Question from griffithsfamily1
Our vacation home had a leak from an upstairs bathroom down to the downstairs floor beneath it. We discovered it about a week after we were there last.
When I walked into the home, I smelled something that smelled like a swamp, so I went sniffing through the house until I found it. There was water pooled up on the upstairs bathroom floor and in the cabinet so we cleaned that up and the smell was no longer there. I then went downstairs and could still smell it and it smelled like it was coming from the bathoom directly underneath the one that had the leak, specifially in the doorframe area. The water had come down through the walls and slightly pulled the crown moulding away from the ceiling and around the door jam.
I got down on my knees and started sniffing to find the odor and when I did I got a huge whiff of mildew smell. We immediately rented a Rug Dr and shampooed the carpet with Natures’ Miracle and weak bleach solution and the smell disappeared. We then turned on the heat under the carpet (we have hydronic heat) and it all dried out.
The house and carpet no longer smell, but nonetheless, we will have someone come out to assess and perhaps change the pad, clean up the gypcrete floor under the pad and see if we can salvage the carpet. Can we salvage carpet after a small amount of water damage – is there a way to truly get rid of any remaining mildew/mold?
Also, I have not been feeling too well since that “sniffing” incident. Could I have unhaled some mold spores into my lungs and if so, what can I do about it?
Thanks!
Debra’s Answer
You do need to have a mold professional come out and answer your questions. Mold can be very damaging to health and you don’t want to live in a moldy house.
You might have inhaled some mold spores. I’m not an expert in what to do if you inhale mold. Readers, any experience with this?
