I had a pretty bad flood in my finished basement last night and managed to suck out about 250-500 gallons of water using a shop vac in the non-carpeted areas. However, some water ended up in a bedroom with carpet, soaking about 10 feet into the room. I've done my best with towels, the shop vac, and a carpet shampooer over the past 24 hours, but the carpet is still damp. I suspect there's some water stuck in the padding. I've peeled back part of the carpet and set up a kerosene heater and a dehumidifier to dry it out, but there's still about 5 feet of carpet I can't lift.
Given that ventilation is really poor down there (no windows), I'm wondering if my only option left might be to rent a Dri-Eaz carpet blower from Home Depot. Just to give you a sense of how wet the carpet is, it feels like when someone walks over it after being caught in the rain—it's damp enough to soak through socks but not soaking wet.
So, is it possible for the carpet to dry naturally in a few days without molding and smelling awful, or do you think I definitely need a carpet dryer?
1 Answer
For your situation, those blowers are definitely the way to go. If you don't act fast, you're looking at mold problems later on, and that can ruin your carpet for good.