For some people, the basement can be their most beloved part of the house. They may have turned it into a game or entertainment center that’s perfect for spending personal time in or for large gatherings.

However, no matter how much you love your basement, the fact remains that it is also the part of the house most susceptible to flooding.

If you have Carpet in your Basement this can get really bad…

Whenever there’s a big rain storm or flood in your area, there’s always a chance that some of that water can get into your basement and soak up your carpet. If it does, you’re sure to want to get it out as soon as possible and dry out the carpets.

Common Causes of Wet Basement Carpets

There can be a large number of reasons as to why your basement carpet is wet. It may have to do with cracks in your foundation, improper grading, missing or broken gutters, or perhaps from an interior appliance that’s leaking.

What is most important when you do find you have a wet carpet in your basement is to find out the source of the moisture before drying your carpet. There are a number of ways to investigate what could be the possible cause of the moisture in your basement.

These can include:

• Closely examining all the areas inside and outside the basement to check for any cracks that could be letting water in. Look at any windows to see if there are any cracked in them aswell

• Walking around and taking note of the perimeter around the house, Check to see if the grading is going towards the basement or away from it, Check to see if there’s any areas of excess moisture by your foundation.

• Examine any appliances in the basement to see if the water in your carpet may be coming from there

• Check your gutter/drainage system to make sure the water is directed away from your house when it drains

• If you have a sump pump, there is also the possibility that it may be malfunctioning

If you find you have trouble doing any of the above or can’t see why the water is leaking in your basement, It might be wise to call a professional to help you figure out the cause of your wet basement carpet.

If your basement carpet has started to smell after being wet…

When your basement starts to smell after your carpet gets wet, it’s a sure sign that bacteria, or even mold has started to grow in your wet basement carpet.

This is a sign that you will need to take care of the moisture and dry out the water from your carpet immediately so as to lessen water damage to your carpet, your home, and your own health.

Why is My carpet Wet in Basement After Rain

If you notice a large, or even small, amount of water in your basement carpet after a rain storm, the cause is due to a combination of two issues.

First, the rain water is able to seep into your basement due to cracks somewhere in your houses foundation.

Granted, while a cracked foundation is usually the most likely cause of rain water leakage, it could also be due to cracked windows, improperly installed gutters, or a weakly made foundation.

The second issue is due to the nature of the rain itself on the soil surrounding your house.

When too much water gets into the soil, it becomes unable to hold it all at once and the water sinks down into your basement.

If you have carpets in your basement ,this can get very serious!

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Wet Basement Carpets?

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How to remove Water From Wet Basement Carpets

In order to remove all the excess moisture from your wet basement carpet before drying it, the best way to do it is to get a wet-dry vacuum.

Many homeowners may already have one stored somewhere in their house.

However, if you don’t have one on hand, many models are fairly cheap and should be available at any local or chain home goods store.

If for some reason no local store near you has one in stock, then they can also be ordered quickly on several online stores.

A wet-dry vacuum is fairly easy to operate and in general works in a similar way to a normal vacuum. Most often the machine will consist of a large drum where water is stored and an attached hose used to suck up the water from your wet carpet.

It’s a good idea to go over a spot multiple times with the hose to make sure you suck up as much water as possible from your basement carpet.

Once you think you’ve gotten all the water you can from your carpet, be sure to find a proper drain where you can dispose of the dirty water.

How to Dry Wet Basement Carpets

Drying a wet basement carpet after it’s gotten wet is not necessarily an easy process. It can take a bit of time and effort before your carpet has gotten out all the moisture.

That’s not to mention that it may also cost you a bit of money as well. However, the good news is that the steps to take are fairly straightforward and are easy to follow.

If you want to know more, go ahead and read the following sections. But, before you start the actual drying process, there are a couple of things you need to make sure to do first including:

• Make sure that any leak from either outside or inside is fixed. You will need to ensure that whatever it was that caused the moisture to get into your carpet is taken care of first so that it doesn’t happen again in the future.
• Remove any furniture and other items that are on the carpet. In order to get all areas of the carpet dry, anything blocking airflow needs to be moved. Plus, leaving anything on a wet carpet will cause those items to get damaged as well.
• Take steps to make sure that you or anyone else won’t be walking on the wet carpet too much. Stepping on a wet carpet with your dirty shoes while trying to dry it out will only make things harder. It may be a good idea to cordon off the space so there’s a visible barrier between you and the wet area.

Once you have these preliminary steps out of the way, it’s time to go ahead and suck up the water and start drying the wet basement carpet.

• The first step you need to take now is to start up your wet-vacuum and get to work on sucking up all the water. In most cases, a wet-vacuum should do a good job in getting most of the excess water up from the carpet. However, in more extreme cases, you may need to invest in a water pump in order to properly extract water from your carpet.
• After you’ve finished using the wet-vacuum, you can also try using paper towels or a cloth to try and get up any excess moisture out of the carpet you think you may have missed if you are dealing with a small area of wet carpet. Simply spread out the towel or cloth on the wet carpet as much as possible and put pressure on it with your hands, feet, or knees. Discard any paper towels after using or wash any re-usable ones.
• Once that’s done, you can take out any kind of electronic fan you may have on hand to blow dry the remaining wetness if the area of your carpet that has got wet isn’t very large.
• If you have large areas of your carpet that has gotten wet , special water extractor fans will be needed. These can be fairly expensive to purchase. There are places where they can be rented however it might be wise to contact a water damage restoration company who already has this equipment. Often renting the water extractor fans will cost nearly the same as to get a professional in to dry out your wet basement carpets.
• In addition to using a fan, you may want to consider using a dehumidifier in your basement as well. For large areas,again, multiple industrial grade dehumidifiers will be needed.
• The last thing you need to do is actually clean the carpet to get rid of any remaining dirt or bacteria. You can do this by simply using a disinfectant spray on top of the carpet or use soap and water.
• You will also likely need to lift up the carpet to clean underneath it to prevent any mold growth. If you prefer, you can also hire a professional cleaner to steam clean the carpet for you.

How Long Does it Take to Dry a Flooded Carpet

Generally, a flooded carpet should take about 1-3 days to dry out depending on the severity of the water damage and what kind of equipment you use.

Make sure you take care of it as soon as possible however so there is less chance of any bacteria or mold growth to start.

After you deploy the fans and dehumidifier, check the carpet as often as possible until it feels completely dry.

Issues wet Basement Carpet can Cause

It’s best to take care of a wet basement carpet as soon as possible because if you let water set in a carpet for too long, there are several issues it can cause.

These can include the following:

For one, if you start to detect a musty, or mildew smell in an area where there’s been water damage, that likely means that mold has started growing underneath your basement carpet.

In order to make sure there is mold growing under there and to get rid of it, you will need to tear up the area of the carpet where the damage is in order to assess the damage and possibly get rid of the mold.

Something even worse than mold if you let the water damage sit is that it could cause irreparable damage to the very foundation of your home.

Without any sort of intervention it’s possible that over time the moisture could cause cracks, holes, and other problems in your houses structure, even causing walls to collapse if the damage is bad enough.

Not only will untreated wetness in your basement carpets cause damage to your house, it can also have a harmful effect on your own health.

Moisture that stays in your basement carpet will become a place for bacteria to grow.

In time, this bacteria and mold will release itself into the air , causing a whole lot more trouble…

As you can see, a simple wet carpet in your basement can lead to a number of serious problems for both your house and yourself.

When to Call a Professional

While you may be able to do some of what’s detailed here on your own, it’s always a good idea to call a professional when you need some extra help.

This is especially true if there is a large amount of water that needs to be taken care of.

If the water is not removed fast enough you may have to end up replacing your carpet underlay, if not properly addressing it – all your carpet.

If your basement continues to get wet, or you think there may be mold growing a water damage restoration professional can also help find the cause of your wet basement and prevent mold from wreaking havoc.

We have Water Damage Restoration Technicians that can help Dry our your Wet Basement Carpet & Repair any Water Damage Caused.

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