Wet Carpet

Thankfully not the heater core . The rubber cowl bladder must have plugged up on my 2006 GT during this last massive storm, and the passenger side carpets front and back got soaked..I plan to remove the bladder and clean the area, replace the cabin filter ( where the water enters ) ,however I am asking the forums advice on 2 points. Should I just toss the bladder , or if it's not too dried out massage it with some pure silicone to revive the elasticity ???...Also, is it mandatory to lift up the carpet and install new under padding , I don't want the work , but I am afraid of mold growing under the carpet..What do you guys think ? Thanks in advance !

I removed the bladders from my 2006 GT, replaced all grommets, and after a brutal rain I still am getting a passenger side leak....Between rains I thought I was dry, the smell subsided and rug seemed dry to the touch..I decided to pull up the plastic sill (just pull up on it , the sill pops off easy,snaps back on easy ) and look under the rug..Sure enough, the padding was soaked and stinky,so I would get under there and make sure..I cut out the rug on the passenger side to watch what happened in the next rain,and my fixes did not work...Now I have to do a process of elimination testing on the car,trying to simulate rain and see where the water is entering..