We have been invaded by an uninvited guest. The "guest' is the most foul odor imaginable that is emanating from the carpet in the forward half of the boat. It is so bad that I am beginning to think it might be an alien life form that has taken up residence. To say that this entity is unwelcome is understating the emotion both Sweetie and I feel at its presence.
It all started when the newly installed faucet in the head began leaking, slowly at first, then with delusions of Niagara Falls. I noticed the carpet was damp, but it took a few days to realize that it was getting worse and worse. At first, I was afraid we were sinking and that the forward bilge was full to the brim, soaking the carpet through from the underside. I was hesitant to pull the bilge boards for fear of what I would find.
Thankfully, Sweetie has more investigative genes and dove right in. The bilge was dry, but the carpet was soaked through. Luckily, he found and repaired the leaky faucet fitting and we set up fans to begin drying the carpet. The weather was fine, so we opened all the ports and hatches and let the fans blow day and night for over a week. Sweetie finally installed a low wattage heater in the bilge and has propped up the carpeted bilge boards to hasten the drying process. It's a little difficult to navigate down the steps to the forward cabin with the bilge board in such an awkward position, but I'm becoming familiar with the terrain now.
I don't know what makes the wet rug smell so bad, but if we don't solve the problem soon, the carpets will have to come out. I'm hoping underneath there's the same mahogany parquet flooring that we have in the main salon. The horrible odor might be coming from the glue they used to hold down the carpet (oh Lord, I hope not!), or the perhaps from the soggy layer of sponge backing, which is most likely mildew heaven by now.
After almost a week, the carpet is almost dry, but the unforgivable scent lingers on. I hope our "˜guest' decides to leave soon. It's one of those embarrassing odors that you don't want to share with your friends so, whenever anybody drops by, we have to make excuses not to invite them in. We will give it one more week before the carpet comes out for good. I will sprinkle baking soda over the surface and let it set, then vacuum it off, I'll try one of those spray-and-go carpet cleaners and please, if anybody has an idea how to "˜kill the beast', I'm open to suggestion. Wish me luck!
