You have probably seen a featured story on the news about a house that has flooded due to this year?s record in rainfall. You get a glimpse of the first level of their home and think about the disaster that has come upon that family.  What would you do in that situation?  The number one thing: ACT QUICKLY! Time is of the essence to minimize the damage! Here is a list of tips to help you get started with help from Atlanta Carpet Restoration:

1. Assess the situation
   Determine where the flood or the leak is coming from. What type of water is soaking the carpets?  Sanitary water or unsanitary water determine the category level of damage.  Sanitary water can leak from pipes and rain. Unsanitary water can come from overflowing toilets, bathrooms, backed-up sewer and other contaminated areas.
2. Stop the water source if possible.
   If the water damage is due to a natural disaster, hang in there and ride out the storm.
3. Remove as many belongings as you can from the affected area.
   You want to remove all of them if possible, but if you have furniture that can?t be moved, put aluminum foil under the legs (this will prevent rust and further stains to transfer onto carpet)
4. Open doors and windows to help air the place out.
5. Call Atlanta Carpet Restoration
   As soon as possible, call on Atlanta Carpet Restoration to properly extract, treat, and care for the water damage repair. Our technicians are IICRC certified and are trained to assess the level of damage. We will formulate a water restoration and water removal plan.
6. Determine the type of water causing the damage:
   1. Sanitary Water: Extract Water
   2. Unsanitary Water: The wet carpet should first be treated with disinfectants (used to fend off bacteria). Then extract the water.
7. Gain access to the underlay.
   The padding underneath the damaged carpet should be removed and discarded.  It is common to dispose the damaged padding and replace it since it is less expensive to change vs. trying to restore the damaged padding.
8. Clean the subflooring.
   The area where the damaged carpet was placed (or subflooring) should be cleaned and disinfected as well. This area should also have plenty of ventilation and dry completely to prevent mildew and other bacteria from growing.
9. Dry completely!
   1. Elevate water restored carpet to speed up the drying time
   2. Use Fans! Operate the fans on high for about thirty-six hours (longer if needed)
10. After drying, make sure the carpet is completely clean.
    Apply a disinfectant to both sides of the carpet to reduce the chance of bacterial growth and fungi.
11. Remove remaining stains.
    Finally you may want to remove any remaining stains that may be present. This will ensure that you carpet has been fully treated and cleaned and hopefully looks like new again.

Proper recovery from water damaged carpet is a large undertaking. Call Atlanta Carpet Restoration today to learn how we can help: 770-484-7774