Should my carpet be replaced?

[Jeff]

I'm not a home owner, but I'm sure you guys will forgive me for that. :) Water from a backed up storm drain got inside my basement apartment and on half the carpet. It wasn't foot deep or anything like that, but there was lots of swish-swashing when walking around. Anyway, my landlord, got most of the water sucked out and after the carpet dried, he got someone in to clean it. It LOOKS fine now, with no stains, but smells like a cross between a wet dish cloth and garbage. Is there anything more that can be done to salvage it or does it have to come out?

If my landlord suggests getting it treated further, should I just put my foot down and get him to replace it?

Thanks,

Jeff

[bambam]

The carpet should be out of there. There is no way you should be exposed to whatever the *cause* of the unpleasant smell is .. and there is no way the *cause* is going to come out of that carpet.

Yes. He may be having a problem with his insurance company insisting the carpet be treated rather than replaced. If this is the case, it strikes me as a very short sighted approach. The cost of replacing the carpet is modest when compared to the risk of a future action over illness caused by the conditions in the carpet ... and the negligence of the landlord in failing to realize it should be replaced. (When you request the carpet be replaced to protect your health, your request well may push refusal away from the definition of "unreasonable, evennegligent" and more towards "reckless".)

My other question would be what has been done to ensure this won't continue happening.

Ken

[m Ransley]

It should be junked unless he wants to try de-Molding it, waisting more money, to then end up replacing it when it stinks again after the deoderiser wears off. Call your insurance broker to see what is their normal procedure, they will probably say junk it.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If the carpet was saturated with storm drain water, no telling what is lurking in there now. Smells like garbage because it has garbage in it. Surface cleaning is not good enough. I would insist it be removed for health reasons. His insurance may cover it.

[Jo]

There is a good chance that your home is now legally uninhabitable. You can cancel your lease and move out immediately for health hazard problem.

Pj

[Joe Bobst]

Get a little more clout on your side by calling the City or County Health Department. An insurance company will have to pay attention to them if there are mold issues. HTH

Joe

[J Kelly]

Only if he has flood insurance. My regular homeowners policy covers "backup of sewer and overflow of sump pump" but I don't know if a backed up storm drain would be covered.

[Zypher]

If it's a CITY storm drain, ....... maybe they should be involved? Just a suggestion.

[Joshua Putnam]

Possibly the landlord didn't report it to his insurance, fearing the outcome of a water damage claim.

Also quite possible, if that was rain water backing up into the basement, that his insurance says, "Sorry, that's a flood loss, and you don't have flood insurance."