Posted by Jim Locker on January 16, 2001 at 10:36:49:
You should suck all the water out of the carpet and pad that you can. A commercial carpet cleaner with the head weighted down with bricks does a pretty good job.
Then, crank up the heat and on a daily basis come to the place and open the windows for half an hour to exchange the humid air. Of course the dehumidifier will help too, but it is more costly to run.
Do not depend on a dehumidifier to dry the carpet. Suck the water out, and don’t wait.
You will probably have a lot of mildew in the place to contend with after you have dried it out. Check inside all kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and clean as necessary. Also in the furnace ducts and around baseboards.
Once it is dried out and cleaned up with disinfectants, you should be OK.
There will be a stage where the carpet is almost but not quite dry. At this time, it will stink quite badly - smelling like wet fur. Don’t worry about it. In a couple days, when it is completely dry, the odor will vanish.