do i have to wait till the carpet dryes before i put the furniture back onto the carpet? or can i put the furniture right back on it? if not how long does it take to dry?
I had my carpet cleaned professionally and needed to wait until it was dry to put the furniture back on it, if not it may cause mold. I waited 8 hrs.
If you clean it yourself TONIGHT with a rental machine, I'd say it will should be dry by tomorrow night since it will probably be sometime in the wee hours of the morning when you finish cleaning it. If you have it cleaned by a professional tomorrow morning, you can leave the furniture in the room and they will put pads under the carpet to protect your carpet while it dries and it will dry in about half the time to dry.
you can put things back on a wet carpet. However there are a few things you need to watch out for. Bare metal,(check bottom of furniture legs for metal caps)it will rust and leave a rust stain on the carpet. any redish color wood. ie. mahogony, cherry, red oak will leave a stain on the carpet, that cannot be removed. any boxes or papers with ink on them can transfer into the carpet. These are the most common problems. By blocking the furniture, you can prevent these problems. Blocking the furniture is simply placing something between the wet carpet and what will cause a stain. Plastic, saran wrap, wax paper, styrofoam all work. Even ordinary paper will do. Personally I use wax paper, its cheap and easy to use, with no mess. When I clean carpets It ussually takes 4-6 hours to dry. Professionals using portables ussually take 8-10 hours to dry. doing it yourself shouldn't take more ythen 12 hours to dry. If it does you're leaving the carpet too wet, spend more time vacuuming.
You should wait until it is thoroughly dry. If you have to move furniture back on, slip something (like wax paper or plastic wrap) under the legs first.
