I spilled about a pint of water on the carpet two days ago, and now my room STINKS!?

Question

I didn't realize my glass of water had been knocked over until my room started to smell really bad. I've used a towel on the carpet, but the spot is still a little damp. I used some Woolite on the carpet, and that took care of the smell. Should I be worried? What else can I do?

Answer 1

As much as chlorine bleach can get rid of mold and mildew, resist using it on carpet because it might cause areas of the carpet to turn white.  Drying it out helps, but it might not get rid of all of the mold and/or mildew at the bottom of the carpet or in the  pad.  If drying it out isn't enough, you might need to replace the carpet AND the pad. Really, though, a glass of water shouldn't cause THAT much damage unless you live in an overly humid area where you might already have problems that you don't know of.

Answer 2

Try aiming a fan on it to help dry it. A pint isn't really much water, the towel should have soaked up most of.^

Answer 3

You could or do have mold growing under the carpet. You need to pull up the carpet and clean it and air it out. Make sure you clean it very well.

Answer 4

I'm guessing it's an old carpet?  Do you rent or own?  

Option 1: Rip up the carpet, clean the underfloor, and/or throw the old carpet away.

Option 2: If you're worried about spores, go rent a steam carpet cleaner with some good shampoo.  That will do a number on the spores.  You should probably do the rest of your house if that carpet is throughout.  

Option 3: Sprinkle baking soda all over your carpet to make it at least smell nicer.

Option 4: Do nothing and hope for the best.

Answer 5

You can use a wet/dry shop vac to vacuum up whatever water might still be there.

You can use a clean paint roller to roll over the area and soak up excess water.

Turn on a box fan to get some air moving in there.

If you have a dehumidifier run it in the room for a few days.

You really don't want moisture indoors.  You're risking a mold situation and, as you've learned, some really bad funk odors.