I recently dealt with a small flood where about two inches of water spread down my hallway into the laundry room, then leaked through to the den and affected another room. After the incident, my parents had a team dry out the baseboards and the water was removed, but they just used air dryers on the baseboards. They replaced the carpet padding and repainted the baseboards. However, my bedroom still has a very strong musty smell, and the rest of the house has this dirty odor. They didn't air out the house by opening windows, and I've been waking up with allergies. Even steam cleaning the carpets didn't help with the musty smell. I'm wondering how to determine if there's mold and what steps I can take to make my home smell fresh again. Any advice would really help! We live in Nevada, and it was hot during the flooding.
2 Answers
With a leak like that, it's crucial to completely remove the carpet and padding, take off the baseboards, and set up dehumidifiers and fans for several days to ensure everything is dry. If they didn't do that properly, there's a good chance mold is growing somewhere. I recommend checking under the carpet in the affected areas for any signs of mold or pulling off a piece of baseboard to look for moisture.
What should I do next?
You might want to reach out to the remediation team that came out before and see if they can return. Keep in mind that it's allergy season, but a persistent musty smell could indicate mold. Try lifting a corner of the carpet near where the leak occurred to check for mold underneath, or see if you can remove a small piece of baseboard to inspect behind it.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks for the tip!
We did have them dry with blowers for a few days and replaced the padding after drying, but they said the carpets were fine and just repainted over everything. It still smells musty, though.