We all want that beautiful clean carpet but we also want to be able to use the carpets soon as possible after the cleaning process.  So how long does it really take for carpets to dry after your cleaning?  What are the disadvantages if the carpets are wet much longer?  The drying time has a lot of factors involved depending on many things.  Here are some tips that might help you along the way.

Weather & air movement has a huge factor:

  • Drying times are greatly affected by humidity and air temperature in your home.  The less humid it is outside the shorter the drying time inside your homes.
  • Keeping your air conditioner on will definitely help with the drying process. Also, cleaning carpet on cooler dryer days is recommended for faster drying times and can save money by not running air conditioning.
  • Use your ceiling fans to circulate the air. Moving air will aid in faster drying times.
  • Use of box fans or stand fans will move air around and will decrease drying times also.
  • Opening doors and windows will help circulate the air and decrease drying times greatly. Even opening windows a few inches even in winter will help get out condensation and humidity and aid in faster drying times.

Material/fiber of your carpets:

  • Berber and other types of loop carpeting may take slightly longer to dry than cut pile carpets.  Cut pile carpets the moisture is released through the tops of the carpets for faster drying times. Berber is a loop and does not dry as fast as your regular cut pile.

Technician/machine:

  • Carpet cleaning machines – and operators – vary in their ability to control wetting, to properly extract solution and soil, and to implement drying procedures both during and after the cleaning.
  • A professional carpet cleaner who is experienced in the industry can have a huge factor on the drying process how he handles his equipment.

Longer the carpet is damp it can have these adverse effects:

  • Causes more soiling on your carpets where old stains can reappear. (This is called wicking)
  • Can cause more odor from pets if not treated properly.  (Pet stains and odor must be treated with enzymes and bacteria causing products or your carpet cleaning will not work with the general carpet cleaning.)
  • Your furniture legs will leave stains on the carpets being too damp for too long of a time.
  • You and your loved ones would not be able to use your carpets for a whole day.
  • Sometimes the carpet is too damp it can cause some rippling in the carpets. (Some cases it could be from carpets not being installed properly in the first place.)

Your drying time is very important as long as your carpet cleaner knows what he is doing.  It all boils down to his expertise and experience in the field.  Most carpet cleaners if he knows what he is doing, the drying time should take 2 or 3 hours max.  His equipment should extract all the water back out of the carpets as he cleans the carpets.  Making your drying time much faster and more convenient for your family.