How To Soak Up Water From The Floor

For safety reasons, you don’t want water or any liquid to stay on the floor – it’s a recipe for a fall hazard.

But also, if you have wood floors, you don’t want any liquid to sit on that surface for too long – it may warp the wood.

But what if you have a leak in a pipe or a crack from an outer wall and you end up with a flooded floor – that requires a lot more than just a few minutes with a mop and a bucket.

How Do You Mop A Flooded Floor?

Here are the steps on how to mop up or remove water from a flooded floor. This if assuming that you have stopped the source of the flooding.

1. Make sure to take photos beforehand for your insurance claim. Even if you do not think you may be putting in for a claim, take the photos anyway, just in case.

2. If the water is several inches deep – it’s best to use a large bucket to scoop up the water and carry it away. But, make sure that you will be able to lift and carry that bucket. Remember, the larger the bucket, the more water it will hold which means the heavier it will be.

And make no mistake, if you use this method you will be making many trips back and forth with that bucket full of water.

3. A better method would be to use a wet-dry vacuum. If you do not have one – you can rent one from a home maintenance store in your area.

4. If the water is simply too deep, then you may have to call in a flood restoration service company like Servpro.

5. As the water level gets lower and lower you may find mud and debris and you may have to use a shovel to remove as much as you possibly can.

6. Once the water has been removed – you will then have to assess the damage done and what needs to be replaced.

Of course, if you only have a slight amount of water on the floor from a cracked pipe or perhaps from an appliance such as a washing machine, dishwasher or water heater then you may just be able to clean up that water simply with a mop.

What Soaks Up Water In Carpet?

If you experience a flood in a room that is carpeted – the cleanup process will more than likely involve dealing with mold issues.

1. If there’s a small spill or even if the spill is a gallon of liquid – you can clean that up by using a dry towel. Of course, depending on the amount of water you may have to use more than just one towel.

Place the towel on the wet carpet and gently wipe and slightly press down. When the towel is completely wet, rinse the water out of it and use a second dry towel. Keep repeating this until the soaked carpet no longer completely wet.

2. You can now use a vacuum cleaner to try to absorb the rest of any water that is remaining.

3. The 3rd step is to use a hair dryer to further try to dry the wet area on the carpet. Be careful not to cause any damage to the carpet by holding the dryer too close to it.

4. Ideally, you want to also dry the material and area underneath the carpet. This may be difficult if it’s a wall to wall carpet but of course, if you can lift it and dry the area underneat – that would be the best case scenario.

5. A dehumidifier in the room may help to speed up the drying process and may help to limit any issues with mold.

6. Once the area has been dried, if you smell any slight mold or unpleasant odor we strongly recommend that you have a flood restoration service come in to professionally clean and try to restore your carpeting so that you will not have to be breating in any mold or mildew.

If you have any questions about water damage on your floors, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-443-8229. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.