Lifting and drying hardwood and carpet from underneath after creek or storm water has soaked them.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Hardwood and carpet drying is the process of lifting flooring, drying the pad and subfloor beneath, and returning the floor to a dry standard. In Chico, calls are answered 24/7, the crew decides which flooring can be saved, and it logs the readings until the subfloor reaches its target.
Hardwood and carpet sit on top of a structure that holds water. When water reaches them, it soaks the finish, the wood or the fibers, and then the pad and the subfloor beneath. Surface drying does not reach that layer, so the floor can look almost normal while the material underneath stays wet. Lifting the floor is often the only way to dry it properly.
Creek water and storm water bring silt, and silt that settles between boards or in carpet fibers holds moisture. The drying has to clear the silt as well as the water. A crew that lifts a floor finds out how far the water went and whether the boards can be kept, and it records that before it does anything else.
If hardwood or carpet has soaked, do not walk on it more than you must. Call (833) 490-5225. Calls are answered 24/7, and a crew is sent as fast as one is available. No arrival time is promised for any call.
Hardwood can sometimes be saved if the water was brief and the subfloor is dried from underneath before the boards cup or swell further. Boards that have cupped badly, crowned or delaminated are often replaced.
Wood absorbs water and swells, and the boards often cup at the edges as the moisture is drawn in. When the floor is dried from below and allowed to settle, some boards return to their shape. The timing matters, because boards that stay wet for a long time can set in the cupped position.
The crew explains the outlook once it has read the boards and the subfloor. A board that has delaminated or split is not saved, and a board that has moved but is sound may be reset after drying.
Carpet holds water in its pad and backing, and the pad sits on the subfloor, which holds moisture as well. Surface drying does not reach them, so the carpet can feel dry while the pad stays wet.
Carpet pad is a dense layer that soaks up water and releases it slowly. A carpet that looks dry on top can have a wet pad beneath it, and that pad can hold moisture against the subfloor for days.
The crew lifts the carpet at the tack strip and the seams, removes the pad where it is soaked and dries the subfloor directly. The carpet is then assessed for drying or replacement.
Silt holds moisture and is hard to clean from carpet fibers and the gaps between boards. The crew removes what it can, records the silt and dries the material beneath, because silt left in place keeps the floor damp.
Silt that settles in carpet or between boards is a fine layer that holds water after the surface looks dry. It also traps the moisture beneath it, so the floor stays damp even as the air becomes dry.
Where silt cannot be removed to a clean standard, the crew recommends replacement of the affected material. The recommendation is explained and recorded before any replacement is made.
Price moves with the area of floor lifted, the number of boards or carpet panels that must be handled, the amount of pad removed and the time the subfloor takes to dry. The price is explained and approved on site before any work begins.
The first factor is the area of floor that must be lifted and dried. The second is the number of boards and panels that must be handled and numbered, since careful handling takes time. The third is the amount of pad and subfloor that must be dried.
No figure is given on this page. The crew explains each factor for your floor and states the scope and the price before work starts. Replacing flooring that cannot be saved is a separate job.
Limit walking on soaked hardwood or carpet, keep furniture off it, and photograph the floor before anything is moved. Do not run a steam cleaner, because it pushes water and silt deeper into the subfloor.
Walking on a soaked floor can damage the boards and push water into the subfloor. Keep furniture and rugs off the wet area, and move the most valuable items to a dry room.
Photograph the floor from several angles before anything is moved, and keep any loose boards or sections. The crew will ask to see them, and they can help the insurer assess the loss.
Do not run an electric steam cleaner or a wet vacuum on a floor with live outlets nearby until the power is confirmed off. Wear gloves and a dust mask when lifting carpet or boards with silt, and keep children and pets off the wet floor. Take care with nails and tack strips when lifting carpet, because they can cut.
The technician checks the finish, the boards or the carpet, and the pad and subfloor beneath. It notes the type of flooring and the extent of the wet area, and it decides which sections can be dried in place and which must be removed.
Carpet that has soaked is lifted at the tack strip and the seams, and pad that has taken water is removed. Carpet is often easier to dry once it is off the floor, and the crew stores it so it can be assessed.
Hardwood boards are lifted in the wet area where the readings show the subfloor is holding moisture. Lifting is kept to the affected section, and each board is numbered so it can be returned to its place if it dries well.
Air movers are set across the subfloor and under the lifted boards, and dehumidifiers pull moisture from the air in the room. The subfloor is read until it reaches the dry target in the scope.
Boards and carpet that dried well are reset, and the rest are replaced in a separate step. The log records the readings and the decisions, and the homeowner gets the record of what was saved and what was not.
Hardwood that sat in water for a short time often cups at the edges as it swells. Once dried from underneath and clamped to flatten, it can sometimes return to its shape. The crew explains the outlook after the readings and the drying have settled.
Carpet and pad that soaked up water hold it against the subfloor and the tack strip. Pad is usually removed, and carpet is dried or replaced depending on the stain and silt it carries. The subfloor is dried to the target before any new pad goes down.
Heavy silt in carpet fibers or between boards makes the drying slower and the cleaning harder. The crew removes what it can and records the silt, and it recommends replacement where the silt cannot be removed to a clean standard.
A crew is dispatched as fast as one is available, and you approve the estimate before any work starts.
Hardwood and carpet in a Chico house that takes creek or storm water is exposed to silt as well as water, and silt changes how the floor dries. The crew lifts the flooring to see where the silt has gone, rather than relying on the surface.
After the Park Fire began in Bidwell Park on July 24, 2024, storm water that carried more sediment could leave a finer silt on floors near the entry. The crew records the silt as it finds it, because it determines how much cleaning and drying the floor needs.
The County's flow estimates describe the Five-Mile diversion at the city scale and are not a statement about any floor. The floor is assessed on its own condition and the water it took.
Drying walls, floors and framing to a measured dry standard after a water loss in a Chico house.
Water from a dishwasher, washer or refrigerator line that spreads under hard floors before it is found.
Extracting storm water that entered a Chico house through doors, vents and gaps, then drying the structure.
Pumping creek water out of a Chico house before it soaks the walls, floors and subfloor.
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Not always. Boards that are dried from underneath before they set can sometimes return to shape. The crew reads the boards and explains the outlook once the drying has settled.
Leave it to the crew. Carpet tack strips can cut, and lifting it wrongly can damage the pad and the subfloor. Photograph the carpet first and keep any sample.
Water in the subfloor leaves slowly, and carpet pad or boards can hold moisture against it. The crew reads the subfloor and runs the drying until it reaches the dry target.
Sometimes, if the water was clean and the silt is light. Heavy silt or soaked pad usually means replacement. The crew says which it recommends and why.
The policy and the insurer decide what is covered. Keep the photographs, the readings and the crew's written scope, and let the insurer see the floor before anything is removed.
It runs until the subfloor reaches the dry target in the scope, which often takes longer than the surface suggests. No finish date is promised on any call.