There is one aspect of cleaning that garners a mix of fear and seriousness from almost everyone is familiar with it. The dreaded mold is always on the minds of any homeowner or professional cleaners. Mold can cause a host of serious negative problems for your family or workspace. Common ailments or increases in allergies can be caused by mold as well as even more serious health effects. Mold can come from different sources almost any time of year. Some might say one season is more prone to mold than others, but the reality is mold thrives under conditions that are common to any season. The two main elements that are needed for mold to take hold are moisture and shaded or dark areas. The unfortunate thing about mold is that it does not really take much for it to happen and yet can cause some real harm. Most professional cleaners and even contractors will tell you that essentially all you need to have is a little moisture, a neglected dark place, and somewhat controlled temperature. One area of concern that we will focus on is the carpet.
Carpets are notorious for hiding all kinds of filth. In the winter months the combination of inside heating, less sunlight, and light moisture from frost or cold dew can be a powerful contributor to your carpet mold problem. In the spring and summer, the same is true especially with these seasons being prone to excess precipitation and natural moisture. For carpet, there are a number of important strategies for mold prevention and cleaning that you should know.
Water damage can be caused by a number of different sources such as floods, pooling, or bad runoff. Homeowners should understand that if any damage has built over time or is the cause of a sudden incident its most likely going to require a bit of elbow grease to rectify. In fact, the Red Cross Association says that many homeowners are able to handle flood damage as long as they can get down and dirty at times. They suggest old fashioned scrubbing as the key success to when handling mold and water cleanups.
Carpet is a very porous material, and that means that action to prevent mold needs to be proactive and quick. The very best way to prevent mold growth is by drying any water and moisture retained by the carpet. The sooner you can attack the water damage the sooner you will have control over any potential mold growth. The tools you need to handle this are rather simple. Fans, bleach, and cleaners are all you need to get started. With just these few things you can do a lot, but you’ll also want to consider a wet/dry vacuum and dehumidifier as well.
The general steps to fighting mold are as follows. First, you want to remove any visible water as quickly as possible using towels or the wet/dry vacuum. Sopping up the extra water is the only way to get at the root of where molds grow. Next, you can employ the use of fans to speed up the drying process. Now the trick with the fans, especially in medium to heavy, waterlogged areas, is persistence. It can take up to 7 days to thoroughly dry out a space. It can be taxing on the power bill, but it is the industry standard in advice for mold remittance. In addition to the fan, you can shorten the time by adding a dehumidifier to the situation. These are also great as a preventative tool in high-risk areas.
Finally, you’ll want to sanitize and inspect the peripherals that rest on your carpets day to day. Be sure to look for any water damage on furniture as well as the baseboards. Mold can be an insidious creeper and find its way into all sorts of areas and things. It can very costly to replace padding for carpet, so any kind of prevention or cleaning technique to help goes a long way in preventing and treating mold in your carpets.
