My basement flooded, how do I get the mildew and smell out?

Question

I've tried bleach and water and also charcole and nothing seems to work!

Answer 1

OK as a contractor I'll help you out with this

1st i imagine you have all ready removed all damaged goods including the carpet and other forms of flooring

2nd you still have a mildew smell in your basement this says that you still have moisture around. With this i would do 2 things completely remove all objects from the basement ( Relocating those objects to the Garage). Then rent a liquid propane heater that contractors use. this will remove all the moisture from the air in your basement.( Check on this from time to time for safety reasons ).

3rd I would then use a Dehumidifier to continue keeping the air dry. and then i would start searching for other possible locations where the moisture is coming from.

4th The objects that you pulled out of the basement need to be examined to see if they still hold the mildew smell. Furniture involving fabric and foams like couches should be thrown away they cant be fixed. Other objects that can be safely cleaned and dry ed need to be washed before being brought back to the basement.

5th By this time your basement should be dry and you can tell where the leaks are coming from. You may need to use Rubber based paint to keep water from seeping into your basement.

Signed Tim

Answer 2

You did not mention whether your basement is finished or not. If you have a finished basement, the biggest concern is that your insulation in the outside walls got wet. If the water came up more then a few inhes then the insulation behind the walls is likely wet. Once the water hits the insulation, it starts to wick up the wall and the wet insulation can be much higher then the actual water level was.

I've done some volunteer flood repairs and although this may be extreme for your situtation, the rule was that any room that had standing water had to have the drywall remove up to 4 feet. Whether you rip up one foot or 4, it's about the same amount of work to replace it. At the 4 foot (That's actually about 49.5 inches from the floor) level, you can use a whole sheet of drywall to do the repair.

Ripping out drywall and carpet may seem extreme, but consider mold growing behind your walls.

If you can't seem to dry things out using other means, you may consider just removing a section of the drywall to see what's behind.

Answer 3

Oh its awful isn't it? My daughter's basement flooded and we ended up tearing out ALL of the wall covering (plaster board) because it was mildewing behind it. What a job! I got some industrial sanitizer stuff from Lowes (Home Depot) that they use in hospitals to kill germs and we bleached and we hosed the basement and we put in a dehumidifier. Finally, a year later and after trying all these things, the smell is barely noticeable. I noticed last week when I was over there under the stairs was some drywall that never made it out. It is probably mildewing behind it.

Just strip the basement and start over.

Answer 4

If you can easily take the mildew away with some bleach or some acid (muriatic acid, if it is available nearby), i suggest to put charcoal in the 4 corners of your basement (charcoal work slow), it may not take off the smell that fast but surely it will work. But if your basement walls are made up of gypsum board, i also suggest you strip your walls and startup new....

Answer 5

you may have to hire a contractor to get it done..my question is are you airing it out with windows, or is the space completely
enclosed?
There are certain cleaning porducts only purchasable wholesale
and contractors have their own trick ways of gettting those smells
out. Giant fans, hoses to suck out air out the door, they have lots of tricks.
My final question is age of basement..If its pre '80, it will be much harder because the mildew-y moisture can then sleep into the
cracks, and you'll never be able to get at it. That's why you have the smell in the first place, cause all that bacteria and algae-spores have found a lovely new home in the cracks of your foundation, relatively impervious to reaching.

Answer 6

Bleach

Answer 7

The bleach will work but it will take a while for the smell to go. Give it a few days then check the air.

Answer 8

you must take out your patting first.that holds in alot of oder. Then there is a mildew cleaner for your carpet when you stean clean it. then replace patting after carpet is dry.

Answer 9

Mildew should be professionelly treated.You have to air it frequently.

Answer 10

take and paint your basement with kiltz paint. If you have carpet it will have to be replaced. my husband does stuff like that for a living and thats what he does