We have fairly new wall-to-wall carpeting in our living room. It is thicker pile called "California Berber", it is only about three years old. We had an unfortunate incident and there was a lot of water on an area of the carpeting. Unfortunately, there is still a mildew-ish smell that comes from the carpeting.
Tracey from Westerville, OH
Get a bottle of OdoBan (spray bottle at Wal-Mart or Gallon concentrate at Sam's). Vacuum first, then spray area liberally. I'd put a small oscillating fan on the floor and let it run for a day or two to help dry the area. You can saturate the area with OdoBan. It won't hurt a thing and has a very clean scent. Good Luck. (04/16/2008)
My hubby does floors.
If you are in the position to rip up the carpet in the area where the damage is (starting from the wall-no damage to the carpet), you can sprinkle baking soda between the carpet and pad and also the pad and the sub floor. This will cut down on the odor.
You will notice when you pull the carpet back that this is how the padding is put together throughout the house. If you have a wood sub floor, take a staple gun and staple the pad to the floor around the edges a little and a few staples in the middle. This will make sure it doesn't move around. If you would like to try this (easy and very inexpensive) let me know and I will walk you through it. Or my husband can talk to you.
You can also file water damage on your insurance and it will take care of replacing the floors and the labor needed. Check into this if you have homeowner's insurance. You can ask the workers at the carpet store or even at Home Depot for pad scraps. They normally have plenty. Get in touch with me if you would like to try any of these suggestions. I can walk you through them. Hope this helped. (04/21/2008)
By Elizabeth
Rent a carpet steam cleaner and steam clean the carpet a few times. Also try to pull up the carpet and make sure the foam has completely dried. The foam won't really smell and if it does it doesn't really matter since the smell won't come through the carpet. The real culprit is the carpet. So just steam clean a few times and use fans to dry it. (09/07/2008)
By Robert P.
By likalaruku
Just got done fixing my carpet. If the smell is bad and not getting any better. You are just going to have to bite the bullet and pull up the carpet to change out the padding. The padding is what is keeping the smell going, not the carpet. (10/13/2008)
By whoever you want me to be
I just had a huge ring of mildew from my Christmas tree removed from my shag-like carpet. First my husband washed it with a dilute bleach solution and then cleaned with a pet stain cleaner and Bissel cleaning machine. This got the stain out, but the horrible smell remained.
The trick to getting the smell out is to scrub the area with a home-made cleaning solution. In a large bucket (this will bubble up a lot) mix 1/4 cup baking soda with 2 cups water and 2 cups white vinegar. Thoroughly scrub the area without soaking the carpet with liquid. Voila, odor gone. (02/06/2009)
By Erica w.
Antibacterial gel. Vinegar might help, but to kill the smell you've got kill the mildew. Buy a big bottle of antibacterial gel and test it on your carpet to make sure it doesn't discolor it. Afterward place it on the part of the carpet that smells. You'll see an immediate difference in about 30 minutes.
This also works well with cars, if you leave your windows open when it rains. It'll kill the mold.
Don't mention it. (02/17/2009)
By tony
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