What to Do With a Flood Damaged Rug
Perhaps you read the title above and chuckled because you have been in a situation in which you wanted to fix your rug’s water damage after a flood and found it was impossible. To be painfully accurate, there are many instances when a rug is not going to be salvageable once it has been exposed to flooding. However, that is not always the case. In this article, we are going to look at the ways you can try to fix your rug’s water damage after a flood and what sort of resources you should turn to when attempting to do so..
Get Help ASAP
No matter why the rug was damaged; whether it was an overflowing tub in the floor above, an actual flood that filled one level of the home with water, or for any other reason, the first thing to do once you can re-enter the home is have experts come in and evaluate. A rug expert may even be able to roll up your fine oriental or handmade rugs and take them away for restoration the same day.
However, if no help is available immediately afterward, you can still try to fix your rug’s water damage after a flood or reduce the damages while waiting for professional help.
Steps to Reduce The Water Damage
First things first: Not all floods are full of fresh, clean water. Don’t take risks with your health by exposing yourself to flood waters that may be contaminated with potentially harmful materials. If you have to wait for the waters to recede, so you are not wading around in them, take the advice of health experts and just wait it out.
If you can get to your rugs and they are not covered by inches of water, you will still be unable to move them due to the good soaking they got. You can use a traditional shop vacuum to try to remove the water, just don’t grind the pile with the vacuum head as it can worsen any damage. It can be very difficult to eliminate the water if the rug is on a wood floor or carpeting, and this could take you hours to accomplish before the rug does not saturated and overly heavy with water.
Experts would tell rug owners that they should try to eliminate as much water as possible from the pile before moving the rug. Only then, should you roll up the rug (never fold it) and get it somewhere you can continue trying to air it out and dry it out. If you can get it to a professional at that time, your results are likely to be much better. They can dry, deodorize and sanitize a rug while checking to see if the rug will be salvageable or need some repairs.
While you may not want to even think about how to fix your rug’s water damage after a flood because everything is damaged, if you have fine rugs it is important to get them some help right away as this increases the chances of saving them.
