Water Damage Restoration
A soaked rug has a clock on it. Mold establishes in wool in roughly forty-eight hours at room temperature.
How it is done
What matters first is what kind of water it was. Clean supply-line water is the easy case. Groundwater and storm water carry soil bacteria; anything that has passed through a sewer line is a different category again and is handled with full decontamination. In every case the rug is flushed, treated, and dried under moving air rather than left to dry where it lies.
What happens if it waits
Drying a rug in place traps moisture between the rug and the floor and damages both. Wet wool is also far weaker than dry wool, so a saturated rug tears under its own weight if it is dragged.
Tell-tale sign: Any standing water at all. Do not wait to see whether it dries on its own.