Mold is a naturally growing fungus, but discovering it in your home can have very dangerous consequences. In nature, it holds a beneficial purpose, but when trapped within the confines of warm and humid environments, such as in your basement or bathrooms, mold can grow exponentially, presenting serious health risks. If mold is touched or inhaled, it can lead to severe allergic reactions, heavy and muffled breathing, rashes, eye and throat irritation, coughing, and serious respiratory problems.
How to Remove Mold from Carpet
If you have discovered mold in your carpet, here’s what you can do to kill and remove it.
1. Locate the source of the problem. If you discover mold in areas where there are plumbing leaks and/or excessive moisture, this is another problem in itself, and a plumber should be contacted to fix any leak.
2. If the moldy area is small enough to handle on your own, the next step would be to acquire protective gear. This can include gloves, goggles and even protective masks to prevent inhalation.
3. Often times, the mold is coming from underneath the carpet as well. You may have to pull or cut up the carpet to get to the flooring underneath. Be sure to open some windows for ventilation during the cleaning (and drying) process.
4. Do a base cleaning of the carpet; use a steam cleaner containing water and cleaning detergent to scrub away the mold from the carpet. Be sure to suck up all of the water, and repeat the process until the water being sucked up is clear. Do the same with the flooring underneath.
5. Use a mixture of hypochlorite solution (household bleach) and water to further deep clean and disinfect the area. It is critical to not overcompensate on bleach, so try using a 1 cup per gallon ratio of water concentration. Let this solution set in for 10-15 minutes, and then use the steam cleaner again to completely suck up all the moisture.
6. One of the most important steps is the final one: drying. You have to be sure to let the carpet area dry completely, or else the mold will grow right back. Use a fan, a heater, open windows and even a dehumidifier to ensure the carpet is 100% dry. Check afterwards for any remaining mold.
Preventing mold growth in the future can be done by reducing the overall humidity in your home. Moist environments help mold thrive, so with the use of a dehumidifier, the risk of mold can be decreased significantly. In addition, avoid having carpet in those particularly moist areas, especially bathrooms and laundry rooms.
Additional Help
If the area is too big to conquer yourself, try contacting a professional. If you need a professional carpet cleaning service to help remove mold from carpet, try using TalkLocal to find one near you. TalkLocal is a free service that will connect you with top-quality carpet cleaners in your neighborhood, within minutes. Simply enter in your problem, location and availability and TalkLocal will contact multiple professionals, who will then call YOU directly, ready to help.
