Hi. I have several problems converning the carpet in my room. The room is located in the basement and is air conditioned. But recently, I had a friends over a week ago and one of them spilled a bottle of water on the carpet. now im starting to smell a weird musty smell, I think its mold of some sort.

Is there any way to remove this smell and mold or do I have to chuck the carpet and put in a new one?

I heard vinegar or bleach works well to kill mold.

Also, is it possible to have the mold transfer to your feet which will result in athletes foot? Mold is fungus after all.

 

Is there padding underneath the carpet? If so, you will have to pull the carpet back and replace the padding. Then treating and cleaning both sides of the carpet to remove any odors with a mildew remover. Test any chemical in a corner or other hidden area to test for color fastness first. You may also have to clean and seal the subfloor depending on the condition of it. What it sounds like to me is. The water stayed wet too long in the carpet. Even thou your basement may be air conditioned. You have to remember that it is still a basement and will tend to be more humid and prone to moisture. Making sure the subfloor is sealed will help keep moisture from wicking up from the cement. As far as it transfering to you feet i wouldnt know.

 

What type of products do you recommend to remove the mildew from the carpet. Febreeze in massive quantities??

Also, what type of paint should I use to seal the basement floor. Latex based?

 

Febreeze will only cover the odor until it wheres off. If you go to your local home improvement store, you can check for a mold/mildew remover. Depending on the condition of your subfloor now...if its sealed now or not. If its sealed now i would recommend stripping the sealer off and then resealing. If its not sealed now. Clean subfloor and you can paint it. Latex sounds about right. They make paint out now designed just for this application.

 

Mold and mildew are organic. An enzyme digester cleaner is recommended. The trick is to give enzymes time to digest, which calls for keeping affected surfaces damp with cleaner without saturating carpet backing. You can clean carpet, but you can not clean the cushion beneath. Liquids tend to settle not only downward but outward three to five times or more than the size of the affected surface area. Pulling carpet and cushion back to allow them and the subfloor to dry is necessary for larger spills. Fans improve ventilation and expedite drying. Dehumidifiers are also helpful for removing excess humidity and moisture in the area. If odor problems remain after treating carpet, cushion, and subfloor with enzyme digester cleaner, then cushion will need to be replaced in the affected area.

Enzyme digesters are marked under a variety of names such as OdoBan, Nature's Miracle, Out, and others at home centers and in cleaning aisles.