Your carpets are a good place to start if you want to add both beauty and functionality to your home. A good carpet enhances the comfort and even the sound acoustics of your home in ways that can lift the spirits of those inside for years to come. However, if you have molded carpet, the benefits quickly disappear, and they are replaced by some potentially serious issues. Here are some things to remember when it comes to dealing with molded carpet.
Moisture=Mold
Mold is a very simple organism. It thrives on the same two things that humans need to survive: food and water. The hunt for water is an easy one for mold because it can literally sustain itself on nearly anything organic. That includes bread and wood and food and pretty much anything that can be digested by a living being. Because mold has such a versatile and diverse list of acceptable foods, it’s nearly impossible to cut off its food supply. However, humans do have some options when it comes to forcing it to die of thirst: cut off its water supply. A molded carpet is always, at least in part, a result of excess moisture in, on, or around the carpet. Getting rid of this moisture is the key to eradicating the mold in the carpet’s fibers.
Mold loves moisture so much that it only needs a very small amount in order to begin flourishing. For example, mold can do very well just from the amount of moisture in very humid air. Any level of moisture that is around 55% or greater is going to create a cozy environment for mold to set up shop. The best thing you can do to help prevent mold from taking over your living spaces is to cut down the level of moisture in the home. If you are able to keep the moisture level low enough, a molded carpet will be a thing of the past—quickly.
Clean a Molded Carpet Thoroughly
Mold is known to invade any space that welcomes it with enough moisture. However, this doesn’t mean you have to clean a molded carpet without using moisture. No, many cleansers do a great job of killing mold even though they are liquid. This is because even though mold can live almost anywhere, it is also a rather fragile organism that can be easily decimated by substances such as bleach, acid, and even vinegar. Whether you have cut and sewn carpet, floor mats, auto flooring or trunk mats, you can feel free to attack the mold using ammonia or other mold-killing agents. The key is to make sure it dries out thoroughly after you clean it. When elements of the cleaning solution evaporate, all that may be left is water, which could indeed end up housing mold once again. So clean the carpet thoroughly and then be sure to dry it out well, too. If possible, try to dry it out in the sun. The best carpet cleaner is a green certified cleaner. Mold is sensitive to sunlight, which kills it, so the sun can both dry your carpet and kill any mold that was fostering the hope of growing in your carpet again. A good carpet cleaning glendale az will help you clean and remove the mold.
Clean Mold Safely
Molded carpet can be a nasty beast to deal with. But the real danger is not in just the way it smells and looks. The danger lies in the type of mold that is living inside the carpet. When in doubt, you will want get rid of what you have and find yourself some replacement carpet. But if you do discover mold and want to be absolutely sure that you get rid of it right, you should look for a professional that knows how to deal with mold. Black mold, in particular, is a nasty foe. It can invade your respiratory system and leave you with some nasty physical and mental effects. It has been proven to affect the brain’s function, leaving people feeling disconcerted, confused and unable to think clearly in situations in which they would normally function just fine. If you have a moldy carpet and start to feel any of these symptoms, you should see a doctor right away.
If you suspect your carpet has mold, act aggressively to eradicate the nasty little beast quickly. You can get on top of it and enjoy a clean carpet in no time.