mildew smell?

Question

My water heater leaked EVERYWHERE, and now I have an awful mildew smell everywhere that I can't seem to get rid of. Any ideas?

sorry...I guess I should have noted that all carpets, walls, floors, etc are now dry.

Now, why would I use BLEACH on carpets??? duh? lol

and for those of you that think Febreeze is a magic mildew potion...it's not. If it was that easy, I wouldn't be asking total strangers for help!!!

This is a godawful nasty disgusting mildew smell that hits you when you walk through the door. No little store bought can of air freshener is going to do anything to this.

the water heater was old, and the entire bottom of it rusted off. it has been replaced, and there are no leaks.

Answer 1

I have severe issues with a mildew odor in my clothes. I have tried everything under the sun minus tea tree oil that was my next resort. The smell was not in my whites, obviously because of the bleach. Then someone told me to put 1/8 cup beach per gallon of hot water and oxiclean and put my colored items in it. Totally frustrated with the situation, I finally tried it. I filled the tub and placed all my darks in it, then let it soak for 4 hours. Would you belive it worked and did not discolor anything. I myself am still in shock. Don't laugh till you try it. It saved me a fortune in not having to replace my family of 6's clothes and towels. It might even help more to spray Lysol due to the fact that it kills mold and mildew and is supposed to kill the odors as well. Good Luck!! I too know your frustrations and that treacherous odor. If not try the tea tree oil. I am not sure if it works, but people have sworn by it to me.

Answer 2

If you have well water, you might have a sulfur smell. You might also have what is called "organic iron' smell. There is an organism that oxidizes the iron in water to organic iron. Then it smells something like an old fruit cellar on the farm. Generally, cloronating a well doesnt work because a few of those little monsters survive and multiply in hours to millions. You can buy an Filter Tank, and install that "in line" with the water softner. It is a tank with filter media that removes stubborn iron and sulfur smell and the like ahead of the water softener. I have a Sears Unit. inaddition to my water softner. One last Point, May be you got a poorly maintained water softner where these organisms got into the filter bed? That is Zeolite in a water softner medium. Are you using salt in that water softner? Going from city to a well is a shock It was for me. Remember, that salt added to the softener will regerate those Zeolite so they can Replace the calcium and iron in the water with Sodium. So if you are on heart medicine, you also got a problem due to the sodium in conditioned well water. Too much for you to take at once. I understand.

Answer 3

If it was within a week I'd suggest putting some portable fans around the area to dry it out good. If it's been longer than that, I'd be curious if all of the leaks have been discovered and fixed. You might still have one nearby.

Next question if the type of flooring underneath... wood? linoleum? carpet? Wood and linoleum will dry out using the fans mentioned above. Carpeting that got soaked and is now smelling that bad might have to be taken up and replaced.

Answer 4

Must be mildew. You might want to get a professional cleaner in toe get rid of the mold and mildew as it is not healthy. You could get covered by your insurance possibly.

Answer 5

Febreeze it--all around the area that was involved==
ALSO--
Make sure you got all the water up and check for water damages-to the floor and base boards-etc
-Toxic black mold can come in as well as other molds-that could possible make you sick==

Answer 6

clean your walls with amonia, it fights the smell and mildew...
hopefully you didn't let it get to bad...
if it is, then you will have to take walls down and re-drywall

bleach will do the same

Answer 7

LIFT CARPET AND DRY OUTSIDE. USE SOME SHAKE N VAC OR FREEBREEZE

Answer 8

use bleach and water and wash the area and it will go away!