How do you prevent mildew from forming on wet carpeting?

Factual Questions
1

Just had a minor flood in my basement. While I dry out the carpeting, I’m wondering if there’s anything I can apply to it (either underside or on top), and where I can purchase it, to prevent mildew from forming (and, of course, won’t harm the carpet)…the carpeting is pretty heavy, so it’s taking a while to dry.

2

My experience says it’s not the carpet that’s the problem, but the pad underneath. The pad is likely made of spongy foam like stuff and it will take forever to dry, which means it will always stink.

I would pull the carpet up and throw the pad away.

3

I’ve salvaged wet carpet with padding before. What you need to do is get one of those upright carpet cleaners with heat (Bissel, Dirt Devil, etc) and just keep working the carpet. Over and over. A wet/dry shop vac will also help. You also need to get a couple space heaters or baseboard type portable heaters and some fans. Run the heaters and use the fans to blow the hot air into the carpet. Keep the warm air moving and relocate the heaters/fans to make sure there are no prolonged wet spots that will allow the mildew to start.
Keep those vacuums going and don’t give up.

I’ve done this in two different basements and saved the carpet both times. No lingering odors.
The key is to start the drying process ASAP.
The couple days work is worth the $1,500 to replace the carpet and padding.
You won’t have to keep at it steady for the whole time but you will be quite busy for at least two days.

Also, get a dehumidifier or two going down there!!

4

Thanks…

I should have mentioned that I’ve already lifted up the carpet where I can (there’s a riser that covers about 1/3 of the floor that is too heavy to move, but it appears that the weight of it has prevented the water from seeping underneath) and have blowers blowing on it, plus I’m running the A/C (I don’t have a dehumidifier in the house) and I have the heat turned on. But due to the thickness of the carpet I’m concerned that the mildew will start developing anyway (I’m not too concerned about the padding, that’s easy enough to replace). Also, because of the position of the riser, the wet carpet is sort of L shaped, and I can only lift up one side of the L at a time.

5

I’ve used this Vital-Oxide stuff with decent results. Not sure how much you’d need for a big ol’ carpet, though.