Carpet/Vent Mildew

[FB]

I recently had a leak in my apartment that covered a small area of carpeting
with water. After trying to clean it, the manager replaced the carpeting and
padding and sprayed some anti mildw stuff on the walls and baseboard. I
still smell some musty, mildwy odors. I can't tell if it's in the floor or
coming from the air vents. I tried carpet cleaners and plain baking soda but
no luck.

Is there anything I can apply to the new carpet, padding and floor
underneath it to definitely get rid of any last mildew, and to the air vents
as well in case some mold got in. (I only smell the mildew near the vents of
the "accident" and not in any other area of the apartment)

Someone suggested "Sterifab." Has anyone heard of it or have any other
suggestions? TIA

[Sawney Beane]

FB wrote:
>
> I recently had a leak in my apartment that covered a small area of carpeting
> with water. After trying to clean it, the manager replaced the carpeting and
> padding and sprayed some anti mildw stuff on the walls and baseboard. I
> still smell some musty, mildwy odors. I can't tell if it's in the floor or
> coming from the air vents. I tried carpet cleaners and plain baking soda but
> no luck.
>
> Is there anything I can apply to the new carpet, padding and floor
> underneath it to definitely get rid of any last mildew, and to the air vents
> as well in case some mold got in. (I only smell the mildew near the vents of
> the "accident" and not in any other area of the apartment)
>
> Someone suggested "Sterifab." Has anyone heard of it or have any other
> suggestions? TIA

I can see everyone is baffled. The vents sound okay. Was the wood
thoroughly dry before the padding went down? Cleaning the carpet
with a water product may make the problem worse by keeping the
floor underneath from drying. If I clean my carpet with water, I
choose a day when the indoor humidity is fairly low, I avoid
getting it very wet, and after sucking up water with a machine I
use a fan to speed drying.

Sterifab will kill insects and stop the growth of bacteria and
fungi. Borax also does those things, either by washing a surface
or sprinking on a carpet. It wouldn't be much good if the smell is
coming from the floor under the carpet. When I've had a musty
spot, I've cured it by using a fan a couple of days until whatever
is below the surface of the carpet is dry.

[0tterbot]

"FB" <nospamfbrown627@nc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Id4Wf.44576$915.28452@southeast.rr.com...
>I recently had a leak in my apartment that covered a small area of
>carpeting with water. After trying to clean it, the manager replaced the
>carpeting and padding and sprayed some anti mildw stuff on the walls and
>baseboard. I still smell some musty, mildwy odors. I can't tell if it's in
>the floor or coming from the air vents. I tried carpet cleaners and plain
>baking soda but no luck.
>
> Is there anything I can apply to the new carpet, padding and floor
> underneath it to definitely get rid of any last mildew, and to the air
> vents as well in case some mold got in. (I only smell the mildew near the
> vents of the "accident" and not in any other area of the apartment)
>
> Someone suggested "Sterifab." Has anyone heard of it or have any other
> suggestions? TIA

can you lift up part of the carpet to see/smell what's happening underneath?
well, clearly you _can_, but will you? ;-) that would at least help you
decide if it's the carpet because the floor was never dried properly (which
sounds rather likely), or something else. if the floor was still damp, i'm
unsure that applying a product from the top will really fix the problem...
kylie