Diy sos!

[Kryten]

I'm hoping that there's a DIY guru out there who can offer some sage advice to a DIY biff (namely me)!

Kryten Towers has had a lot of problems over the last few months with condensation. Its a new build house and as you can expect its been drying out since it was finished last January and I moved in last April.

I had a bookcase up against a wall which acted like a moisture trap, causing the paint on the skirting board to go a subtle shade of brown and bulge out.

Last weekend I got that sorted, however in doing so I had to pull the carpet up in the affected area so I could paint over the treated area, and I think the condensation has affected the carpet and underlay, as there is a distinctly musty, mouldy type smell now emanating from the area. Both the underlay and the carpet are completely dry but the smell is quite noticeable.

Last night I applied large quantities of bicarbonate of soda to the carpet as I was told this was highly effective in neutralising the whiff - however the whiff is still there, and I think I mighty need to do something to the underlay. Where I am stuck is - what can I do to get rid of the smell? Any ideas?

 

[Witty_Banter]

Are you sure the smell is coming from the carpet / underlay and not the floor or skirtingboards? (wood is very porous and susceptible to mould). Carpet / underlay are / can be predominantly plastic-based, so might not be the problem.

 

[Kryten]

Are you sure the smell is coming from the carpet / underlay and not the floor or skirtingboards? (wood is very porous and susceptible to mould). Carpet / underlay are / can be predominantly plastic-based, so might not be the problem.

Most definitely the carpet - I have wiped the skirting board down with a biocide and once it was painted and dried it was wiped down again. I also stuck my head down when I had the carpet up and it is coming from the carpet backing and the underlay....

 

[Gonterseed]

If it's a new build and you were the first person in the house then have a word with the builders. If it's damp rising through the floor there may be a problem with the damp course and if that's the case no amount of anti-damp potions will cure the problem.

 

[Wobbly_Jon]

Are you really sure it's the carpet/underlay which is causing the odourus wiff?
From what I remember back in heady days of Shiny 2 RIC your botty burbs could clear the Ops Room quicker than the promise of an early stack.

 

[Kryten]

Are you really sure it's the carpet/underlay which is causing the odourus wiff?
From what I remember back in heady days of Shiny 2 RIC your botty burbs could clear the Ops Room quicker than the promise of an early stack.

While I admit that my trouser quacks have been know to strip paint off the wall it is most definitely coming from the carpet....

 

[Obi Wan]

Underlay can be trimmed back to the area covered by the bookcase and easily (and cheaply) replaced
you can hire a carpet cleaner which would bring the carpet up quite nicely and remove the "odour"

 

[Entropy]

Is the floor concrete? If so are there pipes in it? Despite being new there could be a leak.

 

[busby1971]

Is the floor concrete? If so are there pipes in it? Despite being new there could be a leak.

Unlikely in a modern house, could be a leak that is falling onto floor from above though.

 

[Kryten]

I had a builder round last night and he confirmed the root cause was condensation - as the area affected is on a dividing wall he said that if it were a leak he would expect to see similar damage in the neighbours house - which he checked and confirmed that there wasn't. He said that condensation coming out of the wall and skirting board during the drying out process had been trapped in the underlay and had permeated up into the carpet.

His suggestion was exactly the same as Obi-Wans; namely, cut away the affected piece of underlay and replace with a similar bit - then clean the carpets.......

Guess I know what I am doing this weekend!