This is the number one question that we get in our office. The second most common question is, can I walk on them right away?
The answer to the both of those questions can vary, but the short answer is we usually estimate between six and 12 hours depending on level of soiling and environmental conditions like climate and ventilation. We don’t recommend walking on it until it is mostly dry due to wicking.
The long answer is a little more involved and if you need to know the exact dry time for your carpet, you need to consider the below factors:
8 Factors That Affect Carpet Drying Time
- How soiled was the carpet before the cleaning? Carpets that are regularly maintained don’t collect a high amount of dirt (improperly maintained carpet will attract dirt faster, and the longer you go between cleanings obviously the more dirt will collect) and thus don’t need as much cleanser or water usage as a carpet that is dirtier!
- How old is your carpet? Newer carpets don’t absorb water as readily for two reasons . One: the original manufacturer protective coding is still intact, which repels water and allows us to remove more water during the cleaning process. Two: newer carpet has less fiber damage. It is much more difficult to get good suction and lift on carpet that is uneven and has fiber distortion.
- Do you have a lot of staining in your carpet? Our technicians need to use more water when they are treating a spot than when they were just doing a routine maintenance cleaning.
- Is your flooring even? When we extract water, we usually extract about 60% of the water that goes in and the rest is left to evaporate . If you have low spots in your flooring, the water will tend to take longer to dry in those low spots.
- How thic is your carpet? The thicker, the carpet, the more difficult our machinery has to penetrate deep into the fibers. If you had a particularly dirty and very thick carpet, your drying time will be longer.
- Is your carpet wool os synthetic? Wool carpet takes a lot longer to dry.
- What is the level of humidity in the air outside? And what about inside your home? Generally, the level of humidity inside will rise and fall depending on what’s outside, and if you have a particularly rainy or damp day, you can expect that your carpets are going to take longer to dry. For example, we don’t like to clean very dirty carpets in Mill Valley at the end of the day because it gets too damp at night for them to dry properly!
- Do you have proper air movement and ventilation? You can always speed up the drying time by increasing airflow. Turn on a fan and open a window during the day, making sure to close it at night when the humidity rises.
So all these factors will contribute to a difference in the drying time on your carpeting. If the carpet is not particularly soiled and has been well-maintained, you have a sunny dry day, and not a lot of spots, you can expect it to dry to the touch in about 4 to 6 hours. It is also important not to mistake a damp carpet for a wet one. If you’re concerned about the dryness of your carpet, put a paper towel on the floor and press it down with your foot. If it comes up wet then you know you’re still have a ways to go, if it does not become saturated then you know that there is a small amount of moisture left that Makes the carpet cool to the touch. It is also important to know that there is a natural amount of moisture that remains in the carpet, and that wool carpet has a higher natural moisture content than a synthetic, so it will feel damp or cool a lot longer.
We don’t become concerned with too much moisture in Carpeting unless we are past the 12 hour point and your paper towel still comes up wet. If this is your case, then you should call your professional carpet cleaner right away!
Now to address the second question of: Can I walk on my carpet right after it is cleaned?
There are two things that happen when you walk on wet carpet.
- The thing that we want to prevent the most is called wicking. This is what happens when you press down on clean carpeting and pull up the water that remains under the pad or at the very base of the fibers. This water will have any remaining dirt in it. By stepping on it, you pull it up into the fiber and make it dirty again. If you wait until the carpet is mostly dry, that residue will stay at the bottom (rather than be absorbed back into the fiber) and can be vacuumed out. Remember that our machines simply can’t penetrate to the very base of your carpet fiber - so while your carpeting will be significantly cleaner than it was before we arrived, we aren’t able to remove 100% of the soil. Also, non-soluble soil cannot be removed by wet cleaning - this is why we require vacuuming before the cleaning. Vacuuming once we have separated the soils from the fiber, and it has dried - is also extremely important and very effective.
- The other thing that we want to avoid is any soil brought in from foot traffic sticking to the wet carpets. Dirt will travel from a dry area to a wet area very happily. Think about it if you walk on a dry floor (with your shoes on from outside) versus a wet floor. The wet floor will look dirty immediately, the dry floor may not soil - most of the soil will stay on your shoes.
In summary:
Wall to wall carpet drying time depends on a number of variables.. In ideal situations, you’re looking at a 4 to 6 Hour dry time.
In the most extreme up to 12 hours until your carpet only feels damp. Damp is OK, wet is not.
Normal is about eight hours. You should avoid walking on your carpets until they feel damp rather than wet.
Happy cleaning!
