Repair Or Replace: Which Is Best For Water-Damaged Carpets?
Encountering rough weather conditions is one of the biggest challenges all homeowners face. However, households where strong weather frequently forms are at a great disadvantage.
As homeowners, it’s up to them to modify their residences to withstand harsh conditions. But aside from natural causes, other circumstances can still affect the house’s integrity. And what connects some of them to the elements is how much damage water can bring.
Water damage is a severe problem homeowners must deal with, regardless of whether it came from a storm or an appliance going haywire. Moreover, it doesn’t help how versatile water is to travel everywhere. And the longer it’s left unattended, the more areas it can affect until it has flooded the entire house and caused damages.
How To Decide Between Repair Or Replacement
Portions of the house that got affected the most are best handled by a water damage specialist. But despite looking at how worse the damage the things in your house have, homeowners can’t help but wonder if any of them can still be saved. Carpets are a great example of this. After all, they’ve provided warmth and comfort for everyone in the household.
However, in their case, it begs the question of whether or not they still have another shot to be saved or whether they need to be replaced. Hopefully, these tips can help with your next move:
Establish The Source Of Water
Considering water can get everywhere, it’s no surprise that all kinds of water can get inside the house. Although having your home be flooded is already troublesome, categorizing the water damaging your property plays a valuable role in determining whether your carpets are still salvageable. Fortunately, these categories only fall under three.
- Category One typically comes from rainwater or when a pipe springs a leak. Out of all the categories, this is the most manageable one since the water that affects your home is mostly clean with very few contaminants. Therefore, your chances of repairing your carpets are extremely high. Moreover, this is a rare occurrence for homeowners who have already prepared their homes for any scenario, especially minor cases of water damage.
- Category Two is when things start to get harmful. The kind of water under this category already contains enough contaminants to make people ill once they come into contact with it. Also known as gray water, this includes toilet water contaminated by human excretions, soapy bath water, or water from washing machines.
- Category Three is the worst of all water damage. Because instead of moderately harming anyone who comes into contact, this category can cause damage so severe it can last long enough to affect the victim’s lifestyle. Since it’s also called black water, this water is black due to how high its contaminants are—from pesticides to sewer water.
If your carpet got submerged in black water, it’s enough of a safety hazard to make it impossible to recover anymore. However, if it only came into contact with Category One or Category Two water, you or water damage specialists can still recover it.
Identify Submersion Time
Water is an excellent catalyst for many living organisms. But as impressive as that is, it only causes contaminated water to offer ‘shelter’ for harmful organisms. Mold and mildew are your water-damaged carpet’s worst enemies. They can even cause all sorts of health risks to anyone who comes into contact with them—even worse for those who are allergic.
Since it’ll take time for them to grow, prevent this from happening as much as possible. Take note of how long the carpet’s been submerged to determine whether or not it can still be saved, especially if it has padding inside. Your window of opportunity should typically remain open as long as your water-damaged carpet doesn’t reach the 24-hour mark.
Repair Or Replace: Which Is Best For Water-Damaged Carpets: Determine Its Needs
Because carpets are made of cloth, some fabrics are sensitive to certain conditions. Water is no exception. Because of this, homeowners must be mindful of whether or not their carpets have specific needs that must be met. Otherwise, they might react to water violently, regardless if it’s contaminated or not. Water damage experts have equipment such as special vacuums that suck the water out of the carpet instead of using heat. This way, it prevents any shrinkage from occurring.
Consider Its Age
Granted, carpets play a valuable role in a household, just like any furnishing. However, regardless of whether or not they can be recovered, some situations might not be worth the resources, mainly when the carpet’s already too old. Therefore, if your carpet’s already seen better days and got damaged by water, it’s probably time to let it go.
Repair Or Replace: Which Is Best For Water-Damaged Carpets: Takeaway
As secured as your homes are, you’re bound to encounter water damage one way or another. Out of all the furnishing that gets affected by it, your carpet is one of the worst cases. Because even though they look dry on the surface, water can remain inside. Therefore, it must be decided whether or not your carpet is still salvageable despite the water damage, or a replacement is needed.
