What Happens to Wet Drywall & Carpet?

8/21/2020 (Permalink)

Discovering water in unwanted places is never a good sight – especially when it’s inside your home. Your belongings are now at risk of becoming damaged, and some un-salvageable. When you discover water damage, time is not on your side. But the quicker you react, the better your chances of saving your valuable items from irreversible damage.

Back to the importance of time; some items are able to maintain their integrity when submerged for a short period of time, while others, like electronics, are likely beyond saving. Typically, when we arrive on-site a customer’s first question is “will we have to remove it all?” While we never have a 100% for certain answer regarding various materials, we have to evaluate what is affected, to what degree and then monitor the progress of drying.

Wet Drywall

If you live in the Midlands, SC area your home likely consists of drywall which makes up the walls and barriers of your home. Drywall is a porous material that absorbs water like a sponge, even more so than wood. When it becomes wet it may swell, crumble or sag. More importantly, it becomes the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mold growth. If we discover wet drywall, we begin drying it right away – this involves various techniques to access the back and sides with fast moving air to quickly reduce the level of moisture within the material.

If the drywall is misshapen, distorted or soft upon our arrival we plan to remove that area, not the entire wall, and replace it when the drying process is completed.

Wet Carpet

Carpet and rugs typically incur the most damage when water intrudes. The synthetic fibers that make up the flooring material absorb water, debris and any other contaminates that come with the water. Carpet can be salvaged depending on the source of the water. If storm water flows from outside your home, into your home, it’s likely carrying mud, rocks, etc. Our technicians are able to extract water, but mud is an entirely different obstacle.

If the water source is clean and your carpet or rugs got wet, we simply extract the water and then “float” the carpet. This process allows air to flow on both sides of the flooring to promote quick drying.

At SERVPRO we always take the “repair over replace” approach. If we can fix, dry or repair affected materials rather than require you to purchase new ones, we will!