How do you get a "funk" out of carpet?

[anonomom]

DDs usually have a sippy cup of water with them at bedtime. Apparently, DD2 has been knocking over her water every night and it's been slowly leaking (which we failed to notice). Now their room smells like a locker room -- you know that unpleasant, damp funk? The carpet feels dry, but I have a feeling the padding underneath has been damp for too long.

I'm thinking to put baking soda all over the spot, but I worry we're too far gone for that. Does anyone have other ideas?

[Blue Hydrangea]

If you have had damp carpet pad for some time, I'd wonder if the "funk" your are smelling is actually mold/mildew under the carpet that can't be seen. We've had success using a mold cleaner from a janetorial supply store. I'm not at home and can't give you the name off hand, but it was a liquid concentrate that you could wash with or use as a spray, we opted to spray on our damp carpet when we got water in our finished basement. Took care of the smell by the time it was dry. Haven't had any problems since.

Since it's such a small spot thoough, I wonder if Lysol poured on that spot would work?

[gatorsmom]

If you think the pad underneath is damp, how about putting a small oscillating fan blowing right on that spot of the carpet during the day? Or, you could put the fan on the spot after you treat it with lysol or another stain remover.

[brittone2]

I'd try an enzyme cleaner to see if that helps. BioKleen Bac-Out is good stuff, and lots of people also like Nature's Miracle. Biokleen has a nice fresh natural limey scent that might help in the interim too.