My husband flooded the bathroom the other day and we are in an old place that has carpet throughout the entire master room even in the bathroom, as soon as he knew he was flooding it he shut off the water got a shop vac and vacuumed up what he could we have since put down towels at night to walk on and pulled them up and ran a fan during the day and washed the towels, but here is our problem now, it stinks to high heaven and I dont know what to do. We cant afford a carpet cleaner cant even rent a rug doctor how do we get rid of the smelll, O and cant open windows its about freezing and cant afford the power bill, WHAt do I do I cant stand it any more and this only happened saturday, PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!
ADD: cant pull up the carpet it goes to the wall and we cant get under the paneling to get the edge of it
We do own thankfully but this place is so old that the carpet was one of the first things put down so in order to pull up some there would still be patches left, I was hoping to avoid the dreaded ripping out the carpet cuz we cant afford to replace it and dont want to be walking on the plywood floors, much less the kids, its the only working bathroom, and unfortunately the churches around here want an application and proof for help with food so I doubt they will be any help with a rug doctor but thank you for the suggestion, ugh I was so hoping I could avoid this.
Thank you ladies for all the help, as a clarification we are in a late 70's trailer and as much as I would love to remodel we can't even use the energy-efficient light bulbs in some of the lights, and we are sharing my mother in laws property (3.5 acres) so couldn't is we really wanted to as for not being able to afford stuff, my ex has messed up my credit so bad that I can't get another mortgage, which is why we are here and not in a house, all the bills are in hubby's name so yea.......not that we can't budget but I will still look into those books cuz every little bit of info helps, we are gonna try n rip everything out today we gotta figure out how to take the cabinets out so we can get that carpet to, they are on legs so we can see it goes all the way back, and we are gonna try out the locate habitat resale shop had no idea anything about that thank you, and if that don't pan out we will see what else we can do, again thanks for all your help
Cut the edge of the carpet in order to get to it if you have to, but you have to get the carpet up. Otherwise you are going to end up with serious mold issues and rotten floor boards. I am so sorry this happened to you.
I say cut up the carpet and walk on plywood until you can tile. It's part of owning a home and carpet does not belong in the bathroom...yuck. When I was younger my parents built a new home and didn't get carpet for a year to help save money. My sister left little chocolate syrup foot prints on the wood too. Also had a family friend who lived for a few years without carpet on the main level with two little ones.
Like it or not the carpet and padding have to go! You're setting yourself up for mold problems if not. Do you have a Habitat For Humanity Restore anywhere near you? They often have flooring, laminate, etc. for a few bucks you could put down. Check out going to a local food bank for groceries for the next few weeks if you need to scrape together the cash. That carpet has to go though!
You've got to get the carpet and pad out. The pad is molding and there is simply no way to fix it other than remove it. If you can't get under the paneling, just cut along the paneling with a knife and pull everything but the very edges up. If you don't pull the carpet up, the mold will probably spread to your walls.
How cold is it there?
Liberally sprinkle baking soda on the carpet. Let set overnight, or as long as possible (the longer it sets the better it works). Sweep up the larger amounts of baking soda, and vacuum up the rest. (Note that your vacuum cleaner bag will get full and heavy.) Redo the process if you still smell odors you wish to remove. Baking soda works like magic, it sometimes just takes time and making sure you are using enough baking soda.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/baking-soda-for-carpet-o...,
frebreeze works good.. And do you rent or own? Also try area churches for help as the carpet sounds toxic you may have to rip it up
You'll have mold unless it gets completely dry.
And then mold related illnesses (sinus infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma).
The copays on medical bills and medicines (assuming you have insurance) alone will cost more than a rug doctor, and that's only financial cost.
if you can't rent a rug doctor, pull OUT that carpet. You may be pleasantly surprised and find nice (or niceish) flooring under the carpet. But even if it's just plywood subfloor... better than being in the ER with a sick kid. And better than wet-rot and having to replace your floors!
baking soda might help neutralize it
Since you own the house, even if you have to cut along the edges of the carpet to do it, get it out.
It's winter....you will end up with dangerous mold if you don't and then it can even soak into the sub-flooring. Then you will REALLY have problems.
Get the carpet out! Trash it!
Use your heat and fans to dry the wood out.
Some carpet stores sell little mats of samples for super cheap. You can get some of those to put down in front of the toilet and tub, etc.
You will never get rid of that smell and it will only get worse and then you've got the mold spores to think about.
I know what it's like to be in financial trouble, but that carpet is history. You'll be wasting money to try to save it.
Just my opinion.
Also, since the house is so old....how do you know it's only plywood under the carpet? If it's decent wood that can be saved, it's another reason to get the carpet out.
It's a pain and I'm sorry it happened, but having a dad who was a contractor, some things aren't worth saving.
Best wishes.
I agree with pulling up the carpet. I know it's going to look terrible until you can do something. If the plywood is half ways decent, you can get some of those sticky squares of linoleum and put them down yourself in a few weeks when you tweak your budget.
call your homeowners insurance and find out what they will help out with.
It truly sounds like the carpeting needs to be ripped up...
You would be surprised at what churches will do once they see proof that the help is needed...so many people have taken advantage of the charity of churches that now they really do need proof. While a video tape won't give them "smell-a-vision" - ask the Priest/Chaplain/Pastor/Rabi to come to the house to smell it.
If the house is old - I would venture to guess that the floors UNDER the carpet are NOT plywood but hardwood. Rip up the carpeting and purchase floor mats or area rugs.
If you only have one working bathroom in the house and you own it? Girl - get your home equity line of credit and borrow against the house - refinance it and get some money out - and get it fixed up. If you can't afford to do that - please, please, please go to the library and borrow a book on finances - Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, etc. and get the ball rolling in the right direction!!
GOOD LUCK!
You've got to get under the carpet and get the pad out. At this point, the pad is a loss. Hopefully that's all it is and the carpet can be salvaged. I'd try to borrow a steam cleaner if you can't rent one. The quicker you can take care of it, the better off the carpet will be.
I'm so sorry for your situation. I've been there. It is a sucky, horrible place to be.
If you do pull up the carpet, one suggestion: be sure to wear dust masks or even something stronger. My husband pulled up an old carpet when we first started dating and was very sick with a respiratory infection for a couple months because there is so much gross stuff in there. (After a month of hacking, I made him see a doctor who put him on antibiotics.) You don't want to breathe it in. It is worth the price if you have to buy new masks, because that junk is bad and lost time at work will end up costing more.
i hate to say this but you HAVE to pull up that carpet it is going to do nothing but make you sick by keeping it in. if it smells that means mold and bacteria is already growing... pull off the floor boards normally it goes under then but thats all. if you cant do that you get a knife and cut it out. trust me its not worth the health risk. ps i have plywood floors atm too lol
To be honest, this is why I am not a fan of carpeted bathrooms. Too much moisture in the air, let alone the occasional overflow, etc. First step is definitely to rip up the carpet and get it out of there. It is done. Next, I would price some laminate flooring and consider replacing with that. In the meantime you can get a pack of floor pads (like for children's play areas) cut it to the space and use that so you're not walking on the bare plywood. It is a temporary patch but may get you by until you can afford a more permanent replacement. You can also go to your local home improvement stores (that does flooring installation) and find out about purchasing remnant flooring. You don't need a lot for most bathrooms and it should be much cheaper. Just NO carpet, PLEASE!
Unfortunately, you do have to get rid of the carpet. After flooding it cannot be saved. You'll have to cut around the walls. Make your husband do it.
You will need to cut it and lift it up to get the fan underneath. By now though you may just need to pull and trash the wet part because of mold.
Sorry carpet has to go. You'll have mold. And while you have the carpet up, put vinyl tile down instead of carpet in the bathroom!! It's seriously like $2.50 a sq ft for really decent looking tile. And it can withstand water.
We did this two years ago. You don't need a rug Dr. You need to tear everything out and replace it. Make a claim with your homeowner's and call ServiceMaster (or ServPro - but everyone we've talked to who is a contractor or in the field says ServPro is awful). ServiceMaster will get in there, tear everything out, and dry it out in a day. Otherwise, you'll have black mold, then develop asthma, and eventually scar your lungs so that no antibiotics in the world can get rid of the pneumonia. It's a horrible place to be with no savings, but ESPECIALLY if you have kids you are obligated to them to take care of it. Do whatever you have to - even if it means living with stud walls, insulation, plastic sheets and concrete floors. Trust me - better than living with black mold. It's a huge headache of an undertaking and we are STILL recovering on some levels two years later (still have a vanity to replace) but gotta get it done! Good luck mama!
Nothing much to do now...should of pulled a portion of the carpet up and stuck the fan up under it. Maybe someone else will know what to do.
It is going to mold. You have to get that carpet out of there. You are probably smelling the beginning stages of mildew/mold accumulation. Pull the carpet and put a throw rug down if you can't afford to do the floors.
There is a priduct called Damp X . It is used to absorb moisture in basesments and you throw away the container once it is heavy. I don't think that you could put it directly on the carpet but you could put it on top of a big dry towel. I would also think about putting an electric heater to blow on it, only while you are home to watch it of course. I wouldn't open the windows, you may draw in additional moisture from outside. Let us know if you find anything that works. Good Luck
Yes rip it up...put down bath mats until something better...sorry, that's terrible!
Just, cut around then entire perimeter of that room, and cut out the carpet!
Just cut it out.
You don't have to be able to get under the wall paneling.
Just cut out the carpet from along the edge of the wall.
Get a carpet blade to cut it out.
You gotta get rid of the carpet.
It will mold. Guaranteed.
That is a health hazard.
A carpet will take WEEKS even, just to dry up.
And in that weather, you can't open the windows up. And thus, the 'toxic' air you are breathing from moldy carpet and fumes, is going to accumulate in your home since it is all closed up. No ventilation.
Just cut out.... your carpet.
And get rid of it.
It will always, stink.
And that is the least of the carpet problems.
And, remember, that if the carpet is soaked... then assume... that the sub-floor, is ALSO, soaked/wet/has water damage.
And the longer you leave the soaked wet carpet on the sub-floor... the MORE damage you will have, not only to the carpet, but also to the sub-floor and what is under the sub-floor too.
Or the walls, too.
So, its not only the carpet.
