[janellesmommy]

The backing of the carpet and the pad smell musty. I don't know the cause.

It's not a really strong smell, but I am sensitive, especially when I am trying to sleep. I tried baking soda on the carpet overnight, then vacuumed. That worked, but the smell came back a few days later.

How can I either get rid of the smell or cover it up?

 

[fek&fuzz]

Can you pull the carpet and padding up to reveal hardwood floor underneath?

Can you have the padding replaced and the carpet washed?

Or maybe pull the carpet up, vacuum the padding and the floor under the padding, sprinkle with baking soda and then put the carpet back.

 

[Spastica]

I saturate white vinegar (tea tree oil in it is helpful too) on musty/moldy smelling areas and let it dry. It goes into the padding and kills whatever is there. After that dries, then I do the baking soda sprinkling/vacuuming thing too. You really have to mush the baking soda into the rug pile though, otherwise it won't penetrate. Ask your children to stomp on the baking soda to work it into the carpet, do the twist, whatever. That's always fun.