We’re often asked how long carpets take to dry after professional carpet cleaning.
The quick answer is between six and 12 hours.
The longer – and more accurate – answer is it depends on a number of physical and environmental factors.
The type of carpet
The type of carpet you have, mainly its fibre type and construction, influence how long it will take to dry.
A heavy wool carpet will take longer to dry than a lighter nylon carpet.
A carpet made out of polypropylene (or olefin) will dry the fastest because the synthetic fibre doesn’t absorb much moisture during the cleaning process.
How dirty the carpet is
If your carpet is very dirty more moisture will be required to flush the soil from the carpet during the cleaning process.
It will take longer to dry than a carpet that’s only lightly soiled.
Humidity level
The drier the air, the faster the carpet will dry.
Dry air allows for faster evaporation of moisture in a carpet.
If the air in your home is humid (it contains lots of moisture) it’s going to take longer for your carpet to dry.
Indoor airflow
It will take longer for your carpet to dry if the airflow in your home is still.
Moist air moves to dry air.
The drier the air and the more movement in it, the faster your carpet will dry.
How to dry carpets faster
Now that you know the conditions that influence how long your carpet will take to dry, consider these ways to speed up the drying time:
- book a warm, dry day to have your carpets professionally cleaned
- open doors and windows
- place fans around your home
- use air movers and dehumidifiers.
When can you move furniture onto carpets after cleaning?
In almost all cases, carpets should be completely dry to the touch within 12 hours.
Before that, you need to be careful not to dirty or damage your carpet.
If you walk on a carpet too soon after cleaning you may track dirt and smells into the damp fibres.
If you move furniture too soon you may dent the pile and create rust stains.
If you have to walk on the carpet, take off your shoes and wear white socks to walk across it.
If you must replace items sooner than 12 hours place waterproof protectors beneath the legs of furniture.
What our carpet cleaning process involves
So now that you know how long carpets take to dry, here’s how we clean carpets.
- Your carpet is vacuumed with our industrial power steam cleaning machine.
- Oil, grease, protein and alkaline stains are removed with a variety of stain removal products. Traffic Lane is used to clean high traffic areas.
- Carpets are cleaned with a non-residue carpet cleaning formula.
- Carpets are vacuumed, then naturally air dried.
