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Serving Lafayette Parish

Wet Carpet and Floor Drying in Lafayette, LA

Lifting, drying and reading wet carpet, pad and hard floors from below, so that flooring which can be saved is kept.

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Carpet and Floors

Wet Carpet and Floor Drying: what it covers

Quick answer

Wet carpet and floor drying lifts soaked carpet and pad, dries the subfloor from below and decides which flooring can be saved. Carpet pad that holds water usually has to come out, and hardwood or tile can often be kept if the subfloor dries. Lafayette Water Damage Restoration sends a crew to Lafayette and Lafayette Parish as soon as one is free, and calls are answered 24/7.

Wet Carpet and Floor Drying illustration for Lafayette, LA

A wet floor looks worse than its damage on the surface, and the surface can also hide how far the water went. Carpet holds water in its fibers, the pad under it holds more, and the subfloor under the pad holds the rest. A floor that looks dry from above can still be wet under the covering, so the drying is measured below the surface.

The water that reached the floor is the first question. Clean water from a supply line can often be dried in place, while water from outside or from a drain has to be handled as contaminated. The category decides what can be kept, and the crew confirms it before it decides which floor covering comes out.

Call (833) 490-5225 at any hour if carpet or a hard floor is wet. Tell the person who answers what the floor is made of, how long the water stood and where it came from. A crew is sent as soon as one is free, and the call does not include a promised arrival time.

Service area
Lafayette & Lafayette Parish
Availability
Phones answered 24/7
Warning signs

Signs you need wet carpet and floor drying

Do not walk on a soaked subfloor that feels soft, because it can give way. Keep children and pets off wet carpet and off floors that have been under water. Wear gloves when lifting carpet, because the tack strips are sharp and the pad can hold contamination. Do not run a wet vacuum on a live outlet, and keep cords out of standing water.

  • Carpet that squelches or feels cold and damp under the foot when the room is otherwise dry
  • A dark stain or a tide line on carpet or on the baseboard at the edge of a room
  • Hardwood boards that have cupped, crowned, lifted or gapped after water
  • Tile or vinyl that has lifted at its edges or whose grout has darkened
  • A soft or spongy place in the floor that changes when you walk across it
  • A musty smell from under carpet or a floor register after water was in the room
Job stories

Typical jobs for wet carpet and floor drying

Typical job
Illustration: Wet carpet over a soaked pad in a bedroom

Wet carpet over a soaked pad in a bedroom

What homeowners notice
Water from a split supply line has soaked the carpet in a bedroom and the pad under it. The carpet feels wet at the edges and cold in the middle, and the owner wants to know if it can be saved.
What we do
The crew lifts the carpet from its tack strips, reads the pad and the subfloor, and finds the pad saturated. The pad is removed, the subfloor is dried with air movement, and the carpet is read for its backing. The carpet is dried flat and then assessed, and the room is closed off while the subfloor dries.
What to expect
The subfloor reads dry, and the carpet is assessed for relaying or replacement. The owner receives the readings, the note on which materials were removed, and the choice on the carpet is made with the owner after the readings are in.

3-4 hours typical visit

Options

Types and options for wet carpet and floor drying

Carpet over a wet pad

Carpet with a wet pad is the most common case after water comes into a room. The pad usually comes out, because it holds water and can grow mold. The carpet is kept only if it dries fully and the readings and the backing are sound. The crew explains which part of the carpet can be kept and which must be replaced.

Hardwood or engineered wood

Solid hardwood and engineered wood take water into the board edges and the subfloor, and they can cup or lift as they swell. Boards that flatten as they dry can often be kept. Boards that stay raised or split have to be replaced, and the crew marks them for the owner.

Tile and vinyl

Tile and sheet vinyl are often kept when the subfloor beneath them dries. The water mainly goes under the surface through the grout and the seams. The crew checks the adhesive and the subfloor, and it lifts sections where the water has reached the backing.

Laminate and floating floors

Laminate and floating floors take water at the seams and at the edges, and the boards can swell and lift. The planks that have swelled are usually replaced, because they seldom return to their shape. The crew checks the subfloor beneath them before deciding what is removed.

One call and it gets handled.

A crew is dispatched as fast as one is available, and you approve the estimate before any work starts.

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Can wet carpet be dried and kept?

Carpet that is only damp on the surface, with a dry pad and sound backing, can sometimes be dried and kept. Carpet with a wet pad or a soaked backing usually cannot be dried in place, and it is replaced.

The readings decide. The crew reads the carpet, the pad and the subfloor, and it compares each reading with the dry reference. Carpet that has been lifted and laid over a dry subfloor can keep its shape, while a stretched or shrunken carpet may not return to its original fit.

Carpet that is kept may still smell or stain. The crew explains what cleaning can and cannot do, and it does not promise that the carpet will look as it did before.

Why does the subfloor stay wet under dry carpet?

Carpet and pad hold a surface of moisture, and the subfloor beneath them dries slowly once the covering is down. A subfloor that stays wet under dry carpet can be feeding moisture into the pad, so the crew reads it before the covering is laid again.

Subfloors are often plywood or boards laid over the joists, and they hold water for a long time when the covering is down. Lifting the covering, drying the subfloor and checking it from below is what breaks that cycle.

A subfloor that is still wet after the drying has finished needs a source check. The crew looks for a leak, a drain line or ground moisture, and it records what it found.

What happens to the baseboards and the wall at the floor?

Baseboards and the lower wall take water as it wicks up from the floor. The baseboard is usually removed so the wall base can be read and dried, and it is reset or replaced after the drying is finished.

Removing the baseboard lets the crew read the wall behind it and see the moisture line. The wall is opened only where the readings require it, and the cut is kept low and small.

Painted baseboards that were wet often swell or lift. The crew explains whether they can be reset or should be replaced, and the owner decides which.

Should I roll up the carpet myself?

You can lift the edge of carpet to let air reach the pad, but pulling a whole carpet up can spread the water and damage the tack strips. Photograph the floor first, and leave the lifting to the crew if the pad is wet.

Carpet that is rolled up while it is wet can drop water onto clean areas, and the roll can hold the moisture against itself. The crew removes the carpet in sections and records each one, so that the owner can see what came out and why.

Furniture on wet carpet should be moved to a dry area, with coasters or foil under the feet to keep the stain from transferring. Keep a list of anything moved, and photograph the floor before it is moved.

Our process

How our wet carpet and floor drying visit works

  1. Map the wet floor

    The technician marks the edges of the wet area with moisture readings, reading the carpet, the pad and the subfloor separately. The map shows where the water went, which is often further than the visible wet patch on the carpet.

  2. Lift and remove the wet covering

    Carpet that has soaked through is pulled up from its tack strips, and the pad is removed in the same area. Where the pad is wet and cannot be dried in place, it comes out. Carpet that is only damp on top can sometimes be lifted, dried and relaid, and the crew decides from the readings.

  3. Dry the subfloor from below

    Once the covering is off, air is moved across the subfloor and under the floor where there is access. The readings are taken at the subfloor and, where possible, from below, so the crew knows when the wood is dry enough for a new covering.

  4. Hard floors and the wall base

    Hardwood, tile and vinyl are checked for cupping, lifting and adhesive failure. The wall base is read as well, because water wicks up behind the baseboard. Where the base is wet, it is removed and the wall below is dried.

  5. Decide and record

    The technician explains which floor coverings can be kept, which must be replaced and what the drying plan needs. The owner decides with the crew, and the readings and photographs for each area are given to the owner as the record.

Lafayette Parish

Why wet carpet and floor drying is different in Lafayette and Acadiana

Floors in Lafayette vary from house to house, and the crew asks what each room has before it starts. The covering in one room can be very different from the one next to it, so the readings are taken room by room rather than from a single figure for the building.

Flood water in Lafayette Parish reaches the floor first, and the crew starts with the lowest room of the building and reads the water from the entrance inward. The readings follow the water across each floor rather than stopping at the edge of the wet patch.

Humid air in the Acadiana region slows the drying of a carpet pad and a subfloor, and the crew plans its visits with that in mind. The readings, not the feel of the floor, decide when a covering can be laid again.

Where we work

Wet Carpet and Floor Drying across Lafayette Parish

Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.

Related

Emergency Water Extraction

Pumping and vacuuming standing water out of floors, stairwells and lower rooms across Lafayette and Lafayette Parish, around the clock.

Ceiling and Drywall Water Damage

Opening, drying and reading wet ceilings and drywall after a leak or flood, with the lowest wet section cut so the cavity can dry.

Guides

Read before you book

FAQ

Wet Carpet and Floor Drying FAQs

Can the wet carpet be saved?

Sometimes. Carpet with a dry pad and sound backing can be dried and kept. Carpet with a wet pad or a soaked backing usually cannot be dried in place, and the crew explains which applies to yours.

Will hardwood cup permanently?

It can, but it does not always. Boards that flatten as they dry may return to their shape, and boards that stay raised or split usually have to be replaced. The crew reads the boards and marks which ones it expects to recover.

How long does the floor take to dry?

It depends on the covering, the pad, the subfloor and the weather. The readings show when the floor is dry, and the crew does not promise a set number of days.

Can the crew match new carpet or flooring?

The crew does not supply or install flooring as part of the drying. It records what must be replaced and explains the options. Matching a floor covering is a separate job for a flooring installer.

Is the floor cleaning included?

Surfaces that can be cleaned are cleaned as part of the work, and the crew explains what it did and what it did not do. Porous material that cannot be cleaned is removed, and the removal is recorded.

Does the insurance cover flooring?

That depends on the policy and on the cause of the water. The insurer decides, and the readings and photographs from each visit are the record it will read.

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