Water Damage Cleanup and Extraction
The more water that comes out now, the less has to be dried later. This part of the job is about getting the water out of your carpet, pad, hardwood and tile fast, then cleaning everything it touched. Call (888) 596-0163 and we'll connect you with a local specialist from our network.
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Cleanup that matches the water category
How your floor gets handled depends on what kind of water it was. Clean water from a pipe often means you can keep both the carpet and the pad, as long as they're dried where they are. Dirty water from an appliance usually means the pad comes out and the carpet gets cleaned and treated. With sewage or floodwater, the industry standard, the IICRC S500, says carpet and pad have to go.
- Truck-mounted extraction for whole floors of wet carpet
- Weighted tools that ride on the carpet and squeeze the water out of the pad underneath
- Portable extractors for apartments and homes where a hose from the truck won't reach
- Floor mats that draw water up out of hardwood boards and the gaps between them
- Sprayers for putting down an antimicrobial treatment once everything's clean
How cleanup and extraction work
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Check the water source
Before anything starts, they confirm where the water came from and how clean it was. That decides whether the pad can stay, how the carpet gets treated and what protective gear they need.
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Extract
Carpet gets several slow passes with a weighted tool. Hard floors are squeegeed and vacuumed, with extra care along the grout lines and between hardwood boards.
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Clean and sanitize
Hard floors, baseboards and furniture legs get cleaned, and an antimicrobial goes down if the water was dirty. Pad that soaked up dirty water gets bagged and taken away.
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Hand off to drying
Once the surface water's gone, fans and dehumidifiers go in to dry what the extraction can't reach. They may lift the carpet at the edges so air can get underneath.
Cleanup and extraction questions
What is water damage cleanup called?
In the trade, it's usually called water mitigation. It covers extraction, removing what can't be saved, cleaning and drying. The repair work that comes after is called restoration.
Can wet carpet be saved?
Often, if the water was clean and it's extracted quickly. Pad holds water like a sponge and doesn't cost much, so it's often replaced even when the carpet stays. Carpet soaked by sewage or floodwater should come out.
Can water-damaged hardwood floors be saved?
Many can, if the water's pulled out quickly with floor mats and the boards are dried slowly. Boards that have cupped often flatten back out as they dry. Sanding too early can leave the floor crowned once it finishes drying, so wait for a moisture meter to say it's time.
How much does it cost to remove water?
It depends on how much got wet, how long the water sat and whether it was clean or contaminated. A clean spill on one carpeted room is a much smaller job than a flooded floor with pad and baseboards to remove. A specialist can give you a better idea after measuring the wet area.
Can I use a shop vac on water damage?
For a small, clean spill, sure. It can't pull much water out of carpet pad or from under hardwood, though, and it shouldn't be used on sewage or floodwater. Turn off the power to the area before you use anything electrical near water.
Get the water out before it spreads
(888) 596-0163Call (888) 596-0163, and we'll connect you with a local specialist who can extract the water, clean up and set up drying.