Whether it be from flooding, rain, water leak, or spoiled drinks, no one wants mildew on their carpet. Do you know how to get mildew smell out of wet carpet?
It’s tough to immediately clean a soiled wet carpet when you have things needed to do too, but this creates a perfect condition for mildew to grow on it. If this fungus grows on it, the cleaning would require double your effort, time, and patience.
No need to worry too much; this article would make your task easier to handle. Continue reading then if you want to know more.
Defining Mildew And Identifying Its Smell
Mildew is a mold in its early stages. It has microscopic spores that travel through the air, and it can grow if it settles on a moist surface.
You will see it growing on exteriors of materials, and it has a powdery, flat, and dry appearance. As for its effects on your health, when you’re exposed and inhaled for an extended period, you might see symptoms such as headaches, coughs, difficulty in breathing, an itchy nose, etc.
See this article about what is mildew for a piece of more detailed information about mildew.
Now for its smell, many describe it as musty and earthy. Some claim it is comparable or milder than dirty wet socks or rotting wood smells.
Once you smell a somehow similar odor, then it’s time to do a meticulous inspection of your home. Maybe mildew has already grown on your carpet, furniture, plants, cabinet, or other items.
If you’ve just experienced a flood and wanted to clean your carpet that has grown mildew, you can visit and learn from this article how to get mildew smell out of carpet after flood.
How to get rid of the musty smell from your carpet
Removing mildew smell from your carpet can be as simple as how you would usually clean it. However, this only applies if you know what products are practical to use.
Here is a detailed yet straightforward step-by-step instruction you can effortlessly follow:
Step #1. Preparation
Prepare your vacuum, water, vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and carpet shampoo. These products are what you might use for the whole duration of cleaning.
Also, wear gloves, goggles, and a mask to protect yourself sufficiently.
Step #2. Dry the carpet
Whether the carpet was entirely or just partially wet, you will have to wait it out for a while until it is completely dried. You can leave it under the sun or just let it dry up naturally.
Step #3. Vacuum
After the carpet is thoroughly dried, use a vacuum to remove the formed dust and dirt. Let the vacuum run through it a few times, ensuring that it sucked out most debris.
Step #4. Water and vinegar
Mix one cup of vinegar and two cups of water in a bowl. You can adjust the measurement based on how large the carpet you’ll clean, as long as you follow the ratio of 1:2 — one part vinegar to two parts of water.
Pour this mixture into a spray bottle. Lightly sprinkle on the carpet, don’t spray too much, though.
Step #5. Baking soda
After going through the whole carpet or the affected area with the mixture of vinegar water, it’s time to top it up with some baking soda. Be generous in adding this since this can also neutralize the smell of vinegar without ruining your carpet.
Leave this aside for at least an hour. You can even leave it overnight, which is better.
Rinse it with water, then air-dry outside or under the sun. If the nasty smell was gone after you dried it, consider this your last step.
However, you can move forward to the next step if the smell persists.
Step #6. Hydrogen peroxide
Make a solution using one part hydrogen peroxide and five parts water in a spray bottle. Follow the ratio of 1:5, if you want to make an adjustment.
Use this solution to spray on the carpet lightly. Leave it for a while before resuming with rinsing with clean water.
You can finally let it naturally dry outside, and you’re done. That should do it for you.
If you are also in need of help in removing mildew stains, you can visit this article about how to remove mildew stains from carpet.
Prevent Mildew On Carpet
The following are additional information you might want to take note of if you don’t want to reencounter mildew:
- Keep your carpets in clean and dry storage.
- It would be best if you immediately fixed the leakage.
- Use air conditioning or dehumidifiers in your home.
- Regularly check your carpets, more so for those previously infected by mildew, because it might come back.
- Immediately clean up and dry if you spill any liquid on your carpet.
You might also want to see this article about how to prevent and remove mildew.
Conclusion
Worry no more, because the task of how to get mildew smell out of wet carpet, you can accomplish it in a few uncomplicated steps. If you were able to follow through the steps as mentioned earlier, then you’ll know removing mildew is as if you were cleaning your carpet, just with a few additional steps added.
Musty smells really can be nasty, so knowing how to get rid of them wouldn’t only benefit your mood, but also your health. Stay safe in your home by actively taking action.