How to Get Rid of an AC Flooded Carpet

Occasionally, even well-manufactured AC units flood. If the floodwater saturates your carpet, the prognosis is rarely good. Water and carpets just don't mix. Even if you manage to blot up the surface moisture, water can seep into the padding beneath the carpet, and once the hidden moisture starts to mold, it's time for the carpet to go. Removing carpet is a relatively simple process if you know how to go about it. Start as soon as possible. Breathing in carpet mold is bad for your respiratory system.

Dust mask
Work gloves
Utility knife
Pry bar
Knee pads
Mop
Adhesive remover

Instructions

- 1
  Put on a dust mask to protect your respiratory system from carpet fibers and mold.
- 2
  Pull the carpet away from the wall. Use a pry bar or the back end of a hammer to get a grip underneath the edge of the carpet. Start in the corner. Once you free an edge from the glue or tack strip holding it to the floor, use your pliers to pull the carpet up along the edge of the wall.
- 3
  Cut the carpet into 2- to 3-foot-wide strips with a utility knife. Many trash collection companies will haul away carpet, but only if it is rolled into 2- to 3-foot-wide sections. Press hard enough with the utility knife to go through the carpet and padding, but not hard enough to gouge the floor.
- 4
  Roll the carpet up from one side of the wall to the other. Pull it up from the adhesive or carpet tape holding it as you go. Tie the rolls together with twine once you're done lifting and rolling.
- 5
  Mop up any excess water from the floor.
- 6
  Lift the tack strips up with a pry bar. Place a small piece of wood beneath the bar and the floor to protect the wood.
- 7
  Strip any carpet glue off the floor with an adhesive remover. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for application methods and amounts. Make sure the product you use is safe to use on the surface the glue is attached to. Keep the area well ventilated and wear you dust mask as you work.
- 8
  Mop the floor with soap and water to clean up any residual adhesive remover.

How to Pull the Carpet Away From the Wall

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Floor Repairs