1 of my office cleaning acct's had some water damage in 1 office. water came from roof, down inside a wall (1 side of the wall butts up to concrete, the other side butts up to drywall). the drywall side is the side where water seaped through the baseboard. i pulled 13 gallons out and put fans on it. water continued to seap through slowly and it took 4 days to dry. needless to say, it really smells musty in there. i told them before hand that i am not a water damage expert, and that if me extracting as much water as i can doesnt help the problem, they'd have to contact a water damage expert. they dont really care but the fella who works in this stink wants it masked. i explained that while the smell is coming from the carpet, the smell will also come from the wall / baseboard which he understood.

so my simple question is, what should i purchase to mask this odor in the carpet. yes i know it wont stop the problem and it may still stink. but i need to show them i am trying something.

thanx for any help --- Derek

Many a carpet cleaner has gotten in over his head in a small water damage, remember the mold thing, some big awards by the courts have ruined some real nice carpet cleaners trying to help a client. Tell them to get a water damage expert on site as soon as possible.

To late for the water damage person. You need a mold expert. Someone will be learning an expensive lesson.

Boy, oh boy...

It doesn't matter that "you told them you were no water damage expert"

The second you began "pulling water" from that job, you just bought it from a liabilty standpoint. 4 days to dry..?? yikes ! There's a reason it smells musty. It's because it was not properly remediated.

My advice, get an expert in there fast, and do alot of praying. When it comes to water damage...either do it as an expert, or walk away from even the smallest hot water leak...with mold being such a hot topic these days...that "little water job" can cost you your entire business, in less than the 4 days it took you to dry that job.

Not worth it...be careful

KC

rgr that, like i said i toldem to go that route, up to them if they want to. i also mentioned the scary M word to them and they joked about it lol...not my problem. this is probably the 4th smallish water damage they have had in the 10+ years i been there. realistically, ALOT of small companies wont go and call a WD expert in if they can just suck it up / dry it out themselves. i am not worried about this acct, been cleaning they're offices for 10+ years. but i will keep that info in mind for the future, thanx fellas .

thanx --- Derek.

BTW, any ideas on something topical to mask the odor?

The only way I know (and I'm no WD expert...won't even do the smallest sink leak due to liability) that will get rid of the persistent odor is to remove the source & treat.

And if I remember, you said it ran down the inside of a wall...not sure about others, but that is scary stuff to me...the inside of that wall needs to be remediated or else the smell will always remain. I seriously doubt that anything topical will be more than a temporary fix.

But, Milgo & Microban are 2 that come to mind from when I used to do WD work.

Just be careful, D. There are alot of folks out there just looking for an easy payday at your expense. And this board and the other boards, really need your open-minded & can-do attitude, so don't go disappearing on us, lol

So, just be careful...the liability is not worth "doing a small favor" for an acct.

Take care,
KC

true enough KC, i will definitely not be doing this again.

thanx for the timely advice fellas! --- Derek (hoping to be here next month lol)

Hi guys,

just a wee note and a couple of suggestions from down under New Zealand.

I operate a fire and flood restoration business and smell can tell you a lot about your job and its progress or lack of it.

Is it a wet smell or a mould smell? Musty.... taking too long to dry... may be either not yet fully dry or could be that there is a mould issue. Has this situation occurred before? Is it possible that the mould was already there and this prolonged drying gave it the necessary conditions to bloom?

We thankfully do not have the mould issue/ mitigation issues etc over here.....yet. I'm not certified in Mould remediation so can't advise in that regard.

If it still smells its NOT restored to a pre loss condition. As I monitor a WDR job, I walk into the room and can tell immediately that the room is dry. No wet smell. Or that it needs another day or what ever.

A couple of points... It is totally pointless STARTING a WDR job unless the source has been stopped. If they want you to start before then, then its written instructions only, disclaimers etc whatever your paper trail involves. 4 days is way too long for what you've described. I would definately involve a WDR co.

Another suggestion. Although I cover a wide range of activities in my business, I often sub out work to other companies if I can't handle it, not certified in it, don't do it, can't be bothered doing it.....whatever.

Alot of my water blasting, general cleaning, sometime even carpet and upholstery cleaning. I have a list of co that I work in with and sub the work out, pay them, add my margins etc on and pass it on. Don't be afraid to network with your competition or similar service companies.

Sorry its a bit long. If any further queries please ask.

Regards, John

Hi, should have also said that I hate the use of masking agents. They do have a place and usually the only time I use it is for the business situation where they have a FDR or WDR odour and require a pleasant smell to be able to continue trading etc.

In that case I'll use Vapour Tec's Vapour Shark. Either the shark or even one of their cartridges in front of an air mover.

Hope this helps.

John

John Middleton
Carpet Pro Ltd
Palmerston North
New Zealand

First of all you should apply a mildicide to prevent mildew from growing,could be critical after 72 hrs.if not dried properly..Ensure that the problem gets fixed and air movement to keep dry is imperative.