My basemnet carpet got wet after some flooding rains. Now it is starting to smell How do I clean it?
Question:This is a basement room that has recently been done over. We used that water lock stuff but we got moisture anyway. These were some huge downpours. I am afraid of getting or having mold. It kind of smells like an old sock! YUK!
Answers:
You can't clean it. Throw it out let things dry out, clean with bleach, and replace carpet. I have tried all the tricks, and trust me they don't work. You are setting yourself up for a nasty mold problem. The last time I rented a commercial steam cleaner/vac. One month, and the smell was back.
SORRY, but prob. molded or soured you must create air gap or flow of air or heat to suffiecently __dry to kill the spores
you can get a wet vac and soak it all up it will take alot of time but also you want to air it out as much as you can you might need to go ahead and replace the carpet nothing smells worse than wet carpet.
1st, use a good shop vac and go over the whole carpet a few times, 2nd, sprinkle baking soda evenly on the carpet and leave for at least 2 hrs. to absorb some more of the moisture, than use the shop vac again. put some fans on the floor on high to help dry the carpet, turn them off before bed, start again in the a.m. this should do the trick. my water heater burst, and that's what I did. no moisture or smell now.
First, shampoo the carpet well with a highly concentrated Lysol/Boric acid solution and vacuum all the moisture out. Then, if you can, lift the carpet and prop it up so that air can reach underneath. Pour gobs of boric acid and powdered bleach under the carpet. Air it well with a powerful fan and heat for several days. Ventilate your basement during the drying. Boric acid will prevent the mold from returning.
First, try a vacuum that is able to suck up liquid. After that, use a dehumidifier to help suck the extra moisture out of the air, and that will help the carpet dry faster. If it still smells after that, you might want to rent a rug doctor or have a cleaning service come out and steam clean it, and be sure to keep the dehumidifier going! Hope that helps!! :)
If you can take the carpet out to get it dry that would be best. If not set up several fans and get a dehumidifier. To kill the mold & odors put vinegar in a spray bottle and mist the carpet, both sides would be best. The acidity in vinegar kills the mold spores.
It is likely ruined. You need to throw it out and concentrate on getting the moldy smell out of the basement.
If you just don't want to replace the carpet get a carpet shampooer and mix a cup of vinegar to every gallon of water and shampoo your carpet. The vinegar will get the sour smell out. As far as mold goes there is a spray you can buy that is so strong it will kill anything from mold to the HIV virus. We have it at work but I can't remember the name. My office is in a basement and has flooded twice, I shampooed with vinegar and used this spray and have had no smell or mold problem. Lysol works great for mold too but it takes a lot of it.
There is no way to clean it, especially if mold has started to grow. You have to take up carpet and dispose. Clean with chlorox and water solution and make sure to let subfloor dry by using an electric fan for at least 24 hours or until floor is dry throughly. Go to your nearest carpet store and replace it.
If you have home insurance you can file a claim to defray cost on carpet replacement.
Good luck.
depending on how long ago this flooding was, it may be too late to clean, definately need to circulate air, rent a commercial floor dryer, and call a company who specializes in this like ServePro (green vans). might need to remove carpet and throw away carpet and padding!
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