What Is the Best Way to Dry Out Carpets After a Basement Floods?

Ventilation

• Wet carpets in a basement that was flooded create humidity. Get drier air from the outside circulating through the basement. Open as many windows and doors as you can to allow moisture to escape; this accelerates the drying time for your carpets and concrete floor.

Throw Rugs

• Use a clothes washer and dryer to clean throw rugs. Get the rugs out of the basement and wring them out to reduce the amount of debris and water in them. Make sure your washer and dryer are large enough to handle the throw rugs. Rugs that have a machine-wash label on them are safe for use in the washer and dryer. Do not try to dry out throw rugs naturally first; immediately get them into a clothes washer.

Larger Rugs

• Larger area rugs and wall-to-wall carpeting need to be removed immediately to be dried properly. If you have padding for your rugs, that needs to be removed as well. Do not place your rugs on the lawn or any flat surface as that only allows one side to dry. The best way to dry your rugs is to find a way to hang them using clothesline or some other kind of rope.

Inspection

• Carpets from a flooded basement can pick up small amounts of sewage and any other chemicals you have stored in your basement, such as paint products. Once the carpets have dried, inspect them to see if they are able to be reinstalled into the basement. If the carpets smell of sewage or chemical products, immediately dispose of them and get new basement rugs.