Carpet Cleaning Drying Times


How long will it take for my carpet to dry? is the most common question I’m asked by new clients when carrying out a survey and quotation at a clients home. Unfortunately there isn’t an easy answer as a number of factors can influence the drying time.

Firstly, the fibres in the carpet, a wool carpet can absorb up to ten times more water than a synthetic carpet, such as polypropylene, and so takes longer to dry.

Second, the air in the room. If the carpets are cleaned on a warm dry day with a breeze coming through an open window the carpets will dry very quickly. The same as clothes on a washing line on a warm breezy day dry quickly. If the outside weather is cold and wet turning on the house heating will help dry the carpets but a window must be left open to allow the moisture from the carpet to vent outside.

Finally, the equipment used. Todays professional carpet cleaning equipment have powerful vacuum motors which leave much less moisture in the carpet then DIY or Hire machines and so reduce the time taken to dry the carpets.

As you can see there are a number of factors that influence the time it takes a carpet to dry but as an average I would say about 3 to 4 hours is normal.