Carpet mold is difficult to handle and get rid of. First, it grows and spreads very fast in damp areas of your home, and once it is a part of your home, removing it means a lot of hard work for you. One likely part of your home that they can breed in is your damp basement or rooms that have inadequate ventilation.
Carpet mold is difficult to handle and get rid of. First, it grows and spreads very fast in damp areas of your home, and once it is a part of your home, removing it means a lot of hard work for you. One likely part of your home that they can breed in is your damp basement or rooms that have inadequate ventilation.
You may not be able to spot carpet mold easily because it breeds below the carpet’s surface. However, by inspecting it regularly, you can check that your carpet is free of this fungus. Here are some ways by which you can tell your carpet is infested with mold:
- There’s a musty odour in your carpet: If you get some kind of smell from your carpet, you can be sure there’s mold in it. This could be due to the room being enclosed, not having enough ventilation and perhaps a degree of dampness too.
- Have you been diagnosed with allergies? If you’ve been diagnosed with allergies lately, such as asthma, respiratory problems and bronchitis, it could be due to the presence of carpet mold. If the members of your family too have been diagnosed with allergies, you should have your carpet checked out as soon as you can. Even if your walls and floors seem clean, your carpet may not be.
- Is your carpet damp? If your carpet has been damp for longer than a day, it could lead to the growth and development of mold spores. This could be due to a water leak from the floor below. If your basement’s pipes are leaking, this could be a big reason for mold to grow in your carpets. Before mold ruins your carpets, dry it immediately.
- Discolouration of carpets due to mold growth: When mold growth is quite advanced, it is common to see discolouration patches on carpets in various colours—black, white or green. The different colours are those of the specific type of mold that resides in your carpet.
- Where to look for mold growth? By examining your carpet every now and then, you can negate its entrance in your home. Raise your carpet off the floor and check its underside for mold. Sniff it for mustiness and look for discoloured patches that signify the growth of mold deposits.
- Use a mold-testing kit: If by using a mold-testing kit, you get positive results, then your carpet does have mold spores. Using this kit means checking the airflow across the length and breadth of the carpet. If there are mold colonies in your carpet, they will fly and land on to the kit and breed there.
How to get mold out of carpet:
- Keep yourself safe: Before you actually get down eliminating the mold deposits you’ve spotted, you must protect yourself from its toxicity by wearing a pair of goggles, a mouth mask and rubber gloves. Once you’re outfitted to begin and you find large mold deposits, cleaning won’t be possible. If this fungus has grown on several parts of a carpet or there’s one large patch of it, you might be better off getting rid of the carpet itself.
- Steam-cleaning machine: If mold is found in small patches, it can be dealt with immediately. A steam-cleaning machine that uses water and detergent is usually enough to clean your carpet thoroughly. Once this is done, you must ensure that your carpet dries out entirely so that mold does not grow here again. However, if the detergent you use isn’t strong enough, it is prudent to move on to something stronger after doing a patch test.
- Remove the moldy part of the carpet: Another option in instances where mold growth is not widespread is to remove the ruined section of the carpet. If mold hasn’t been taken out entirely, the area of growth may be removed and the patch replaced with a piece of similar carpet material.
Prevention: Eliminating mold isn’t as easy as preventing it entirely. Here are some methods of preventing its growth in your carpet:
- Don’t allow water to stand: Any carpet exposed to standing water will ruin it entirely. If this happens, clean and dry your carpet immediately. Ensure that you dry the top, bottom, padding and the floor below in order to save the carpet. If the water has been stagnant for a long time, it’s better to get yourself a new carpet.
- Dehumidify your interiors: By dehumidifying the atmosphere at home, you can control the amount of moisture in the environment. This will deter mold spores from infesting in your home, particularly in the carpets.
- Lay carpeting in dry areas: Carpet only those areas of your home that are dry and not subject to moisture or water.
- Pad your carpets with rubber sheeting: Rubber sheeting prevents the growth of fungi in highly humid environments. So, it helps to install it.
- Dry clean your carpet: Use a dry type of cleaning method so that it is not subject to moisture. Should moisture get trapped within the carpet, mold can form there.
Natural methods of eliminating mold deposits:
- Tea tree oil: Drop 10 drops of tea tree essential oil in a cup of Pour it into a spray bottle and spray it on to your mold deposits. Leave it for a few hours or overnight. Next, scrub the area with the tea tree solution to remove any loose mold pieces and spray once more. Leave it with spray as prevention against further mold deposits.
- Vinegar: Spray vinegar on mold deposits and scrub it with cloth.
- Hydrogen Peroxide solution: Make a solution of one teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide and a cup of water. Pour into a spray bottle or dampen a soft cloth and wipe the mold deposits. Keep the solution on the moldy parts for at least 10 minutes. Use a little more hydrogen peroxide to wipe off the area and then make a solution of baking soda and water to kill any remaining mold so that they don’t return.
If you are worrying about how to get mould out of carpet for long, these methods should work and give you the required peace of mind.
