Mold in basement?

**Daisygirl** · 08-11-2006, 06:14 AM

OK, ladies! I have an issue in my basement. Recently I had a small flood, nothing major and I thought I got everything cleaned up. Unfortunately I did not realize the bottom of my daughter's dressup trunk was soaking in water for the past month. I moved the trunk yesterday to vaccuum and all of this yucky black powdery stuff got all over my carpet. Is this mold? I moved the trunk into the storage area and turned it on its side so the bottom could dry and it is covered with the black crud. The clothes at the bottom have to be tossed, the stuff at the top seems ok, but I am washing it with bleach as we speak.

How do I get rid of the mold or whatever it is on my carpet? Can I vacuum it up or will that release some weird mutant spores into the air? Is this harmful nasty toxic stuff? Never encountered this before so not sure what to do!

**kabin63** · 08-11-2006, 07:02 AM

Karen,
It sounds like mold. I am not sure what type it is. I think they have to test it to see what kind it is. Is your carpet color safe? You could use a mild bleach solution. My DH just said they run into it a lot at work (he is a building inspector) and that is what they reccomend. I asked about color fastness because you may want to find another solution if it isn't.
Good luck!

**Daisygirl** · 08-11-2006, 07:16 AM

The carpet is not that great to start with, so I am not too worried about fading. It is in a spot that I can just cover it up with a throw rug if necessary. So just a bleach and water mixture? like about 3:1 water to bleach?

Thanks!

**kabin63** · 08-11-2006, 07:37 AM

I would say start there. You can always go back and strengthen the mix. Then after you get it all cleaned up make sure you get lots of air circulating to dry it up. Make sure you wear a mask or something over your face if you can to keep from inhaling the mold spores.
I have had a problem for years with wet basement. Thank goodness it's a concrete floor. I have to occasionally go down and bleach it. I know, sounds bad, but not uncommon for the area I live in. Water table is real high and lots of wonderful clay soil to hold the water. Live with dehumidifier running all the time.

**Daisygirl** · 08-11-2006, 07:45 AM

I never had a problem before this. I had a leak in my washing machine (now repaired) and that is where the water came from. Thanks for the advice, going to try it right now.

**kabin63** · 08-11-2006, 08:04 AM

let me know how it goes.

**PrairieRose** · 08-11-2006, 10:12 AM

You can also look for a product called MicroBan. I don't know if it will bleach things out like bleach will or not (I'm thinking it won't) and it smells less toxic. It's a little pricey however.

**pkellyc** · 08-11-2006, 10:22 AM

We have been going through the same thing here. But I have bad news for you. You need to throw the rug away and also anything else with mold on it. It will make you sick. Bleach will not kill this basement mold. We were advised to throw everything away wearing gloves and a mask. Our furniture, rugs and everything with mold on it went. We also have mold on our drywall that has to be removed. If you have any paneling on your walls you need to remove some to look under it for mold that could be growing. If you don't it will keep on growing making your family deathly ill. You can buy test kits for black mold but I think you would be better off just throwing it away. Not only furniture needs to be chucked check out any cardboard boxes that you may have down there.