How to Fix Wet Carpet in the Basement
Basements hold in moisture because they usually do not have as many doors and windows as the upstairs portion of the house. This can make fixing wet basement carpet difficult. To prevent mold from growing, all water, including humidity in the air, will need to be extracted.
Items needed:
- Lots of towels
- Heavy duty shop vacuum
- Dehumidifier
- Quickly take out anything that is in your basement that you do not want to get wet. This includes furniture and other valuables close to the spill.
- Turn on the shop vacuum and suck up all of the water you can from the carpet. Empty the vacuum holding tank as needed outside. Keep going over the carpet with the vacuum until it quits sucking up water.
- Place the dehumidifier on the carpeted floor near the spill and let it run for several days. Empty the dehumidifier water pan a couple times each day or more if needed. Leave the dehumidifier going until you begin seeing significantly less water in the water pan.
- Grab several towels, fold them in half and lay them on the wet areas of the carpet. Begin walking on the towels to help suck up the moisture from the floor. Discard any soaked towels and get more dry ones until you absorb all the water you can with them. If there is any noticeable moisture on the basement wall, dry it up with the towels as well. The basement will need to be as dry as possible to prevent mold damage.