Hello, I came home from work the other day to a flooded bathroom (at least an inch of water on the floor), which of course seeped out and soaked my hallway and dining room carpets. I live in an apartment and called maintenance.
The now short story is the carpet guy came out and only extracted the water and didn't deodorize or anything, didn't even leave a fan to dry the carpet. Now my whole apartment stinks! I put down baking soda overnight, helped only a little. The apartment manager sent over the carpet guy again, this time he sprayed deodorizer and left a fan, but it still stinks! Any ideas please? - Karla
We use Dri-Z-Air year around in our basement and RV. We have been buying it from the following store and they carry several types of units. We find that the crystals work better when you use them with the unit. We have tried it both ways and it does an excellent job removing moisture and that musty odor from the air.
I do not recommend shampooing a carpet that has turned musty after a flood once it has been treated and the odour calmed down. The backing of the underfelt is what will smell and re-introducing moisutre onto the carpet will re-activate the odour and you will have to go about the whole process of getting rid of the smell again.
Timing is everything -- I *just* read a hint about carpets!
Cut fresh lemons into quarters. Squeeze the juice liberally over the smelly area -- then leave the lemon peels there til they dry out and shrivel up!
This tip was originally for a car, and I believe it was 4-5 lemons for a car -- so you might have to get an economy pack for an apartment! But it worked for the writer, who used it to eliminate barf odor; and the car detailer from whom she got the tip had successfully used it to eliminate the odor from a spilled cooler of fresh shrimp. Weird, but effective I guess! - Lisa
I have the perfect solution for you . . . I live in Florida and a lot of people use this product when they close up their houses and go north for the summer (not me *I am a year round Floridian!!) Dri-Z-air.
You can buy it in the grocery store and it really works great. Just set little paper/plastic cups inconspiculously around your house about half full of the Dri-Z-air granules. The granules pull moisture out of the air and get rid of the musty smell really well. The granules in the cups will solidify as they absorb moisture. This means they are working. When all the granules in the cup has become a solid mass throw it out and refill with new granules.
I used this when my furnace overflow valve got blocked and flooded the hallway/livingroom/dining room and it worked great! It also comes in a flat disc that you can hang, but I prefer the granules Give it a try! - Vicki
When the carpet is dry, liberally sprinkle borax and baking soda 50/50 on the carpet. Let it sit on the carpet for at least 10 minutes. Then vacuum. It will remove the musty odor.
You could also call your manager again, complain of the smell and insist that they shampoo the carpet.
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