What to do with a rug after a flooded basement

Right now

1. Get the rug off the wet floor.
2. Unroll it flat somewhere dry, or drape it over something so air reaches the back. Do not fold it.
3. Do not put it in the sun, do not run a space heater on it, and do not try to hose it off in the driveway; you will move the dye and set the mildew.
4. Call. Water‑damaged rugs are picked up the same week and washed ahead of routine work.

What water does, day by day

Within hours the dyes begin to migrate, especially reds and navies on ivory. Within two or three days in a Long Island basement in summer, mildew starts on the back. Within about a week, a cotton foundation kept wet begins to lose its strength: dry rot, which is permanent. A rug that dried slowly in place is often stiff, smelly, bled and cracking by the time someone calls. All of that is preventable if the rug reaches the plant early.

Clean, grey and black water

Clean water (pipe, appliance, rain through a window) is washed with a stabilizer and dried fast; excellent results if caught early. Grey water (washing machine, sump overflow) gets a sanitizing step. Black water (sewage, storm surge) is assessed case by case; valuable wool rugs can often be sanitized and washed, while jute and sisal and low‑value rugs usually are not worth it, and we say so.

What the plant does

Foundation tested for rot, dyes tested for movement, everything photographed; sanitizing where needed; a cold stabilizing wash that stops and partly reverses bleeding; rinse until clear and odor‑free; centrifuge and fast flat drying so the rug is dry in a day or two rather than a week. The pad is almost always finished; replace it.

Insurance

We provide photographs, a written condition report and an itemized invoice for your claim. We cannot advise on coverage; your adjuster can. Do not throw the rug away before the adjuster has seen it or the photographs.

Where it happens

The canal and bayfront streets of Merrick, Bellmore and Freeport, Massapequa, Long Beach and Island Park, and Lindenhurst, Babylon and Bay Shore after storms; finished basements everywhere after sump and appliance failures.