Fish store question?

[Larry B]

A fish store had their filter system plug-up and the water went onto the floor and not back into the tanks.

Store is tile/CGD. They want the carpet cleaned and nothing done with the tile. Pulling the carpet is not an option they just want it cleaned.

What would be the best product to use on a problem like this to knock down the fish odor? We took a small section that was just setting on the floor and soaked it with Bottom Line then cleaned and you can still smell the fish.

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

I'm sure you will get a lot of different answers as people have success with different products.

What I like to use is Judsons Quat-A-Lot

http://www.truckmountdirect.com/

 

[John Buxton]

I would think;

Clean and extract as much residue as possible

Dry it

Use a protein odor product

The store is still gonna smell like fish.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Be careful about using chem's around fish.

Some chemicals can affect them fish, you wouldn't want to be forced to buy a bunch of floaters. :wink:

 

[MicahR]

Hydrocide

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

Ditto on Hydrocide

 

[Larry B]

Just got back from a visit with the stores owner.

They now have the property owner involved because the store next door also has a fishy smell because there is no wall above the drop ceiling so air passes between them. The owner of the store next door called a Restoration company (I have the name didnt want to post it) and recorded the call that had a guy telling her the smell was not fish but mold growing under the carpet.

I have now been in this store 3 times and its a fish smell. The carpet is CGD and after the water over flowed they used shopvacs and fans to dry it out. The owner said the floor was dry to touch before the closed and at no point was the water even close to the wall.

The building is half tile half CGD on cement flooring, concrete block walls with paneling over them & drop ceilings. I told the property owner the chances of it having mold from what happened was slim but they could have it tested if wanted. I went on to tell her its a fish store and that smell is not just in the carpet but all the fish tanks, the paneling on the walls & the ceiling tiles.

How the hell can a restoration company tell a fish store the smell is mold over the phone? I also found it funny that the guy on the recording made it a point to say contact your insurance provider to see if you have coverage for this.

 

[Bob Foster]

It's a 3 and make them sign off that you are proceeding with their permission even though you recogmend removal and replacement.


My idea...

Extract all flooded areas.

then shoot it with QuataLot and soak it in good - spray it on super heavy and allow a 1/2 hour dwell then extract again

Do it again with quat only with a lighter spray extract (you could skip this step)

Clean with Judson Juice and dry the crap out of it.

Overkill I know but that should get it.

The fishy have to go or at least turn off the aeration systems until the final extraction is about dry.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Actually Fish stores are notorious for having mold.....especially insured one's!
:roll:

What a crook! :x

 

[Larry B]

Actually Fish stores are notorious for having mold.....especially insured one's!
:roll:

What a crook! :x

LMAO

Chavez whats funny is this was a very large restoration service and the call was placed to their home office that is 20 miles down the road from us. I could see this from some guy with 2 fans and a DH in his van but not from this place.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Some of the biggest crooks in this industry have been the large restoration companies! :x

Not all large restoration companies are crooked, the majority are not, but a few bad apples fook it up for the rest of us!

Greedy is an evil thing!

 

[Jack May]

I'd be tempted to run..... fast.

We had a call on a Sunday morning 2 weeks ago where a fish tank had broken and spewed fish, water, ornaments, stones, grit and you name it all over a lounge room carpet. Happened during the night and they found it the next morning.

Even at less than maybe 8 hours, that was ripe to smell!!

We recommended immediate rip out and cleaning and sanitising of the concrete slab and replace with new underlay and carpet.

They objected because of a lack of insurance cover.

We basically put in a cost that was reasonably high, and said IF they wanted to go ahead, against our professional advice, that's the cost, they sign off (one of the few times I get signatures) or we walk.

We walked...

John

 

[CapeCleaner]

Maybe I missed something but what happened to all the water? I didn't see anything about extracting or determining how far the water traveled. The adjacent business probably has legitimate concerns. Just seems like more than a few steps missing here.

 

[Larry B]

Maybe I missed something but what happened to all the water? I didn't see anything about extracting or determining how far the water traveled. The adjacent business probably has legitimate concerns. Just seems like more than a few steps missing here.

read

 

[CapeCleaner]

.... after the water over flowed they used shopvacs and fans to dry it out. The owner said the floor was dry to touch before the closed and at no point was the water even close to the wall.

I saw that the shop owner removed the water with shop vacs. I guess what I really meant was did anyone perform proper extraction and really determine where ALL the water went. "Dry to the touch", especially the shop owners touch, and taking the owner's word that "at no point was the water even close to the wall" - of course it wasn't, because if it was the owner now has a much larger problem - and going for a simple carpet cleaning seems to a big step backwards. I'm still new to the restoration field but I still think there is much missing for doing this job the right way.

 

[Larry B]

What was I going to extract? Carpet was dry when I got their.


Take the shop owners word? Why wouldnt I? The owner and employees all said what went on and where the water went. You could also see the water trail across the carpet. Walls and floor are concrete & block with a layer of paneling from the 60's over the block. Nothing behind the paneling but block and there is even no baseboards.

Shops on both sides had no complaints about water coming through the wall or even their floors getting wet they just didnt like the odors coming over the wall.

Now with that said. I was NOT called out their to extract water I was called after the fact to clean the carpet and NOTHING else. It is not my job as a CC to cram shit down their throats or hold a full scale investigation into what had went on. The place was dry when I got their. The owner was very clear on not removing the carpet.


"I'm still new to the restoration field but I still think there is much missing for doing this job the right way."

Like push the fish tanks over and start from scratch?

Get the insurance info and really "F" them over?

 

[alazo1]

Did you check for dryness with a probe?. It's possible that there is rubber in the backing of the carpet and will stink. I'd have them sign a waiver if you're gonna put down any kind of deodorizer. Like it's been said, fish can be sensitive to a lot of odors. You could at least suggest that they have carbon running through their systems before you start. Also, if they have saltwater fish and have any "protein skimmers" running tell them to turn them off. Protein skimmers suck air to create bubbles that are injected into the water.

Albert

 

[Larry B]

No rubber but we also walked from the job. Done nothing.

 

[Desk Jockey]

It's always tough turning down work, but sometimes you're better off in the long run.

That store sounded like one of those times!