Its been about 24 hours since we cleaned the carpet ourselves with a rented machine but the carpet is still wet in places. Should we give it more time? Its cool in the basement, but hot and humid outside. I'm guessing opening windows is not a good idea?
This is bad news. You are going to get mold. I just learned about this the hard way. Get a fan or blower to speed up the drying. Have a pro check the pad for mold.
not a good idea to open the wondow
That is quite bad actually. Remember mold and mildew take 72 hours to grow. A good idea is to turn on some fans to try to get the carpet and padding to dry. However it probably won't until you get whatever is left in the pad to be extracted. You're going to have to hire a professional carpet cleaner to extract the water that was left over. Find a truck mounted carpet cleaning company in your area and ask if they have a waterclaw. A waterclaw would be best for spot extraction. It focuses on removing the moisture that has seeped into the padding. They can also use a wand. This service will usually run your from $70 - $150 depending on your location and what damage has already been done to the carpet. I'm sorry there is no easy way around this. But you want to get that water extracted asap before it causes serious damage to your home and you have to get the carpet and padding placed.
