Mold (Mould dammit!) odors (odours..sigh!)

[Hack Attack]

Ok..okay? Got a hotel unit that had a spa bath overflow 2 wks ago as occupant passed out after too many vinos (wines) attended several days after event when it started to smell.. nothing to extract so put dehu in which knocked the smell..

New drunken occupant has done it again.. extracted and dehu now stinks worse than your nana's nana, obvious high biological load though nothing visible..

Suggestions and steps going forward thanks?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Something isn't dry that's why the odor. You have moisture somewhere, the microbial activity is off gassing giving you odor.

Is it moldy sell or did the old guy vomit? Is it in a suite or pool area? What are the surfaces? Tile? Carpet?

 

[Hack Attack]

Its in a carpeted bedroom room with vinyl flooring in ensuite spa bath (suite? ) no human biological additions that I'm aware of.
But definite mold smell even on balcony outside the room, step inside is more funky than James Brown.
Cant find any moisture with protimeter had PHNX LGR 200 running 2 days in there.

Have access to a Hepa scrubber but that will only address airbourne spores not original source correct?

 

[JohnHawkP]

Mold growth requires moisture and food sources and a substrate capable of sustaining growth.

The water vapour during the flood event can migrate through drywall and the paper lining the drywall is a food source.

Have you checked every part of the walls and skirting boards for excess moisture?

What is under the carpet? Wood, Concrete Slab or Subfloor?

Are you convinced the floor under the carpet is dry?

It is also possible the mold is unrelated to the flood event.

It's gotta be somewhere.

 

[Mama Fen]

Its in a carpeted bedroom room with vinyl flooring in ensuite spa bath (suite? ) no human biological additions that I'm aware of.
But definite mold smell even on balcony outside the room, step inside is more funky than James Brown.
Cant find any moisture with protimeter had PHNX LGR 200 running 2 days in there.

Have access to a Hepa scrubber but that will only address airbourne spores not original source correct?

Air scrubber with charcoal prefilter will address odor as well as airborne (airbourne, heh) spores.

Something somewhere is still wet. Under the tub, behind walls, subfloor, it's hiding somewhere. If you've got a thermal camera, try to track down cool areas as potential pockets of moisture.

And there is DEFINITELY biological material in tub water, no matter how "clean" or chlorinated it is. Human skin cells and skin oils are a favorite (favourite) food of Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and other pathogenic bacteria, and if the guy fell asleep in the tub he likely peed in it too. There is potential for E coli and several species of staph in there. If there's enough moisture for mold growth, then the bacteria are partying too. They may be contributing to the James Brown smell. Look for anything resembling a pinkish-orange slimy film on hard surfaces and that's a pretty good sign that Serratia has established too.

Suggest a total decon with soft-surface labeled antimicrobial, air scrubber with charcoal prefilter, walk with IR camera to pinpoint moisture, and continue drying to target moisture sources. Even the best dehu in the world can't dry out behind a wall or under a tub if there's no air flow.

 

[kmdineen]

Fungus got a foothold and started to grow after the first overflow. When dry the fungus went dormant. The new flood spritzed the fungus and it started growing and off gassing again. The fungus should be located and removed.

 

[Desk Jockey]

An activated Charcoal/Potassium filter will help but it is very passive/slow process. If you decide to go that route you’re much better off with an OdorKlenz cartridge. It will cost more but be much more effective. There is much more surface media with an OdorKlenz cartridge, so naturally it works much better.

However I think there are easier ways to tackle the odor but first you must find the source. Phantom odors can be a real “tail chase”. I agree use an IR camera, if anything is wet the camera will show temperature differential.

If you don't have a camera or access to one, take your time with a moisture probe and meticulously inspect the area. There is moisture somewhere.

 

[Hack Attack]

Spoke to some of the staff there, they said that room and the one above it have been flooded numerous times and have sometimes been allowed to dry on there own if the hotel wasn't busy.
Going back tomorrow with a mate who has an IR camera and bit more experience than me

 

[Desk Jockey]

We have over 40 HEPA Air Scrubbers. 32 being the Drieaz HEPA 500's with half a dozen 1000's and 4-2500's.

They are great machines and will work for odors but we generally only use them for odors on fire damage work. Our company uses them on a variety of projects to control and capture particulate. Mold Remediation, water damage, sewage cleanup, fire extinguisher powder, post construction dust control. They work great for those uses but for odor control it's a slow process.

However at $88.00 a day rental, it doesn't take many days to realize there are more cost-effective ways of handling odor. Now occasionally we get office settings where any deodorant, disinfectant or sanitizer could cause a problem with the inhabitants. Then we will used the HEPA 500'S with the OdorKlenz.

 

[Hack Attack]

Found few areas in wall towards the ceiling and on ceiling at 43% wm lifted carpet and its dry and clean..

went to the adjoining room next door where there was no noticable odor and lifted carpet to find this hot mess..

well.. there was no odor it stinks now too!

 

[Desk Jockey]

At least you found it.