Cleaning Up After a Flood

If you have ever dealt with flooding in your home, you know how much water that the carpets and rugs can hold. It is important to get your carpet and rugs cleaned thoroughly after any flooding event. It can be vital to have all the water removed from your home to keep mold from forming. Even beyond the damage of mold, many times carpets and rugs must be completely thrown out to keep from spreading pathogens that are harmful to your health, depending on the kind of water damage that you have.

When it comes to water damage, there are three different levels of what is considered “dirty” water. The first is clean water. This kind of water comes with minimal risks when on your carpets and rugs. Clean water, in a flood, will typically come from rainwater, sinks, tubs, or water supply lines that are broken. Gray water is the next level. This water is contaminated to a small degree and will typically come from a source such as an overflowing washing machine or a leaky dishwasher. Many people purposely use gray water for things like watering their plants. In general, gray water isn’t horrible to clean. A lot of it will depend on what all is in the gray water. The last level is black water. This is the most contaminated level and typically comes from flooding streams, rivers, or seawater. Black water is difficult to remove from carpets and rugs. Over time, gray water can turn into black water if it is not cleaned.

If you have valuable rugs that have been damaged by water, you should only let a professional carpet rug cleaning service in Mobile, AL take care of the job. Using a professional cleaner is the only way to ensure the job is done right and your family will not be left at risk from the growth of mold. This is especially the case with rugs that have a high pile height. The professional cleaner can give you the best cleaning for any type of water spills. Of course, we think we're awesome professionals at Carpet Cleaning Nurse's Touch!

If you have an area that has been flooded, you will want to keep the foot traffic over it to a minimum. When the rug or carpet becomes wet, the back of the rug where the latex covering is will be weak. The water will compromise the structural integrity of the carpet or rug because of this.
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If you have a rug that is machine washable, washing it in a machine is a great way to deal with the water damage. If it fits in your washing machine, put it in a large load with one and a half cups of bleach. This will help to kill off any pathogens or mold that is in the rug.
We hope these steps will help you to care for your carpets and rugs after a flood. 
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