DAMN IT!! What's the best way to dry out a carpet?? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Terminal Frost · 04-14-2004, 12:29 PM

Ok - so I live in NJ and the weather has been fucking HORRIBLE for the longest time. Fucking shitty rain and fog and storms and cold weather. Our basement is a finished one and we've had flooding problems many times in the past. After replacing like 5 fucking carpets we finally dug new sump holes and have 2 pumps running to keep this place dry. The newest pump just decided to give up and just fucking stopped working after only running for 2 days. I started to see some water in the end of the basement so I quickly got another pump and hooked it up and it was able to drain the water in the hole down to a reasonable level.

Anyway, now I've got a rather large 8'x6' wet spot in the back of the basement. The floor is slanted so luckily only the back part was effected. So now what can I do to get this rug dry? I want to get it dry as fast as possible so I can get a carpet cleaner down here. I dont have lots of fans or anything, but the ones I tried to use don't seem to work. I was thinking about boiling a large pot of water and pouring it over the wet area. I figured this would heat up all the water and hopefully it would evaporate a lot quicker than the cold water on the floor is now. However, I know how smart all you can be so I figured I'd ask here before I tried any stupid ideas that I came up with.

Sorry for the rant, lol, NJ has been miserable and I'm getting fat from the lack of Tennis weather.

Thanks!

God of Thunder · 04-14-2004, 12:44 PM

I just had a similar problem. Mine was a busted pipe and my whole carpet got wet.

Fortunately, I own an industrial strength carpet cleaner. (I got it used from Home Depot) I used that to suck up as much water as possible (over 50 gallons) and then left fans on it for the next 4 days.

Home Depot or any other hardware store should rent the big steam cleaners. Get one and use it to suck the water up. A small shop vac would also work, but at a slower rate.

nosuchuserexist · 04-14-2004, 02:26 PM

I too have had a similar problem. Never had leakage issues with the exception of if you forgot the hose was running to water one small flower bed and left it for a couple of hours. We forgot it for over 3 hrs one night last summer and drenched a big section of the carpet. I actually moved the furniture out of the way and then peeled back the carpet off of the tack strips to get air moving underneath the carpet and pad too. We couldn't use our rec. room for nearly a week but it got dried out. After it was nearly dry I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned up the discolored area. At that point I realized I should have rented one in the first place since they're designed to suck water out of carpets.

Long story short, do what G.O.T. said and go get yourself a carpet cleaner. Don't try to put hot water on the area. It will cool quickly and just be even wetter than before with minimal evaporation.

iamnormal · 04-14-2004, 04:09 PM

Carpet Dryer
Dehumidifier

http://images.google.com/images?q=carpet%20dryer
You can probley rent a carper dryer fan at a tool rentel place

noblejr · 04-15-2004, 06:13 AM

We used to have this problem at my parents house. We would pull that end of the carpet up and support it with folding chairs, thow a dehumidifier underneath, and place a few fans blowing air around the area. It would take about a week before the carpet and padding were completely dry. Eventually, we put in tile.

onetime2 · 04-15-2004, 06:39 AM

Boiling water will only make it more wet. For getting it dry, a dehumidifier is the best way to go. Lifting the carpet as others have described will certainly accelerate the process.

Tool rental centers also usually rent fans that will help. They look like this:

http://www.cleanfreak.com/Qstore/c000076.htm

If you're looking for a way to keep the carpet dry, check out subflor. It's basically some Oriented Strand Board mated to rubber on the bottom that sits on the concrete floor:

http://www.subflor.com/home.asp

Rodney · 04-15-2004, 06:52 AM

We live in an area of largely 100+ year-old houses, and although they've been gentrified in large part, the pipes are usually old and they burst a lot. The guys with the big heated blowers show up all the time. So dry it first, then clean it. You want to not only save the carpet, but eliminate mold, which can cause health problems down the line if you let it get established under the carpet or under the floor.

Grimlok · 04-16-2004, 08:40 AM

Yeah... like Nos said... peel the carpet back and let the air flow through and borrow fans from the neighbors to save money. When you've saved enough... get a tile floor... or one of those cool rubber floors they have in playgrounds... the water just rolls off of that stuff.

Check the guarantee on the Sump pumps too... they may owe you some money.

jdjammer · 04-24-2004, 03:18 PM

Yeah, those rubber bouncy floors they have at playgrounds are fun..

But seriously, I have had a problem with water leaking into my room now for a couple of winters. If you use a fan and some towels, it will dry it up pretty fast. And make sure to get as much air flow in the room as possible.

04-14-2004, 12:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
Terminal Frost Tilted Location: Manhattan Island	DAMN IT!! What's the best way to dry out a carpet?? Ok - so I live in NJ and the weather has been fucking HORRIBLE for the longest time. Fucking shitty rain and fog and storms and cold weather. Our basement is a finished one and we've had flooding problems many times in the past. After replacing like 5 fucking carpets we finally dug new sump holes and have 2 pumps running to keep this place dry. The newest pump just decided to give up and just fucking stopped working after only running for 2 days. I started to see some water in the end of the basement so I quickly got another pump and hooked it up and it was able to drain the water in the hole down to a reasonable level. Anyway, now I've got a rather large 8'x6' wet spot in the back of the basement. The floor is slanted so luckily only the back part was effected. So now what can I do to get this rug dry? I want to get it dry as fast as possible so I can get a carpet cleaner down here. I dont have lots of fans or anything, but the ones I tried to use don't seem to work. I was thinking about boiling a large pot of water and pouring it over the wet area. I figured this would heat up all the water and hopefully it would evaporate a lot quicker than the cold water on the floor is now. However, I know how smart all you can be so I figured I'd ask here before I tried any stupid ideas that I came up with. Sorry for the rant, lol, NJ has been miserable and I'm getting fat from the lack of Tennis weather. Thanks!

04-14-2004, 12:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
God of Thunder Talk nerdy to me Location: Flint, MI	I just had a similar problem. Mine was a busted pipe and my whole carpet got wet. Fortunately, I own an industrial strength carpet cleaner. (I got it used from Home Depot) I used that to suck up as much water as possible (over 50 gallons) and then left fans on it for the next 4 days. Home Depot or any other hardware store should rent the big steam cleaners. Get one and use it to suck the water up. A small shop vac would also work, but at a slower rate. __________________ I reject your reality, and substitute my own -- Adam Savage

04-14-2004, 02:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
nosuchuserexist Crazy Location: Obliviousness	I too have had a similar problem. Never had leakage issues with the exception of if you forgot the hose was running to water one small flower bed and left it for a couple of hours. We forgot it for over 3 hrs one night last summer and drenched a big section of the carpet. I actually moved the furniture out of the way and then peeled back the carpet off of the tack strips to get air moving underneath the carpet and pad too. We couldn't use our rec. room for nearly a week but it got dried out. After it was nearly dry I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned up the discolored area. At that point I realized I should have rented one in the first place since they're designed to suck water out of carpets. Long story short, do what G.O.T. said and go get yourself a carpet cleaner. Don't try to put hot water on the area. It will cool quickly and just be even wetter than before with minimal evaporation. __________________ "I run good but I'm hard to start. And my brakes are bad so I'm hard to stop." -Mark Sandman - Vocalist, Morphine

04-15-2004, 06:39 AM	#6 (permalink)
onetime2 Junkie Location: NJ	Boiling water will only make it more wet. For getting it dry, a dehumidifier is the best way to go. Lifting the carpet as others have described will certainly accelerate the process. Tool rental centers also usually rent fans that will help. They look like this: http://www.cleanfreak.com/Qstore/c000076.htm If you're looking for a way to keep the carpet dry, check out subflor. It's basically some Oriented Strand Board mated to rubber on the bottom that sits on the concrete floor: http://www.subflor.com/home.asp __________________ Strive to be more curious than ignorant. Last edited by onetime2; 04-15-2004 at 06:44 AM..

04-16-2004, 08:40 AM	#8 (permalink)
Grimlok Tilted Location: Central Illinois	Yeah... like Nos said... peel the carpet back and let the air flow through and borrow fans from the neighbors to save money. When you've saved enough... get a tile floor... or one of those cool rubber floors they have in playgrounds... the water just rolls off of that stuff. Check the guarantee on the Sump pumps too... they may owe you some money. __________________ Your future looks very very grim!

04-14-2004, 04:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
iamnormal Addict Location: In the id	Carpet Dryer Dehumidifier http://images.google.com/images?q=carpet%20dryer You can probley rent a carper dryer fan at a tool rentel place

04-15-2004, 06:13 AM	#5 (permalink)
noblejr Crazy Location: Atlanta	We used to have this problem at my parents house. We would pull that end of the carpet up and support it with folding chairs, thow a dehumidifier underneath, and place a few fans blowing air around the area. It would take about a week before the carpet and padding were completely dry. Eventually, we put in tile.

04-15-2004, 06:52 AM	#7 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	We live in an area of largely 100+ year-old houses, and although they've been gentrified in large part, the pipes are usually old and they burst a lot. The guys with the big heated blowers show up all the time. So dry it first, then clean it. You want to not only save the carpet, but eliminate mold, which can cause health problems down the line if you let it get established under the carpet or under the floor.

04-24-2004, 03:18 PM	#9 (permalink)
jdjammer Tilted Location: Paradise	Yeah, those rubber bouncy floors they have at playgrounds are fun.. But seriously, I have had a problem with water leaking into my room now for a couple of winters. If you use a fan and some towels, it will dry it up pretty fast. And make sure to get as much air flow in the room as possible.