Massive spill in my second floor grow room! What do i do!?!?

So I left one of my hoses unhooked and it pumped roughly 15 gallons of water into my carpeted closet . I checked with the neighbors below me and they haven't noticed anything leaking through the ceiling. I'm drying the carpet with grow lights and fans. Is there anything else I can do? Will all that water that soaked into the floor cause mold and other problems? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yikes thats a lot of water....
is there underlay under your carpet? (that foamy stuff)
if so, I'd pull the carpet to help it dry.
would help you get a look at your floorboards and make sure there isn't too much damage there
If you don't do it now, you may end up having to do it later anyway once you start smelling mould

Rent a carpet drying fan put it under the carpet in the spilled area.

Run a dehumidifier in there now and for long after the carpet feels dry. You need to remove the residual moisture from the subfloor.

I pulled the carpet up and that foamy stuff underneath is drenched too. Anything I can do besides dry all that stuff out and pray that nothing gets to moldy downstairs?

uhhwhat said:

So I left one of my hoses unhooked and it pumped roughly 15 gallons of water into my carpeted closet . I checked with the neighbors below me and they haven't noticed anything leaking through the ceiling. I'm drying the carpet with grow lights and fans. Is there anything else I can do? Will all that water that soaked into the floor cause mold and other problems? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Well if you dry it good!!! and you should be fine. Keep those fans going. If you have a dehumitifier that will help too.

Wolverine97 said:

Run a dehumidifier in there now and for long after the carpet feels dry. You need to remove the residual moisture from the subfloor.

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Luckily I can move my setup into my roommates closet for now. I have an extra 600W and 400W light that I plan to place close to the floor along with fans. Any idea how long I should run that stuff before I put the carpet back in?

uhhwhat said:

Is there anything else I can do? Will all that water that soaked into the floor cause mold and other problems? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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get your hands on a wet vacum cleaner and suck it out.

uhhwhat said:

Luckily I can move my setup into my roommates closet for now. I have an extra 600W and 400W light that I plan to place close to the floor along with fans. Any idea how long I should run that stuff before I put the carpet back in?

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till its dry

I pulled out the carpet and the foamy stuff and threw it on the roof to dry. Now I'm running 1000W of light and a couple fans on the wood stuff beneath. Someone mentioned I should keep that going even after it feels dry. Any guesses on how long I should do that for?

I would give it at least a week or more before replacing the carpet. With that much water it will be trapped there for quite a while if it didn't leak thru into the room below.

uhhwhat said:

Luckily I can move my setup into my roommates closet for now. I have an extra 600W and 400W light that I plan to place close to the floor along with fans. Any idea how long I should run that stuff before I put the carpet back in?

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Probably about a week, but I'd say 4-5 days minimum. Any additional heat and ventilation you can supply will only help.

Wolverine97 said:

Probably about a week, but I'd say 4-5 days minimum. Any additional heat and ventilation you can supply will only help.

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After pulling the carpets and running lights/fans on the wood it now feels bone dry. The water seeped past the wall to the carpet in the next room. So it seems like the water spread out more than in went downward. Anyway, are you saying that I should keep everything running for the next few days because it will draw moisture out from deeper down in the floor? Thanks for the help.

and next time put pond liner down or something with edges so any mishaps are contained. carpet should be removed anyhow. i would check under floorboards to see if there is sitting water on the ceiling below. good luck.

uhhwhat said:

After pulling the carpets and running lights/fans on the wood it now feels bone dry. The water seeped past the wall to the carpet in the next room. So it seems like the water spread out more than in went downward. Anyway, are you saying that I should keep everything running for the next few days because it will draw moisture out from deeper down in the floor? Thanks for the help.

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Yes, that's what I"m saying. There is water still held in the wood, it takes a time to dissipate. I'd at least give it a couple more days.

spliffendz said:

and next time put pond liner down or something with edges so any mishaps are contained. carpet should be removed anyhow. i would check under floorboards to see if there is sitting water on the ceiling below. good luck.

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The carpet might have saved me since it absorbed so much of the water. Do you think I should keep it in as a back up to whatever waterproofing I put on top of it?

if you have sheet rock you will wanna keep an eye on that too. sheet rock absorbs water like a mutha fucka. If you have base boards remove them and see if you can see water absorbing up your sheet rock. if so, drill a few 1/2 in holes at the very bottom of the sheetrock about 12 inches apart, and keep air flowing at the holes to dry the wall board. honestly man heat and light will encourage growth of organisms and mold i would get rid of the lights. a lot of air and a dehumidifier will work the best.. Ventilation! also if you have any seepage or standing water, vacuum it all with a shop vac first. I did water restoration for two years man dealing with flooded rooms and buildings.. sorry to hear this happened.!!!

You have a wet/dry shop vac or know someone who does? Those things suck up water fast. They spray with Lysol every day until very dry and a few days later. That should stop mold from forming.

zazahzle said:

if you have sheet rock you will wanna keep an eye on that too. sheet rock absorbs water like a mutha fucka. If you have base boards remove them and see if you can see water absorbing up your sheet rock. if so, drill a few 1/2 in holes at the very bottom of the sheetrock about 12 inches apart, and keep air flowing at the holes to dry the wall board.

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Are you talking about the sheetrock in the walls below the grow room? Those are in my neighbors garage so I don't really have access to them.

For now everything I can see is dry: a 6x7 foot area of carpet and underlay that was all drenched, as well as the wood boards that were underneath. My plan is to just keep the carpet out and keep fans running as well as spraying lysol on everything. Should that be good enough?

go to home depot and rent a carpet cleaner... its heavy duty vacuum will suck most of the water out.???? or if you have a vacuum that can suck water.