We finally decided that after 2 nights of the shop vac and our little fans we weren't going to get the carpet dry - plus it was starting to smell - so I called the owner of a carpet cleaning business I know. He said he was swamped but he gave me the name of another guy. Well, long story short, I finally found someone on the fourth attempt that was available, only due to a cancellation.
The people at ServePro of West Fort Wayne were there in a few hours, assessed the damage, and had the carpet and pad torn out of our basement in no time. Then they brought in heavy duty blowers and dehumidifiers and started drying the place out. I was at work but the guy in charge (Joe) called me several times just to update me. Fortunately Jane was home and she said they couldn't have been more kind and compassionate, as well as speedy. So far we can't say enough about how great they've been.
We lucked out in that we actually did get the insurance rider for drain back-up, so all we should need to pay for is the deductible. I suppose this is the cheapest way to get all new floor-cover for our approximately 1200 sq. ft. basement. Originally the entire carpet wasn't even wet, but they said we waited too long to call anyone and it just kept seeping further and further into the pad under the carpet. So they ended up ripping up everything in both rooms. I guess if we would have called them right away they may have been able to suck it up and not have to replace the carpet. Now we know. At least there was no mold growth yet.
At any rate, we feel pretty fortunate that it was just carpet. None of the furniture or anything else was damaged. They are going to let it dry over the weekend to see if the small bit of wall that was wet will dry out. So... I guess now we need to start thinking about new carpet.
Actually, perhaps the worst part of this whole ordeal - aside from the initial shock of watching water creep across the floor - has been the cat. She spent a lot of time in the basement, and she is FREAKED OUT. Every night since it's happened she will randomly come in our bedroom and start meowing her head off. I feel sorry for the poor thing, but it's getting a little ridiculous.
Here are the pics after the carpet removal:
