Carpet Dry, but pad still damp

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   Please help!!  I'm a first time homeowner with little DIY knowledge.  I'm not sure if this forum is only for carpet cleaners--if it is, I apologize, but I have a question about service I'm receiving now.  

I recently had a drain back up and had the majority of the carpet in my large finished basement soaked.  The next day a cleaner arrived, pulled up one corner, tucked a huge blower underneath, and the carpet flapped and dried in less than two days.  However, he's coming tomorrow while I'm at work to collect his equipment, but as of right now the carpet pad is still damp.  Now, it's nowhere near as saturated as it once was, but there is a blue film facing up on the pad foam and it seems to be keeping the moisture in.  It feels damp to the touch underneath and there is the faintest smell of mildew if I run my finger across the bottom of the concrete floor under the pad.  My question--will this dry on its own, or should I have him leave the blower, possibly adding another.  Should he put a blower underneath the pad, too?  Should he spray it with fungicide or some other treatment?  I hope he doesn't leave me with a wet pad!

My other concern--if the pad can't be saved, can I cut out the affected portion (a little over half of the carpet) and replace the pad if the carpet is salvageable?  Or is it necessary to replace both?  Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated, and please don't hesitate to ask if you need more details or have questions.  

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
FirstTimeHomeOwner Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08/January/2009 Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote FirstTimeHomeOwner Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Carpet Dry, but pad still damp Posted: 08/January/2009 at 5:57pm
	Please help!! I'm a first time homeowner with little DIY knowledge. I'm not sure if this forum is only for carpet cleaners--if it is, I apologize, but I have a question about service I'm receiving now. I recently had a drain back up and had the majority of the carpet in my large finished basement soaked. The next day a cleaner arrived, pulled up one corner, tucked a huge blower underneath, and the carpet flapped and dried in less than two days. However, he's coming tomorrow while I'm at work to collect his equipment, but as of right now the carpet pad is still damp. Now, it's nowhere near as saturated as it once was, but there is a blue film facing up on the pad foam and it seems to be keeping the moisture in. It feels damp to the touch underneath and there is the faintest smell of mildew if I run my finger across the bottom of the concrete floor under the pad. My question--will this dry on its own, or should I have him leave the blower, possibly adding another. Should he put a blower underneath the pad, too? Should he spray it with fungicide or some other treatment? I hope he doesn't leave me with a wet pad! My other concern--if the pad can't be saved, can I cut out the affected portion (a little over half of the carpet) and replace the pad if the carpet is salvageable? Or is it necessary to replace both? Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated, and please don't hesitate to ask if you need more details or have questions.

Sponsored Links	Commercial Carpet Cleaning Machines Commercial Floor Cleaning Machine

Ken_Is_OK Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Carpet Cleaning Specialist Joined: 13/February/2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 523	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ken_Is_OK Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08/January/2009 at 6:46pm
	did he just leave a blower or also a dehumidifier. ps. toss out the pad pps what city do you live in?

Ken_Is_OK Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Carpet Cleaning Specialist Joined: 13/February/2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 523	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ken_Is_OK Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08/January/2009 at 6:48pm
	Keep your lawyer's phone number close by.

Hammy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Carpet Cleaning Guru Joined: 27/September/2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 10330	Post Options Post Reply Quote Hammy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08/January/2009 at 6:49pm
	The pad is junk now! What was the water source? If it iwas black water the carpet is junk too!
	Could somebody just clean my carpets!

FirstTimeHomeOwner Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08/January/2009 Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote FirstTimeHomeOwner Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08/January/2009 at 7:38pm
	I have two dehumidifiers ( 100-200 jobbies from Sears) running down there, as well as 3-4 oscilating fans on the wet spots, in addition to his blower flapping the one end of the carpet. Like I said, carpet is bone dry, but 3 days later pad is still damp, although not everywhere. I can deifnitely tell the leak is fixed, so I'm almost 95% certain it is residual moisture. Will this dry out and be okay? I really need to junk it? I mean, I gotta do what I gotta do, and I know jack about mold and wet carpet, so I'll take your word for it. He just called and asked if everything was ok since he's coming to get his equipment tomorrow. I told him that the pad was still wet, and he said tomorrow he would remove the trim and lift up the opposite corner of the room and flap that corner down. He assured me I won't need to remove the pad, that it will dry on its own with the humidifiers. This was water from a washing machine/shower runoff. Is he legit--sounds like some of you feel otherwise!

rick007 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 29/January/2008 Location: canada Status: Offline Points: 152	Post Options Post Reply Quote rick007 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 09/January/2009 at 11:35pm
	try getting a cleaner with a large water claw and extract everything. but maybe it's to late by now.
	happy cleaning

duckcountry Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Master Carpet Cleaner Joined: 29/October/2005 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 1082	Post Options Post Reply Quote duckcountry Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 10/January/2009 at 1:43am
	Have him take up the carpet and throw out the pad for you. Once you are sure the concrete is dry you will want to seal it, give a week to cure and have new padding installed then reinstall the carpet. You will be happy you did. Make sure he uses a power stretcher only. Padding isn't all that expensive and you will love the feel under your feet.
	Are you in a high paying business or are you just a self employed low paid grunt who thinks this business provides dignity?

prouddadx3 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 06/November/2008 Location: Boulder Status: Offline Points: 86	Post Options Post Reply Quote prouddadx3 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 14/January/2009 at 12:12pm
	You still haven't disclosed the water source and said if the water was clean, gray, or Black? If the water source was gray or black the pad needs to be removed. If the water source is black, both pad and carpet should be discarded. You can spray a Biocide on the back of the carpet but follow the directions with proper PPE. When he did the original extraction, did he pull the moisture from the pad with a water claw or top down drying method?
	Boulder carpet cleaning Coupons

FirstTimeHomeOwner Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08/January/2009 Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote FirstTimeHomeOwner Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 14/January/2009 at 4:30pm
	Hi guys...sorry for the delayed response. In my second post I mentioned that it was overflow from a washer and a shower drain--I believe that would be gray water? My cleaner had two blowers flapping the carpet for a total of six days, but much to our dismay the pad is still damp to the touch. He said that he steam cleaned it (which seems counter-productive...am I wrong? And would this do anything to the pad?) and then he also sprayed the whole basement down with a "biocide." When I mentioned this over the phone, his boss said that as long as we leave the dehumidifiers running for a couple weeks and keep the heat on in the basement, then everything will dry out fine. I have my doubts, mainly because of the feedback that I'm getting from you guys. I also expressed this doubt to our insurance agent, who is holding onto our claim for awhile to see if any mold develops during the next couple weeks. If mold/moildew is going to appear, is there a genreal time period I could expect to see it form in? Thanks for all your help/advice, gang! Edited by FirstTimeHomeOwner - 14/January/2009 at 4:31pm

Ken_Is_OK Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Carpet Cleaning Specialist Joined: 13/February/2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 523	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ken_Is_OK Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 14/January/2009 at 10:08pm
	Is this in Canada? If so please send me the name of the company in a private message.

FirstTimeHomeOwner Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08/January/2009 Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote FirstTimeHomeOwner Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15/January/2009 at 7:56pm
	No, this is in the US...sorry, I didn't realize this wasn't a U.S.-based site.

Ken_Is_OK Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Carpet Cleaning Specialist Joined: 13/February/2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 523	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ken_Is_OK Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15/January/2009 at 8:58pm
	you really got hosed Sir. sorry to say.

prouddadx3 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 06/November/2008 Location: Boulder Status: Offline Points: 86	Post Options Post Reply Quote prouddadx3 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 21/January/2009 at 8:20pm
	If the water is gray you should remove the pad. You can contact the IICRC which has published the accepted drying standards for our industry. Their are too many microorganisms in gray water to keep the pad. You will notice mold first on the seeming tape. Good luck. http://www.1877quicdry.com/inspection_follow_s500.cfm
	Boulder carpet cleaning Coupons

duckcountry Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Master Carpet Cleaner Joined: 29/October/2005 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 1082	Post Options Post Reply Quote duckcountry Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22/January/2009 at 2:14am
	Like they say you get what you pay for. Your expectations cost more. Low bid? Have low expectations.
	Are you in a high paying business or are you just a self employed low paid grunt who thinks this business provides dignity?

Welcome to KleenKuip.com's Professional Carpet Cleaners Discussion Forum!

Carpet Dry, but pad still damp