The protector will dry to the touch on a dry carpet in about 15 to 20 minutes. A moist carpet will take 40 to 60 minutes to dry. If you really do an over kill and leave the carpet really wet, use twice as much protector as you should you can increase your drying time to 10 hours or better. The key is to dry the carpet well so it will be dry in less than 30 minutes. Then apply the protector. On a dry carpet the protector will be dry to the touch in 15 to 20 minutes. It will be at it’s maximum strength in about 4 hours. A water based protector will take hours to dry even on a dry carpet.