The clorox probably won't do much to remove it I'm afraid! If it was just on top of the flooring, and you didn't see an stain coming through the flooring, then mold you found probably wasn't caused by water under the flooring. That said, basements are by nature damp and mold likes damp dark areas. There are always mold spores in the air, and where ever they land, they grow if left for a long enough time. If you keep the air circulating and keep the humidity down, you should be ok.

The "supports" down the middle of the bed are those 3 flimsy laminate boards that screw onto the top of the heavy pieces. So I will make a strong brace, drill holes thru the back of each of the baskets cubbies (those baskets are stuffed full of clothes towels etc, so will the air flow thru the holes ,then thru the dead coffin area as I call it, then thru the other side holes out into the opposite baskets? I have only 4 rooms, all literally separate, kitchen,living,bedroom 1,bedroom 2. the bathroom is really tiny. it does have a double hung window in it, so i should crack it when showering and for a bit after.. Regarding cleaning the bed, first of all, yes the bottom of the mattress is damp, I have puddles of water on top of the laminate, but have no smell in the water, no color, no residue showing on the furniture yet, and no stain on the mattress,just wet. I may have caught this problem early? I should cut open the mattress to see what is in there? So since i have no "mold" i.e. gray green blue icky stuff on the furniture, can I just wipe it down with lysol? Is mold visible? (I know a dumb question) The bed is nicely wet, but the laminate has not gotten soggy at all, still firm. I'll look into a humidifier(s). hope they don't cost as much as the electric heater! oh, and you asked about my health? You make me crack up on that one. I have had a cold on/off/ on/off for months (could be my sister's kids I nanny sit for tho), one of my cats has developed asthma...... I think I will hit ikea and buy a futon style bed (just the cushion part,no frame) or maybe a thick foam topper and sleep on the living room floor (the other bedroom has no heat, take off that flimsy laminate and let the bed breathe for awhile after I drill the holes. -;like a few weeks min? Like you mentioned earlier, I'm not investing in an expensive mattress until I know this problem is fixed. so tomorrow I will pull the bed apart-when I get help to move that heavy mattress.

Building Science Corp. has long recommended avoiding vinyl flooring on basement flooring or slabs. Plastic test or not. BSC-103 Understanding Basements Depending on how the walls were constructed, there certainly could be mould developing in them as well. Mechanical dehumidification is essential in virtually all basements to keep relative humidity below 50% at the least. A bleach solution is the usual recommendation for removing mould odours. A local janitorial supply company might have some specialty products that will work well.

It depends on what the PAD is made of. Over wood you do NOT want a vapour barrier. Ever. Wood sweats. The droplets the wood releases will HIT the vapour barrier (or closed cell rubber, or whatever is used for vapour barrier) and then DRIP DOWN on to the hardwood. Then it sits...and rots. A breathable carpet pad that is fibre based (like felted mixed fibre pad from recycled blue jeans...etc) will work very well. Sometimes the OLD FINISH on the hardwood will chemically interfere with rubber or rubberized products. The finish on the wood can rub against a rubber carpet pad. But most squeaks come from wood rubbing on metal like nails. It happens. Especially with older homes (30+ year old homes that have dried out = dry wood shrank, the nail holes got bigger and now you have loose boards = squeaking).