How To Remove Toxic Mold From Your Carpet

Identify and Eliminate Carpet Mold

Is there anything more unhomely than mold? It grows in the walls, roofs, and of course, carpets. If you have mold growing in your carpets then you need to act fast! Mold is not just damp and smelly, it can also be dangerous, especially if you have young children in the house.

If you have a major mold problem you will certainly need the assistance of a trained professional to remove it, but, if you tackle the issue early on, there are several DIY methods that you can use to keep your home mold free.

Defining Mold

Before we can get on to explaining how to remove and eliminate mold from your home, we must first establish what exactly mold is, and how it gets into your carpets in the first place.

Mold is a putrid and foul-smelling fungus which derives sustenance from organic matter. It survives by eating the bacteria eats the bacteria from your carpets or any other wet and damp surface.

If left unchecked, mold will continue to grow and devour the surface it’s living on. Eventually, it may destroy it completely. Aside from being disgustingly rancid, mold is also a health hazard. If-inhaled, mold can damage one’s lungs, especially those of small children. Some types of mold can cause cancer, heart conditions, and blood disorders.

Far too often, we at Flat Rate Carpet have found large quantities of mold growing on the furniture and carpets of children’s bedrooms. Needless to say, we eliminated it immediately, but this is a problem we encounter often and we cannot stress enough how important it is to kill toxic mold as soon as you notice it.

Identifying Mold

This leads us to the next step – identifying mold. Sometimes mold can be camouflaged as a stain or spill, so it’s important to be aware of the key identifying features.

• First, unlike stains, mold grows. If that damp stain on the carpet looks a little bigger than it did last week, you most certainly have a mold problem. While you sleep the poisonous fungi was slowly eating away at all the bacteria living in your home.
• Secondly, mold has a distinct appearance which can be used to identify it. Some types of mold have a circular pattern, while others have a green/black color. If you notice a patterned or oddly colored stain on your walls or furniture then chances are you have a mold issue.
• Finally, a good way to detect mold is to examine any unusual symptoms you or any household member has. If anyone living in the home has persistent, non-seasonal allergies, skin irritations, or congestion, then you might have a mold issue. If you notice that you feel better when away from your home, then the problem is pretty much guaranteed to be in the home.

Ultimately, it’s not always possible to detect mold, so you might want to consider investing in a mold-detection kit. These kits test the air quality in the home and can identify if any mold spores are growing.

Removing and Eliminating Mold:

Ok, so you have a mold issue in your home, now what?

The first step to verify that this a DIY job and not something that should be left to an expert. If the mold is less than 3×3 feet and on a damp surface, then you might be able to attempt it on your own. However, if the mold is black, larger than 3×3 feet, or caused by a contaminated water source, then it’s best left to the experts.

If it is a DIY job, then the next step is to buy the right products, i.e:

• Carpet mold cleaner (bleach/borax based)

Before you go all bleach-a-blazing, make sure you have the correct safety equipment! Use rubber gloves, a respirator/mask, and some eye goggles. If you want to go the extra-mile safety wise, throw on some coveralls for the ultimate protection.

Step by Step Guide:

1. Open the windows in the room – you don’t want to start inhaling the cleaning products
2. Dry out the carpets using a humidifier/lights
3. Use a stiff brush to sweep up any dry/dead mold
4. Pour the carpet mold cleaner into the carpet, take care not to overuse it as bleach is also toxic. A small amount poured directly into the mold is sufficient.
5. Let the cleaning solution sit for half an hour or so, then vacuum up all dead mold
6. Keep the room ventilated and reuse the humidifier until the carpets are completely dry

To prevent mold from growing again, use an antifungal spray from time to time, ensure the room is always well ventilated, and any wet spills are cleaned and dried right away.

Conclusion

This guide is only for small patches of mold that have only recently begun to grow. For serious cases of mold, we strongly recommend using professionals to eradicate and eliminate all traces. Here at Flat Rate Carpet, we specialize in mold removal and carpet cleaning in New Jersey, including Jersey City NJ, Middletown NJ, Morristown NJ.