Deodorizing A Water Damaged Carpet

Most carpets can withstand water damage for up to three days. Naturally, responding to a flooded carpet as quickly as possible is critical to effecting a successful restoration, but if you can't get to it within a day, there's not necessarily cause for dispair.

If you get the carpet up off the floor your first stage is to begin the drying process. Once you have worked out the state of the water that has damaged your carpet, then you can decide whether it is worth the effort to proceed. Sometimes water is simply too dirty or unsanitary to bother with a restoration and cleaning service.

There are essentially three classes of water. First there is clean water which is water that contains no debris, possibly from a leaking pipe for example. The prognosis for the wet carpet is that it can be saved. The next type of water is grey water. In this case the water is not necessarily clean but it also doesn't contain hazardous materials. The wet carpet may have been damaged from a washing machine oveflow, for example. The carpet can be saved in this case too.

The final type of water rating is black water. This may have come from sewage backup or runoff water. The carpet must be handled with caution and everything that has come in contact with the water should be discarded.

For the carpet that is being saved the carpet should first be dried and then sanitized. After it has been sanitized it will have to undergo a deodorization process. In this process there are some basic steps that should be followed. First you have to remove the source of the odor, then clean the carpet before sealing the carpet so that it is protected against further spills.

Using a deodorizing solution from the local supermarket will do the job or you could try using water with a 20% plain white vinegar mix. Follow this up with a thorough carpet shampoo and then make sure there is plenty of ventilation where the deodorizing took place to completely dry out the carpet again.

When you are performing a carpet deodorization you ant to achieve the following 7 things:

• masking
• absorbing
• pairing
• disinfecting
• digesting
• oxidizing
• sealing

As well as using a deodorizing chemical you may also have to resort to more heavy duty methods to get the carpet smelling fresh and clean again. You might have to make use of such things as thermal foggers or ozone units.