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Mold Problems

Carpet, Carpeting, Rugs, Padding & Mold Problems
Also read: Padding Mold and/or Carpeting Mold ,Carpet Mold Prevention

        Q. I live in a condo which has 40 yr old carpet. The carpet has some bad musty smells in certain areas. Could this be mold or is it just normal for an old carpet to smell like this? We plan on replacing it in November. How do I find out if it is anything to worry about? Should I just tear up a corner and look underneath it? !!! [Sept. 21, 2005]
       A. Pulling back the carpeting and padding in several corner locations is very good in your inspection for the cause of the mold smell. Carpet loves to grow and hide inside carpeting and padding. You can document whether or not the carpeting is mold-infested by using the Scotch tape lift sampling technique explained at Mold Laboratory You should also mold test the air of each room and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register with do it yourself mold test kits, available from a large hardware or home improvement store.
       Q. We had a hose burst on our washing machine and before we knew it there was 3 inches of water in our laundry room, 1/2 bath, hall and into about 4 feet into our bedroom. The insurance company brought out a guy with an extractor and a mildew inhibitor or something or other which he pulled up the carpet and sprayed the pad. My question is whether this is sufficient prevention of mold and mildew? Should the carpet and pad be replaced? I will be selling this house in the future and do not want any mold issues to arise. I'm also concerned about any potential health risks. [August 25, 2005]]
         A. If the carpeting or padding was wet for more than 24 hours, there is likely to be mold growth therein. Replacing the carpeting and padding is always the most sure way of having no carpet/padding mold problems. You can pull back the carpeting and padding for mold inspection and testing using the Scotch tape sampling method explained at Mold Lab. You also need to be concerned about water penetration into wall materials, inside the wall, and the floor beneath the carpeting/padding as possible mold growth areas. It would be very wise to mold inspect and test the entire home to learn the true current mold status of your home. You can use a Certified Mold Inspector, or do it yourself mold test kits from a large hardware or home improvement store. Learn the 25 steps for safe and effective mold remediation. Learn about possible mold health problems by reading the entire home page of Mold Inspector.

           Q. I recently noticed what appears to be a type of mold growing in a carpet. The carpet is on a basement floor which is a concrete floor. The carpet is all wool. The growth is a pinkish brown in color. It shows through the carpet in circles that are sort of connected to each other. One area is round in shape about 8 � in diameter. The other which is about 1 foot away from the other is about 6� wide by 18� long. This area was under a clear vinyl floor protector under a desk. It appeared over a one week time span. What do you think it is and can I get rid of it without ruining the carpet? [Dec. 23, 2004]
         A. The mystery substance is likely to be mold infestation. The mold is eating the carpet, and the damage may be irreversible. You would have to submit a sample of the moldy carpeting to a mold laboratory for mold analysis and mold species identification to know the particular mold species that is devouring your carpeting. Your first need to find and fix the water source which causes the mold to grow---such as wicking up of water from the ground through your concrete floor---a very big and common nightmare because of defective or non-existent or degraded moisture barriers beneath the concrete floors. By pulling back the carpeting you can test the floor for wetness with a hidden moisture Another problem is the possibility of high basement humidity [60% or higher]. Buy a digital hygrometer [$30] from a large hardware store, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. to check indoor humidity year-round in your basement, crawl space, attic, garage, and all rooms of your home. You would also be wise to mold test the actual carpeting mold growth [Scotch tape lift sampling] and the air of each room, basement, attic, etc., along with the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in comparison to your outdoor mold control test. You can buy mold test kits at a large hardware or home improvement store. Once you have found and fixed all water intrusion problems, you can try to save the carpeting by first repeatedly scrubbing the carpeting with Borax laundry detergent [a natural mold cleaner] mixed into warm water. You need to scrub both sides of carpeting and padding in the mold-growth areas.

      Q. We had our plush carpets professionally cleaned in March of 2002. It seemed quite damp when finished and it took 3 days to dry even though we used fans, etc. A few weeks later I began to smell a musty smell when you would walk into our house. Could we have mold and mildew growing under or in our carpets or in the pads and wood under the pad? [July 16, 2002]
       A. You should test the air of the affected rooms with mold culture plates to detect elevated levels of mold spores that may be generated from moldy carpeting as a mold infestation habitat. If your carpet was wet for more than 24 hours, it is very likely that mold is growing inside the carpeting and the padding. You may also have mold growing in wood beneath the carpeting and padding. You should pull back the carpet and padding in several corners of the affected rooms and carefully visually examine the carpet and padding for signs of moisture damage and carpet mold growth problems. For testing tips, please visit: Mold Testing. Another way to test your carpeting and padding for carpet mold is the use of a Zefon carpet sampler, one of the testing technologies used by Certified Mold Inspectors. Find a Certified Mold Inspector or Certified Toxic Mold Investigator.

To test carpeting and padding for carpet mold, use do it yourself mold test kits

If carpeting and/or padding was wet for more than 24 hours, mold growth has probably already begun in the carpeting and/or padding. One way to test your padding and carpeting for mold growth is to attach a mold test kit to the side of a cleaned, rubbing alcohol-disinfected box fan so that the air flow through the fan comes from across the surface of padding itself [the carpet having been pulled back] or the carpeting, and then impacts air [and thus possibly mold spores] directly onto the open sticky surface of the mold test kit that has been taped to the fan surface. Run this fan test for 10 minutes, remove and seal the mold test kit, and then observe the mold test kit for 7 days for how much mold growth has happened, or send the kit to a Mold Laboratory for mold analysis and identification.

Photograph of mold growing in carpeting and on the wall.
Very moldy carpeting and severe wall mold infestation.

Mold Problems Carpet, Carpeting, Rugs, Padding & Mold Problems Also read: Padding Mold and/or Carpeting Mold ,Carpet Mold Prevention

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Mold Problems

Carpet, Carpeting, Rugs, Padding & Mold Problems
Also read: Padding Mold and/or Carpeting Mold ,Carpet Mold Prevention