About 10 years ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited by Host to their HQ in Racine WI for fun and frolics along with some extra instruction on Dry Extraction Carpet Cleaning. They were honest enough to say that the Host System was capable of cleaning all carpet and soiling types, but there would be occasions where an alternative system would be quicker and hence, more cost effective. It was something we were all aware of, but it was refreshing to hear it.
One of the features they had in their training facility was a small area to demonstrate the use of Host Sponges in a floodwater situation. They flooded the carpeted area with copious amounts of water. Allowed a suitable time for total penetration of the carpet and underlay, then vacuum extracted. They then took a LOT of sponges and covered the entire area to, I think, at least 2 inches thick. When we returned the next morning, the sponges had that patchy wet/dry appearance. By the end of that day, all the sponges were dry. So was the carpet and underlay. A tip from Host was, that if you are involved with maintenance as well as flood restoration, save the old sponges from your maint. clean. and use those to save on costs. I used this drying technique several years ago on a lounge wool Wilton on floor boards that was flooded and VERY tight on the gripper. Madam wasn't insured and didn't want the carpet to shrink. I used 2 boxes of new sponges after vacuum extraction and it worked.
