. Examples of gray water include bath water, water from washing machines, or toilet water contaminated with only urine and no other fecal matter. If treated within 24-48 hours of the damage, then the carpet can be saved through professional carpet cleaning services. The padding, however, becomes unsalvageable with exposure to gray water, and must be replaced. If damage caused by category 2 water isn’t treated within this time frame, then the water worsens into category 3, turning the gray water into black water.

Category 3: Carpet Replacement is Needed

Category 3 water damage involves damage done by black water, which is the most severe type of water damage. This is because black water contains various harmful bacteria, pathogens, pesticides, and toxins.

Black water can be sourced from natural disasters like hurricanes, sewage, toilet backflows, and more. In most cases, carpet water damage done by category 3 water makes restoration impossible — even for carpet cleaning professionals — because so much harm has already been done. In such cases, the carpeting must be replaced. It’s better for everyone’s safety and well-being to replace carpeting affected by black water.

Getting Help for Water-Damaged Carpets

When your carpet has suffered water damage, the best action to take is to seek professional assistance immediately. Time can be the difference between being able to save your carpet — and in turn, money from not needing to replace it — and needing to purchase and install brand new carpeting. However, sometimes, carpet replacement will be inevitable because the water that caused the damage is too harmful. But even in such cases, professional help is necessary.

Chances are that if your carpet has been damaged by water, then more of your property and belongings have been harmed as well. If your home or business suffers water damage, don’t hesitant to seek help from a professional that provides water damage restoration services. Professional technicians can tend to your water-damaged carpeting as well as other damaged building materials and belongings.

Call for Water Damage Restoration Services

Although there are some do-it-yourself techniques you can do to address water damage, it’s best to have a professional tend to the damage. Water damage restoration professionals have the proper training, expertise, and necessary equipment to work on your water-damaged property. They can dry, clean, repair, restore, and deodorize your property, resolving any effects of the water. If some materials are damaged beyond repair, they can remove these materials and help install replacements.

By having a professional work on the damage, you also ensure your safety and well-being. Sometimes, the water involved in water damage is hazardous and can lead to sickness. If you aren’t equipped with the proper protective gear, you put yourself at risk of suffering from health concerns.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.