I was cleaning up dead ants on the side of the house... meaning I hose those little guys out. I over hosed them because water then seeped into my basement which meant... since the basement is finished it seeped onto my carpet. Now, there is a stintch smell of muskyness... How do I get it out?
What your smelling is mold. If you simply used a hose to wash away some ants. You have a bigger issue then just ants. Running a hose for such a short time resulted in water seepage into your basement indicates that you have a leaky basement and has been that way for some time.
You need to remove this carpet at once. Forget about drying it. Once the mold has developed you simply cannot get rid of it by simply drying. In fact drying the carpet can result in much higher mold spores in the air. also if you have any wall board that may have got wet as a result of this to will need to be cut away. As mold is also growing behind the wall(s)
You can talk to the insurance company about this issue. Perhaps they will cover this in your homeowner’s policy. Although I doubt it. Most policies do not cover basement water i.e. Flood damage. But perhaps you have this coverage? It does not hurt to ask them anyway you never know.
Once you remove the damaged material you need to hire a contractor who does water proofing. This is another subject all together. You need to shop around for someone who does this type of work. You will get all kinds of prices, mostly high. They will in an attempt to sell you their service tell you that you must act now or risk additional damage to the house and your health. Most of those snake oil salesmen are tying to scare you into spending much more then you need to. In any case you do need to fix this issue or it will repeat itself every time it rains.
Posts: 1436 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: 31 January 2006
I used an excessive amount of water to hose down the ants... I have no idea water could seep in from the outside...
My neighbor told me they were "building/contractor ants" because I was pulling weeds & I aggraviated the ground -
There was so many I did not want them in my house so instead of waiting for the combat to kick in - I watered them down while combat took its time to kick in.
As far as the wet carpet - Im lost - that hads never happened before & weve gotten "hurraine like rain" so im puzzled there...
Carpenter ants in fact all ants will die very fast using combat or other over the counter sprays. These ants do not live in ground however. What you pulled out of the ground while weeding were pavement or citranela ants. These ants create little mounds of soil called ant hills. Regardless, The spray would work much faster.
Carpet, however. First off, if the carpet smelled as soon as it got wet, then this has happned before. What your smelling is mold growing under the carpet and within the padding. Remove this. You cannot clean this once the mold has developed. Once the carpet is removed you will see the source of the moisture. You said that the ceiling got wet when you sprayed the outside of the house? Is that where the water came in and dripped onto the carpet? You also said the top of the sump pump cover was wet? Is the pume piping leaking? Is the carpet still wet if so you must remove this to find out where the water is coming in. Could be cracked sewage pipe underground. Back ups from plugged pipes can enter into basement through floor drains and traps that have loose covers. All of which can be hidden by carpets put down on basement floor. If this has never happened before, and the smell was fairly fast once the carpet got wet. Within 24 hours or less, my bet is you have a issue with sewage pipe under floor.
Posts: 1436 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: 31 January 2006
Thank you - The village public works dept was out cleaning the sewers today - I initally saw them early morning hours and then later in the morning at one point. So, the guy (village pub wrks employee) came to the sewer in next to my home & I asked him were the water levels too high he said no...
For some reason I assumed that was also apart \of the issue. He said why did you flood- Explained the issue and he along with his co worker came into my back yard & said I may just be the lowest home collecting the water - to also move my (sump pump - plastic black tubing towards the front of the house) it will eliminate much of the water collection into my sump pump. I did that so I am hoping to see a difference (I saw them & said God answered my prayers). I dont need any issues - I just wont accept them..... huuuh So, maybe that should fix it huh. Yes!!!!! Im REALLY Hoping & praying that helps
Moving the sump pump discharge should do little if any at all on water in the basement. If this is truly the case then the water proofing system installed on the outside of the foundation has failed. No water should be getting into the basement at all if this system is working properly.
Posts: 1436 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: 31 January 2006