Water moves fast and sinks deep. Within minutes of a burst pipe, washing machine overflow or storm leak, water passes through your carpet into the underlay — and from there into skirting boards, wall bases and subfloor. Within 24–48 hours, mould starts growing. What you do in the first hour matters more than anything a professional does on day three.
1. Stop the water
Obvious, but under stress people skip it. Turn off the washing machine tap, the mains water at the meter, or block the external source as best you can. Restoration can't outrun an active leak.
2. Kill the power to affected areas
If water is anywhere near power points, floor-level cords or appliances, switch off the affected circuits at the switchboard. Never step on soaked carpet near electrical outlets until the power is off. Safety beats carpet, every time.
3. Get furniture off the wet carpet
Two reasons: furniture feet wick water upwards and are ruined from below, and timber and metal legs leave permanent rust and dye stains on wet carpet within hours. Move what you can; put foil or plastic under what you can't.
4. Remove what water you can
Towels, a mop, a wet/dry vacuum if you own one — every litre you remove now is a litre that doesn't soak deeper. Open windows and get air moving. What you shouldn't do: use a regular vacuum cleaner (electrocution risk), or run heaters directly on the carpet, which accelerates mould in the layers underneath while the surface feels dry.
5. Call a professional restoration team — today, not Monday
This is genuinely time-critical. Professional truck-grade extraction removes water from the underlay, not just the surface; moisture meters find the water you can't see in walls and subfloor; and industrial air movers and dehumidifiers dry the structure to verified standards before mould takes hold. Treated within 24–48 hours, most clean-water floods are fully recoverable — carpet, underlay and all.
For your insurance claim
Photograph everything before and during your clean-up, keep damaged items rather than binning them, and note the time and cause of the leak. We provide documentation and reports for insurers as part of every restoration job — it makes claims noticeably smoother.
Common questions
Is wet carpet ruined?
Usually not — if it's dealt with quickly. Clean-water flooding treated within 24–48 hours has an excellent recovery rate. Delay is what kills carpet.
What's the difference between clean and dirty water flooding?
A burst supply pipe is clean water. Water from drains or rising floodwater is contaminated and needs full sanitisation — tell us the source when you call so we bring the right treatment.
Do you really answer 24/7?
Yes — call 0493 122 978 any hour. Water damage is the one job where waiting until morning genuinely costs you money.