Carpet/Vent Mildew

[FB]

I recently had a leak in my apartment that covered a small area of carpeting with water. After trying to clean it, the manager replaced the carpeting and padding and sprayed some anti mildw stuff on the walls and baseboard. I still smell some musty, mildwy odors. I can't tell if it's in the floor or coming from the air vents. I tried carpet cleaners and plain baking soda but no luck.

Is there anything I can apply to the new carpet, padding and floor underneath it to definitely get rid of any last mildew, and to the air vents as well in case some mold got in. (I only smell the mildew near the vents of the "accident" and not in any other area of the apartment)

Someone suggested "Sterifab." Has anyone heard of it or have any other suggestions? TIA

[Sawney Beane]

I can see everyone is baffled. The vents sound okay. Was the wood thoroughly dry before the padding went down? Cleaning the carpet with a water product may make the problem worse by keeping the floor underneath from drying. If I clean my carpet with water, I choose a day when the indoor humidity is fairly low, I avoid getting it very wet, and after sucking up water with a machine I use a fan to speed drying.

Sterifab will kill insects and stop the growth of bacteria and fungi. Borax also does those things, either by washing a surface or sprinking on a carpet. It wouldn't be much good if the smell is coming from the floor under the carpet. When I've had a musty spot, I've cured it by using a fan a couple of days until whatever is below the surface of the carpet is dry.

[0tterbot]

can you lift up part of the carpet to see/smell what's happening underneath? well, clearly you _can_, but will you? ;-) that would at least help you decide if it's the carpet because the floor was never dried properly (which sounds rather likely), or something else. if the floor was still damp, i'm unsure that applying a product from the top will really fix the problem... kylie