Is this mould/damp?

ARainyDay

I've moved into a rented property, and have noticed a strange smell in the downstairs kitchen, which is carpeted.
The smell is almost like a sour urine smell, but not as strong.

There are no signs of mould near the walls, though there are bits of the carpet where I find it hard to tell whether it is damp or just cold (the house is very cold at the moment). There are no signs of mould on the exterior carpet either.
I don't know exactly how long the house has been vacant for before I moved in, I think at least 2 weeks. I don't think the previous owner had any pets.
I'm paranoid the smell is mould, and am now starting to smell it upstairs too (which is also carpeted).

As it's a rental I am unable to take the carpet up to look underneath. It's hard to tell whether the smell is actually mould, or just an old kitchen carpet in an old house.
Is there anything else that could be causing the smell/ any other way to test for mould without taking the carpet up?

Apodemus

If the property has been empty, you probably need to heat and air the place for a couple of weeks, before you try to assess any mould or damp issues.  Some countries take carpet cleaning much more seriously than we do in UK, but even here you could hire the kit and shampoo the carpets - alternatively, I believe that "shake'n'vac" is still available and might refresh/mask the smell.

Doozergirl

If it were mould, it would be visible if you could also smell it.  It would happily grow on any side of the carpet rather than just underneath.  

If course things can go on with water in and around the subfloor, but the fact it seems to upstairs too would make me start with just thinking that it needs a good clean, airing and heating.  

ARainyDay

Thanks both, I will definitely give it a go with some Shake N Vac. I initially thought it was mould as on many websites it says that it can be smelt before it is seen.

YoungBlueEyes

If it were me I'd buy some cheap salt and sprinkle it all over the kitchen carpet. If the smell is from something growing, the salt will kill it. Leave it overnight then sweep up.

Apodemus

YoungBlueEyes said:

If it were me I'd buy some cheap salt and sprinkle it all over the kitchen carpet. If the smell is from something growing, the salt will kill it. Leave it overnight then sweep up.

Hmmm....interesting suggestion.  While you are right that salt (in sufficient quantities) will dehydrate and kill anything that is living, it would probably only be a temporary fix if the humidity in the carpets was still high enough to support life.  Also, the OP would probably still be left with the lingering smell to sort out.  Heating the rooms to get the humidity down would potentially achieve the same as the salt (albeit slightly slower).  Either way, some shake'n'vac (£1.50 for 500g on Amazon) seems cheap enough to be worth a try.

YoungBlueEyes

500g of table salt is 25p in Aldi, cheaper than chips! 

Sure it’s a temp fix, but I thought it’d at least go some way to curing the problem - along with a bit of heating and maybe checking the washing machine doesn’t have a very slow leak or something….? Shake’n’Vac will only cover the smell, not really address the actual issue. It may just be stale smell because of cold spots though. 

mexican_dave

Are we sure salt is a good idea? If you leave salt out we know it goes damp and beyond that salt left loose on a surface seems to form a puddle over time. Putting salt on your carpet is going to form a nasty puddle that would lay within the carpet fibres. I agree with heating the property more and see what happens. If you are still suspicious of the kitchen carpet, take it away to the dump! If you are renting ask the landlord for help. I took up my kitchen carpet and found a puddle of cooking oil underneath! Replaced the carpet with vinyl, more hygienic, now I can see what's been spilt so it can be cleaned-up. Good luck!

Swipe

Salt will attract moisture.

camelot1001

Could it be that the carpets were cleaned when the last tennants left and they have been left slightly damp and the house closed up with no heating or ventilation?