Experiencing a flood in your home can be an extremely stressful experience. Less than an inch of water can wreak havoc on carpeted areas. Should the carpet be replaced?
Whether or not you need to replace your carpet can depend on two important factors: the type of flood water by which it was impacted—each type presents varying degrees of contamination, and how long your carpet was wet.
Let’s go over the different types of flood water.
Types of flood water
Flood water can be categorized by its points of origin.
Category 1
This is what we call clean water and is when flood water comes from a clean and sanitary source, such as your tap, a broken water supply line into the house, or your toilet tank.
Category 2
This kind of flood water is what we refer to as gray water, and it contains contaminants that come from sources like sink drains, your dishwasher, or a washing machine that has overflowed.
Category 3
We refer to this type of flood water as black water—the worst classification. This water originates from highly contaminated sources, like the overflow of a toilet containing feces, a broken or backed-up sewer line, flooding from rivers and streams, and standing water—which can be an incubator for bacteria.
How long was your carpet wet?
Another significant factor when deciding whether or not to save or replace your carpet is the length of time it was sitting in water.
The length of time of exposure to flood water is important because even clean water from a supply line into the house can become contaminated with micro-organisms after just a couple of days, and micro-organisms produce disease. So if your carpet was soaked with clean water for more than 48 hours, restoring it will require more intensive disinfection, which it may or may not tolerate.
It’s very important to point out that carpet that’s been soaked longer than 24 hours is also at risk of developing mold and mildew, and spores may begin to colonize in your home.
Exact Recon specializes in water damage restoration and mold removal and remediation. Our experts will take the proper steps to get the drying process started to prevent any further water damage. Contact us for a free evaluation. We’re ready to help.
