How to tell if your carpet was ruined by water
April 19, 2013 1:04 PM Subscribe
With all the rain we had this week our sump pumps (2 pits, 3 pumps total) were not able to keep up and our carpet in the basement ended up taking on water. The wet carpet was confined to the perimeter of a family room and a closet. Other parts of the basement became damp, but they were tile or concrete. The water was never above the carpet. My question is: how can I tell if it's ruined or not? If I can't tell, how can I find an unbiased expert opinion? Does homeowner's insurance typically help replace carpet lost to excess rain?
Since the rain has started, we've been running sump pumps, dehumidifier, fans, the furnace and shop vacs as much as possible to try to get the carpet dried out. We've made some progress, but it seems like the water is coming up through the foundation.
People I talk to around here are split as to whether or not the carpet is shot. Some people think that no matter what, the instant the bottom of the carpet became wet, it was ruined. Others say that likely the bottom has been wet before and if mold didn't grow then, it won't grow now.
We were a bit caught off guard because even though we have 2 sump pumps, one of the pits had NEVER even had a drop of water in it in the 2 years we've been in the house. To go from that to having all pumps not keep up with the water was pretty stunning this week.
Since the rain has started, we've been running sump pumps, dehumidifier, fans, the furnace and shop vacs as much as possible to try to get the carpet dried out. We've made some progress, but it seems like the water is coming up through the foundation.
People I talk to around here are split as to whether or not the carpet is shot. Some people think that no matter what, the instant the bottom of the carpet became wet, it was ruined. Others say that likely the bottom has been wet before and if mold didn't grow then, it won't grow now.
We were a bit caught off guard because even though we have 2 sump pumps, one of the pits had NEVER even had a drop of water in it in the 2 years we've been in the house. To go from that to having all pumps not keep up with the water was pretty stunning this week.
Flood isn't the same as homeowners, you're going to need to call your insurance company to determine if you're covered.
You may want to have a claims adjuster out, you may have hidden damage that you can't see, wet wood, wet electrical, etc.
In all likelihood the carpet is a mold disaster waiting to happen. If the carpet is all that's damaged, take it all up, wait for the rain to stop, and then assess from there.
Having a carpet continue to act as a sponge isn't doing you any favors.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:31 PM on April 19, 2013
You may want to have a claims adjuster out, you may have hidden damage that you can't see, wet wood, wet electrical, etc.
In all likelihood the carpet is a mold disaster waiting to happen. If the carpet is all that's damaged, take it all up, wait for the rain to stop, and then assess from there.
Having a carpet continue to act as a sponge isn't doing you any favors.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:31 PM on April 19, 2013
Some people think that no matter what, the instant the bottom of the carpet became wet, it was ruined.
Yeah, that's likely not true. But if this is as wet as it sounds like it is, you're probably hosed anyway.
Call your insurance company. The claim will either be covered or it won't, and you find out by asking.
posted by valkyryn at 1:47 PM on April 19, 2013
Yeah, that's likely not true. But if this is as wet as it sounds like it is, you're probably hosed anyway.
Call your insurance company. The claim will either be covered or it won't, and you find out by asking.
posted by valkyryn at 1:47 PM on April 19, 2013
Bear in mind that many insurance policies do not cover "Acts of God/Nature". That is, rain may not be covered, but accidentally leaving a faucet running might be covered. Read the small print and decide how exact your details need to be.
posted by anadem at 1:53 PM on April 19, 2013
posted by anadem at 1:53 PM on April 19, 2013
When this happened in my basement, my insurance covered the cost of having a company come in and dry the carpet professionally. They pulled up part of the carpet and used huge fans to blow air between the carpet and the pad to dry things out. It ended up working out, but you do have to act quickly to avoid mold.
posted by Kicky at 2:16 PM on April 19, 2013
posted by Kicky at 2:16 PM on April 19, 2013
I have had two floods in our finished basement. srboisvert is correct, you need flood insurance in order to get coverage, general home insurance will not cover it. As far as saving your carpet, time is the key. In our first flood, we had several inches of water and it all had to be replaced. We had much less in our second one and they were able to save it. They essentially propped up the carpet on carpet fans - there were close to a dozen of them - and brought in the biggest dehumidifier I have ever seen. It was roughly the size of a large double door refrigerator. They ran all of that for four days.
It worked well but I don't know if I could replicate that without professional equipment. Also, a big issue is with drywall walls,- they can siphon up water and hold it for a long time. I real breeding ground for mold. We had to have the bottom three feet of drywall replaced.
posted by rtimmel at 2:19 PM on April 19, 2013
It worked well but I don't know if I could replicate that without professional equipment. Also, a big issue is with drywall walls,- they can siphon up water and hold it for a long time. I real breeding ground for mold. We had to have the bottom three feet of drywall replaced.
posted by rtimmel at 2:19 PM on April 19, 2013
>Bear in mind that many insurance policies do not cover "Acts of God/Nature". That is, rain may not be covered, but accidentally leaving a faucet running might be covered. Read the small print and decide how exact your details need to be.
If this were true, homeowners policies would not have to pay for damage caused by wind, rain, snow, hail, lightning, tornadoes - i.e., much of what you pay to cover.
Flooding, though, is the major exclusion in every policy. That is why God created Federal flood insurance.
Watch out for gratuitous but inaccurate advice on the internet.
posted by megatherium at 6:03 PM on April 19, 2013
If this were true, homeowners policies would not have to pay for damage caused by wind, rain, snow, hail, lightning, tornadoes - i.e., much of what you pay to cover.
Flooding, though, is the major exclusion in every policy. That is why God created Federal flood insurance.
Watch out for gratuitous but inaccurate advice on the internet.
posted by megatherium at 6:03 PM on April 19, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
To avoid mould growing on a carpet you need to be able to take it up and dry it out properly before mould can even get a foothold. Like hanging it on a line in the yard on a sunny warm day. The problem is that this can ruin the rubber padding (and also it can be impossible with large carpets).
Be advised that your entire basement is at risk. My parent's basement flooded almost 20 years ago and I still can't spend any significant amount time in their basement without respiratory problems due to a mould allergy (This was with full carpet replacement as well) You can get mould behind and between tiles. It can grow up the wood struts in the walls of a finished basement. It can be anywhere that is dark and even just the littlest bit damp and once it gets a foothold it is awfully hard to eradicate.
posted by srboisvert at 1:19 PM on April 19, 2013