Tonight we had a very bad rainstorm, and my basement window which is one of those below ground ones, allowed for some water to seep into my home. It basically hugged the walls and then puddled onto my carpeted basement room. I noticed it pretty quickly so was able to move furniture and electrical things away from the area, as well as immediately got towels down on the carpet to absorb the water that hadn't been soaked through. Now hours later, and many towels later, I still have dampness coming through while pressing the towels to the floor. I put up a fan to dry things up too. Should I be concerned that mold will grow with such a minor flood? Is there anything else I can try to get the dampness gone in the next day? Thanks.

letmetellu

If you have all of the water up things should dry pretty fast. If you are concerned about mold make a mixture of bleach water and spray all of the area that was wet. Make it weak enough that it will not take any color out of your carper. You might do this weekly for a few weeks. If you don't like this answer go To Ask.com and ask there about your problem.

speedball1

Hi Mom,

I would use the bleach on a cement basement floor but would be very cautious about spraying bleach on a carpet. Let me direct you to a web site by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency titled "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and your House. Click on; http://www.epa.gov/mold/preventionandcontrol.html
Meantime, kick up the AC and direct some fans to dry out the moisture. If this happens often consider adding a french drain outside to carry away the excess rain water. Good luck, Tom