Cleaning your carpets regularly is extremely important not only for the lifespan of your carpeting but also for your health and that of your family. A dirty carpet does not look good, but that is the least of your problems. It houses dust, dirt, as well as other harmful debris.
Still, simply cleaning your carpet will not get you rid of all of your issues. It is very important to allow it to dry properly. A still-wet carpet can help develop mildew and dirt, but also grow bacteria and mold within its fibers. If you do not have enough time for your carpet to completely dry before using it, you should postpone the cleaning operation for another time.
How Long Does it Take to Dry?
A carpet usually requires between 6 and 12 hours to dry completely. There are a number of factors that have an impact on the dry time required.
First of all, it depends on the cleaning method you are using. Hot water extraction, for instance, requires a longer dry time than dry cleaning.
The type of your carpet will also influence how long it will take to dry. If yours has a construction of very dense fibers, it will take a bit longer to dry.
How dirty is your carpet? In case it is heavily soiled, more water needs to be added in order to remove all that dirt. As a direct result, the dry time will also be longer.
In case you are dealing with a lot of humidity in your area, your carpet will not dry very fast. This is because there is little room for the water to evaporate, so it will stay in your carpet for a longer period. Are you cleaning the carpet yourself, or will you contact a professional? This is another aspect that also counts when talking about the dry time of a carpet. The thing is that professionals might have various tools you may not be able to find at your local hardware store. These tools also speed up the drying process.
Drying Your Carpet
Before we dive into this topic, we need to mention that there is no specific way to dry a carpet because you have to take into account certain factors.
What works for you, may not work for me. Why is that? Let us see what aspects need to be taken into consideration.
The Cleaning Method
Do you remember that we have previously mentioned that the cleaning method has a great influence on the dry time? You should know that most types of carpets do not require any effort from your part, as they dry on their own.
If you go for the dry cleaning method, your carpets should not take over 4 hours to dry completely. If you select steam or hot water extraction, you will have to wait even 12 hours for your carpet to dry.
Hot water extraction is a great way to make your carpets spotless. Hot water gets pressurized and then sprayed deep into the fibers of your carpet which become saturated with liquid. When that water is vacuumed, it draws out deep spores, dirt, and other debris. Moreover, this method does not require you to use any harsh chemicals.
No matter how good and powerful your home carpet cleaner is, it will leave behind more water, compared to dry cleaning.
What You Can Do?
Even if you do not have to do anything extra in some cases, there are a few things you can try in order to make sure that your carpet dries completely and even faster.
1. Increase Airflow
Increasing the airflow in your home will not only help the carpets dry faster, but it will also allow all that damp air to get out of the house easier. Humidity and moisture usually tend to remain trapped indoors. Outside air that comes into contact with a wet carpet is usually less moist, so it encourages the water from the rug to evaporate faster.
In order to promote dry air increase, open your windows and interior doors. This will create good airflow and it will also allow the water from the carpet to evaporate quickly.
2. Air Dehumidification
Another thing you can do is to dehumidify the air by turning up your HVAC system. Such a unit will naturally eliminate moisture from the air inside, which will also allow your carpet to dry faster. This is a great solution, especially when the weather outside is bad, and you cannot keep the windows open.
3. Shop Vacs
You can also use a shop vac that is specifically designed to suck up any excess water. However, we need to warn you against using a normal commercial vacuum cleaner, which is meant only for dust and dry debris.
4. Increase the Cleaning Frequency
The cleaner your carpet is, the less water you will need to use to clean it. Less water also means a shorter dry time. If you perform the carpet cleaning operation more often, you will decrease not only the time required for drying but the overall process as well.
5. Hire a Carpet Cleaning Professional
As previously mentioned, cleaning professionals have many tools you may not find or want to invest in. Many of them use special vans or blowers that help remove excess water from the carpet.
This blow-drying process is quite fast. Your carpet will not be completely dry when done, but it will not take to long until you can walk on it.
Summing it up
Cleaning your carpet is not the most pleasant task. Perhaps it is because it takes too long. Also, it seems like it is taking forever to dry until you can move your furniture back into place.
As unpleasant as you might find this activity, as satisfying the results are. You will have a clean, fresh, and healthy environment to come home to. Moreover, you can shorten the dry time a bit by increasing airflow, dehumidifying the air, or using a shop vac. The choice is yours! You can even hire a carpet cleaning professional to do all the work for you.
