Hello, Friday morning the toilet in the Master bath flooded when a paper towel with dog poop was flushed down the toilet. It clogged and the flap didn't seal so the toilet kept running. About an 8th of my room was covered in water and it seeped through the floor and dripped into the garage. We used our carpet steamer to suck up the water in the carpet and am running fans and have the air conditioner set to dehumidify. In the garage we placed a space heater aimed at the roof to dry out the dry wall. Is there anything else I should do? Also there has been a musty smell, what do I do about that? I am a single mom and have no extra funds at this time. I do have homeowners but can't afford the deductable right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

You have taken the necessary steps already. You can use bleach anywhere that you are able to, but it will bleach out color on carpet etc. I don't like it because it smells so strong. But, it will kill mold and mildew wherever it comes in contact with.

I use ozone in that type of instance. It is amazing at killing bacteria and germs, and totally removes odors. I don't know if there is a place locally that you could rent one or not. There are some places online.
Al

Thank you so much for responding, what is an ozone? How would I locate it?

An ozone air treatment unit is a small electrical device about the size of a space heater. It converts oxygen into super saturated oxygen much the same way as lightning does during a storm. It has a tremendous purification affect.

You would want one that would create at least 2 grams per hour, or 2000 kilograms per hour. This would allow you to run it for an hour with nobody in the house. Close off the room where you are running it. Then, when you come back open the house up and let it air out. You will be amazed at how fresh everything smells.

If you are unable to rent one locally, I could rent one of mine. I do that occasionally in my company. This link is to a company that is more set up to rent them online... Most Ozone Output per Volume of Space (http://www.ozonesupplies.com/OMZ-3400.html). It rents for $60 for 2 days. I would do the same, but I would need a $400 deposit on a credit card to rent it. I would refund the deposit with the safe return of the ozone generator. I don't know how ozone solutions handles that part. I have never checked into renting from them.

If you get one, use it all over the house at different times. You can run it near your air intake for your central heat/ a/c. It will help clean the ducts. Run it in your car to kill mold growths in the vents, etc.

You don't want to breathe it very long while it is working. After it is done, and you've "aired out" the area for a short while, you should smell a nice clean scent. Ozone reverts back to oxygen within about 20 minutes even at high concentrations.

Hope that helps.
Al

You have done a great job :).

Pete,
Thanks for the compliment.

Is the contractor using ozone to kill odors, and molds?

Glad we were able to help.
Al

Is your entire bath carpeted or is there a different material used

The "bath" is linoleum and consists of the shower and toilet, outside the door is my bedroom which has the vanity and sinks, that is carpeted. It is all dry now and the musty smell is pretty well gone, I still have the window open and the air conditioner set to de humidify just to keep things moving in here. You guys have been so helpful I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

Oh and there is no contractor, I am kind of broke right now so no Ozone machine has been used.

I wish I was able to respond a little sooner, but:
1) It's important to remove most of water ASAP
2) Mold starts growing within 24 hours.
3) Bleach+water and/or spray disinfectant ASAP
4) Fans can also be used to dry things
5) You did everything else right.
6) Drywall may need to be replaced.

I did use a bleach/water solution on the carpet and we sucked out BUCKETFULS of water as soon as it happened, did the fan until yesterday, it feels all dry. So far knock on wood the drywall seems to be holding, not even any sagging. We put a space heater on a ladder in the garage to dry the drywall on the roof of the garage. If things end up not working out can I still make a claim on my homeowners? I didn't even know I could use the homeowners policy until a day or two into this.