The leak occured because there was a leak connecting the hose to the washing machine in the kitchen, so I'm assuming this means the water was clean.

I'd be eternally grateful for any help in this situation.

Stop panicking.

It apparently was not a catastrophic, muddy flood. Just a fresh water leak. A short one at that.

The carpet and the pad will dry out in time. The stain can be cleaned. Mold is only an issue, if the water leak is a persistent one, for example a slow leak that you don't detect for months or a leaky roof that drenches the wall cavity regularly etc.

I would just wait a few weeks and let it dry out by itself. Then rent a shampoo vacuum and clean the carpet.

My basement flooded in June (14 inches of rain).

Anyway, I saved my wall to wall carpet (lost the pad)by running two fans and a dehumidifier for two weeks straight. You can let it dry by itself, but I think you are taking a chance on mold setting in and becoming a serious issue.

Perhaps you should call a few flooring companies and get their advice?

Good luck!

SG

I think I'm freaked out because I did call a few companies, and their advice and procedures just blew me away. From what I got, this type of stuff should by handled by the insurance I don't have because it can be so expensive and complicated. The water damage companies were talking about drilling holes, and putting special wires or something throught the holes to suck up moisture. And, they were talking about special moisture detection instruments. Obviously, they couldn't tell me the price over the phone without having seen the damage, but ther ballpark estimates were just incredibly expensive.

I think the carpet can be saved, but the padding needs to be replaced. But, I'm concerned about moisture that seeped through the padding to the wood below the padding.

And, about renting a dehumidifier, why not just buy one from Target or something?

In our office reception room the aquarium sprang a leak over the weekend a month ago. My husband who is an Industrial Hygienist and is called in to handle mold, mildew,etc.in an industrial setting, immediately got some big fans, an industrial dehumidifier, and lifted up the edges of the carpeting so it could dry. It was still attached though. We sponged up what we could. Later we had to make a hole in the wall which had to be replastered and repainted. There is no smell even though it was aquarium water, and you can't tell where it happened.
Are you sure you don't have homeowners insurance? Are you a tenant? Most mortgage holders will require homeowners insurance.
By the way the Dehumidifiers at Target are not the big ones we used. I was amazed at how much water they sucked up, even after two days.

home owners insurance won't cover a leak from a poor connection on a hose, MAYBE if the pipe itself leaked, but not the hose. most have a exclusion for this.

WEll, before I started ripping up carpet and padding I think I would use either a shop vac or a rug shampooer. They can get a lot of moisture out of the carpet. Then with fans going you may be able to solve this problem with a lot less trouble. I don't promise this would work but it may be worth a try. Best of luck!!!

I second the advice to borrow/rent a carpet shampoo machine and use it suck the water out of the carpet. You will be amazed how well that will work.