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Remove Water Damage Padding | DIY Water Damage

If your water damaged padding is absolutely soaked and the water is still puddling, you may want to extract this excess water with your wet/dry vacuum. Keep vacuuming the padding until it is no longer dripping wet and you can manage to lift it without major effort.

 

Cut and/or tear the water damaged padding into manageable pieces. You will probably need a small scraper to break the glue bond between the padding and sub flooring. When using a scraper, be very careful of the tack strip, as many carpet installers tend to glue the padding down around the perimeter. Since you have extracted the majority of the water, the sections should not be excruciatingly heavy.

 

Use heavy duty contractor garbage bags to hold and ultimately dispose of the water damaged padding. I do not recommend using standard garbage bags, as these easily rip and tear under the weight. This often causes undo frustration and a big mess throughout the other areas of your house!

 

Hint: Don't be afraid to use a boatload of bags, as it will distribute the weight of the flood damaged padding over many trips.

 

Disinfecting and Deodorizing the Sub flooring:

Sweep and throw away any and all debris that are still residing on your flooring.



Fill your mop bucket with either your disinfectant or deodorizer. Do not fill it up with both at the same time! Neither you nor I know what kind of chemical reaction could occur if both were mixed together. If using a concentrated product such as OdoBan™, you will need to read the instructions on the packaging and dilute accordingly. Mop your sub flooring using a liberal amount of product, but do not re-flood your area! If you are using two different products to disinfect and deodorize, you must now repeat the process with your other product.
 

 

If you're feeling that this whole DIY Water Damage thing is all a bit over your head or just seems a bit too tough, don't be afraid to find a water damage company and use the links on this website.