Upholstery Cleaning After A Flood
Posted on: 3 October 2018
Nothing is worse than going through a flood. When the water recedes, all that is left is destruction. Silt and bacteria cover every surface, and your mattresses and upholstered furniture are filthy. Obviously, a professional water damage restoration team must be called in. They will use their powerful equipment to extract the water from everything, but if you want to save your interior furnishings, you'll need a professional upholstery cleaning company like One Step Ahead Rug & Carpet Cleaning. Here's what to expect.
Mattresses
If your mattresses were floating in water, they may not be able to be saved. However, since most mattresses are elevated on a box spring and the frame of the bed itself, they will probably be able to be cleaned. Hopefully you also had the mattress encased in a zippered, waterproof mattress cover, which will have protected it even more.
A professional upholstery cleaner can pick up where the water damage restoration team left off by extracting any moisture left over. Once that is done, they can use their cleaning tools and detergents as well as disinfectants to make sure the mattress is clean. Once that is done, the mattress will need to be thoroughly dried before being placed in a zippered mattress cover and dressed in linens to be used again.
Furniture
Living room couches, loveseats, recliners, occasional chairs, and dining room chairs will all likely show signs of water damage. Sometimes, the damage will be restrained to just the bottom of the piece of furniture, but if the flood waters were severe, they could be severely damaged. Additionally, some fabrics, such as silk, may be stained by the water. As with the mattresses, every piece you own may not be savable, but thankfully, many upholstered pieces of furniture have removable foam cushions and zippered cushion covers. This will make it easier for a professional upholster to fully restore each piece. The cushions can be unzipped, the foam thrown away, and the covers washed. Upholstery cleaning equipment can be used to clean the skirt and the furniture frame, and then new foam inserts can be used to put it all back together again.
Accessories
Window treatments and area rugs are also damaged by flood waters. Draperies and curtains are not often machine washable and therefore must be cleaned like any other type of upholstered furniture. Area rugs must also be cleaned as well as disinfected. The treatment methods will depend on whether the rug is synthetic or a natural fiber, such as wool.
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