How Long Does It Take Carpets to Dry After Cleaning?

Did you know that your carpets should be professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months?

Steam cleaning is a carpet cleaning method that is the most common. It involved using the steam from hot water to remove the dirt and grime from the carpet. 

Learning how to clean carpets can be a tricky process, but hiring a service to do it for you is easy. After receiving your carpet cleaning, you may find yourself asking, “how long does it take carpets to dry after cleaning?”

There are many different factors that affect the drying time of carpets whether they are freshly cleaned or soaked from water damage. Keep reading to learn carpet cleaning advice!

Professional Carpet Cleaning

Vacuuming alone can not fully clean your carpets. This is why it’s important to steam clean. 

Unless you have your own equipment, you will need to hire a service to clean your carpets. You can always create a DIY steam cleaner, but that should not be used unless it is an emergency. 

And yes, emergency carpet cleaning happens often. 

There are also times when you can skip out on the DIY steam cleaner. Muddy footprints can dry out first. Then you can scrape and vacuum the dirt. This is the alternative to using a steam cleaner. 

Spills, for instance, will need to be cleaned with a steam cleaner

Factors of Dry Time

After cleaning, your carpet needs to dry. Generally, it will take 6 to 12 hours for your carpet to dry after cleaning. 

It can take longer or shorter depending on how your carpet got wet. This is the general time frame based on the hot water extraction method, otherwise known as steam cleaning. It will take 2 to 4 hours if your carpet is dry cleaned.

But if you have water damage or poor circulation in the room, drying a carpet may not be so simple. 

There are many different ways to speed up drying time. As said before, ventilation and circulation within the room help your carpets dry quicker. 

In order for carpets to dry, the water from them needs to evaporate. That can’t happen if it is humid because there’s too much moisture in the air. 

If you live in a humid climate, consider using a fan or dehumidifier if you don’t have air conditioning. Otherwise, air conditioning will be an even better option. 

You can also ask your service provider to “blow-dry” after cleaning. This involves using a large blower to help speed up the drying process. 

Water Damage

If you’ve experienced a flood or leak, there is a different process to follow when drying a carpet. There is a potential risk of mold forming if you do not take care of the situation quickly.

First, you should try to dry out the carpet as much as possible. This can be done with towels for the most part. Call a water damage restoration company so that they can assess the damage.

Within 48-72 hours, mold will start to form. This is why you need to act quickly to avoid more damage and higher costs of restoration. 

The water restoration service will come to take moisture readings, extract the water, and remove unsalvagable material. They will use their specialized equipment to extract a large amount of water that a DIY steamer cannot do. 

If the flood water comes back clean, then it may be possible to save your carpet. If you were flooded by a sewage backup, for example, then everything must be removed. 

Hiring a Cleaning Service

It is easier to have a company come by and clean your carpets for you. Carpet cleaning is tedious and it can save you time to hire a service. 

Though, it is just as important to know how to care for your carpets after having them cleaned. 

There are house cleaning services that will help with chores such as vacuuming, which will prolong your carpet’s life. 

In order to effectively remove dirt and soil from your carpet, it should take 15 to 20 minutes to clean a 300-square-foot room. If you have a larger house, you can imagine that vacuuming can take at least an hour if you’re really trying to remove everything from your carpets.

Not to mention, vacuuming at this rate only removes about 83% of dry soil in your carpets. 

Vacuuming more often, though, will help the state of your carpet. The less dirt you have eating away at the fibers of your carpet will allow your carpets to last longer. Therefore, it’s important to vacuum at least once or twice a week.

If you have a busy schedule like most adults, this can seem almost unrealistic. Do not let your carpets suffer when you can hire a cleaning service to do this for you.

House cleaning services can occur on a weekly basis. There are also other timeframe options such as bi-weekly or monthly services. The best part is, that you do not have to purchase any cleaning equipment because they take care of that for you. 

How Long Does it Take Carpets to Dry After Cleaning?

Whether your carpets are cleaned or damaged by floodwater, you may ask, “how long does it take carpets to dry after cleaning?” After reading this article, you should be aware of the factors that determine drying time and how to speed up the process.

Getting your carpets cleaned is something that must be done every 12 to 18 months. If you’re interested in more details, please contact us.

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Vantage Point Cleaning Services