killing mold

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16 years ago 08/28/2007 2:19pm EDT

Hey, my house got flooded last night by torrential downpours, and my carpet in my basement got wet. I have been drying it with all the fans I have, and drying it up with towels/newspaper, but it is still pretty wet and starting to smell. My guess is it is probably mold, but I am not sure how to kill it. I know that febreze just kind of covers up the smell, but doesn't kill it. I've also saw that ozone kills mold fairly well, but I don't have $500 dollars to spend right now. Is there a cheaper, albeit less effective, way of killing mold? Any help would be appreciated.

16 years ago 08/28/2007 2:28pm EDT

re: i need help!

16 years ago 08/28/2007 2:30pm EDT

re: i need help!

Bleach mixed with water works great. When my house was flooded from a burst pipe, my insurance company's adjuster whispered in my ear that bleach does the trick and is much cheaper than hiring an expert. Just make sure it dries thoroughly.

16 years ago 08/28/2007 3:48pm EDT

re: SporeMan

After a day, you're not going to save the pad, and the carpet is likely a goner as well. You can try a professional to clean it, but most likely get rid of it and by new.

The smell likely isn't mold unless you had mold already. It's more likely just dirty water, plumbing backup, storm sewer backup, or just dirt from the yard depending how water got in. But the water wouldn't cause mold this quickly, not enough to smell that's for sure.

16 years ago 08/28/2007 8:31pm EDT

re: i need help!

If it turns out you *do* have mold to kill, your most effective off the shelf product by far is gonna be Scott's Mold Control:

http://www.moldinspector.com/mold-control-disinfectant.htm

Check it out, they licensed technology developed by Sandia National Labs (in/near ABQ, so the stuff's probably got EPO for good measure) in the battle against bioterrorism:

http://www.sandia.gov/news/resources/releases/2007/moldcontrol.html

It did the job on some nasty mold (noticed it only after it made me sick) I got after a roof leak soaked some of the ceiling and wall in my basement. There's probably still crap on the other side of the drywall, which should be removed and replaced. But this stuff works as advertised.

16 years ago 08/28/2007 8:50pm EDT

re: i need help!

The only way to salvage the carpet is to pull the pad underneath. It is just a wet nasty sponge and if you've waited this long it's probably too late. Once the pad is gone then you can clean with a steam cleaner or wet vac. Once the carpet and slab is dry then you can have a carpet company install new pad and hopefully re-stretch the carpet. If the carpet was wet too long it will delaminate and you wont be able to stretch it.

You have to get rid of the pad period. Whether you salvage your carpet is still up in the air but there is no way with the pad underneath.

16 years ago 08/29/2007 6:54pm EDT

re: i need help!

i need help! wrote:
Hey, my house got flooded last night by torrential downpours, and my carpet in my basement got wet.

Carpets do not belong in basements. Just remove and paint the floor.

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