Sewage on Carpet

Hello- Unfortunately all mold guidelines suggest removal of carpet. I do mold consulting as part of my job- and there is not a good way to remove mold or stop it from coming back. You can bleach hard surfaces, but not carpet or padding. I would suggest removing it and just keeping a solid concrete floor until you can either replace (if it is an on-going problem- I would not replace with carpet) or use tile. You could also just use rugs that could be laundered easily if soiled. If the basement is flooding because of a sewage backup- the carpet and padding should definitely be removed. Hope it helps- although I know it's not the answer you were hoping.

Its very important to contact a water restoration company - REGENCY CONSTRUCTION is the one that we used to come and check the air in your basement. They have a meter that measures the mold that is in the air in your basement and will bea able to check for the BLACK mold.
PLease, Please call someone now and have it checked out especially if you have children. It can cause allergies, breathing problems, and a number of health issues.
Once again, please contact someone about it.
Thank you,
Cindy

I agree with the people who have told you it needs to be removed. This happened to us and it was a rather large insurance claim, because we also had walls that were affected. Even though there wasn't visible damage, drywall sucks the water up from the inside, behind the baseboards where you can't see it. We only had an inch of water, but when you're talking about it coming up from the sewer drain, it's dirty water. Even if it doesn't look like raw sewage, it's loaded with bacteria.

We now get our drain snaked at least once a year. It's our $100 insurance policy.

If you do end up putting down more carpet in the future, I highly recommend using a special pad called Envirocushion. Fairway Tile and Carpet in Clawson sells it...I'm sure some other places do as well, but Lowe's doesn't.

Anyway, Envirocushion is R 4.5 I think, which provides insulation, and it does not absorb water, so then if you ever get water again (assuming it's only rain water and not sewer, which carries bacteria), it'll only be the carpet you have to worry about. The carpet can be dried out by renting a couple of those industrial fans, and since it doesn't soak into the pad, you don't have to worry about whether the pad is still wet and growing mold.

Good luck!

Call a professional carpet cleaner! You can't afford to make your family sick. At the very least tear out the pad yourself-you can't dry that with out professional equipment. Call the Bissell Big Green Cleaning Team - they won't rip you off.
Absolutely do not use bleach on carpet. The fumes are very bad and you will permanently damage the fibers and color.
There is no such thing as Kawasaki Syndrome. It is an urban myth that has been blown out of proportion on the internet. Good science has been done that shows absolutely no relationship.
If you are concerned about risks - get that carpet out of your house - you're poisoning yourself!

D.,
i hate to be the bearer of bad news but you need to get rid of that carpet and quickly.if it has flooded 3 times already and taking a long time to dry,you can bet there are mold spores present.if it had beed just water the first time i would have seen if i could save it,but with it being sewer you should have gotten rid of it. it could make someone very sick.
R.

Hi D.,
Please consider pulling the carpet out. This is not a healthy situation. Can you just use throw rugs on the cement until you can afford new carpet? Check with your insurance company.
Also, I noticed a suggestion to use bleach or professional carpet cleaners- please also realize that bleach is very toxic to children, especially in an enclosed basement. If you use a professional carpet cleaner, please ask them to use 'green' products- I personally know 2 children that got Kawasaki syndrome from professional carpet cleaning chemicals- this also happened to John Travolta's son. Try to find safer, non toxic alternatives. I use Shaklee's Basic H in my carpet cleaning machine and it works great- use just 1 tsp. I also sometimes throw in a 1/4 tsp of their Basic G germicide, which is a great, safer disinfectant. But please, don't try to save this sewage saturated carpet.
Good luck,
M.
Mamasource business: M. Goes Green!

There are mold inhibitors you can buy over the internet. I think the stuff I used that did a great job was called Force Out. If your basement flooded to a failed subpump usually your insurance company will cover that claim.

ONce the mold is there the carpet must be removed.

Hi D.,

I agree with some of the others. Don't put your family's health at risk with mold or toxic carpet cleaners.

I use 1 oz of Mela Magic & 1 capful of Solumel on my carpets in a steam cleaner. It's amazing how clean they come! These contain no harmful chemicals.

Find out more by going to www.ThisFamilyCounts.com

Just click on "Get More Info"

Ooooh, D., I totally feel for you! We just had a sewer/water back up due to the heavy rains a few weekends ago. Mold & mildew grew quickly on our (newly) carpeted basement...GGGRRRR....and my first indicator was that it STUNK down there!
Do you have homeowners insurance? If so, that might be your best bet.
Best of luck to you~
B.

You actually can bleach carpet - I do it frequently. Mix it with water and spray on it. Test first in a hiding spot! If I were you I would lift the carpet to see if there is any there to start with... its pretty simple to retack. There are products like Natures Miracle that are enzymes and can eat mold and the like, if you look at where the flooding is and see abit of mold I wouldnt worry at all - just try a few things first.

(unless of course someone in your home has a mold allergy) we dont so we aren't very concerned by mold at all :)

you should AT LEAST pull the carpet/pad up and let it air out.
there is a "barrier" on some of the better pads...that will trap the moisture if it got through
I know you can't afford to replace....but you should be able to afford to have it restretched...
worse case scenario...the carpet could be saved(after airing out and cleaning), and you could replace the pad and have it all reinstalled.

The other thing you can ck it to see if your drains & lines need to be snaked out. That happened to my sister's basement & it was her storm drain that was full of debris. She had her main line & storm drained snaked out for under $100. But worth not worrying about it.

We did pull her carpet out & padding. I would not leave it with children mold can grow very fast.

Also ck with your homeowners they may cover the cost to dry it out & replace it. I had a neighbor that they covered her lower level floor.
Best of luck to you.

D.,

I needed to recarpet my own basement a few years ago and was sick thinking I couldn't afford it. Please go to Central Carpet Wholesale on the north side of 8 mile rd near Lahser. It was so inexpensive and they did an amazing job. They were nice, fast, inexpensive, and the guys were so caring about cleaning up after it was put down. I can't tell you how much I think of this company.

A friend needed to recarpet her kitchen (house from the sixties with carpeting in the kitchen and she cant afford to remud cause its uneven and put down a floor) and she was shocked at pricing there.

We both chose a sturdy carpet out of their back room. Good luck and please please pull that carpet from the basement, no matter what or if you decide on a replacement.

L.