Every Fact About Mold Removal

Carpet mold removal is very challenging. Once mold starts growing in the carpet, it is extremely important to get rid of it. If you do not remove the source, carpet mold will continue to grow to the point that people in the home will get severely ill. Usually carpet mold grows in areas that have been soaked with water, and has not had substantial opportunity to dry completely. It is like having a giant Petri dish in your home. Wet carpet is a breeding ground for mold.

There are high ozone shock treatments that can be used in carpet mold removal, but they are only effective if the carpet was only partially wet. These treatments would have to be repeated over and over again to ensure complete removal of all carpet mold spores; this can become quite costly.

Sad, Cold Hard Truth of Carpet Mold Removal

The sad, cold, hard truth of it is that the only effective means of carpet mold removal is to remove the carpet itself. This may be expensive at first; however, in the long run, it will save you money. Tear the carpet out and replace it. When removing the carpet, you must make sure that the floor underneath is completely dry and then vacuum it to remove loose mold spores. If the floor is made of plywood, it is recommended that you paint it with oil-based paint before laying the new carpet.

Do-it-yourself Carpet Mold Removal

However, if your carpet mold infection is not severe, you can always try to remove it yourself. Get yourself a carpet cleaner, a vacuum type device, that is able to suck up the excess moisture from your carpet and at the same time clean the carpet with the integrated cleaning solution. Alternatively, you can also clean carpet mold with vinegar, alcohol and cleaning solution that made of detergent and warm water.

For minor home mold infestation, you can consider using normal household cleaners for the mold removal task. These are the various cleaning solutions that can be used as effective mold removal products:

• Borax

• Bleach

• Vinegar

1. Borax as mold removal product
Borax is natural household cleaning product that is commonly used for cleaning toilets and drains. Borax is a non-toxic cleaner as it does not release dangerous chemicals or harmful fumes. Borax is a natural mold inhibitor, when mixed with water it can be used to kill mold.

Cleaning Mold with Borax solution
- Use 1 cup of Borax to 1 gallon of water to create a cleaning solution.
- Before you begin the mold removal process with Borax solution, vacuum all the loose mold to prevent mold spores from becoming airborne during the cleaning process.
- Apply the Borax solution onto the mold infected areas and scrub hard with a sturdy brush to remove all the surface mold. You may repeat this process 2 – 3 times for stubborn mold.
- Wipe off the excess moisture and the residual mold dust. This is to prevent the mold particles from spreading into the air when the surface has dried up..
- Do not rinse the treated areas with water, the Borax solution that left behind will prevent molds from growing on the areas again.
- Allow the cleaned areas to dry entirely.

2. Use bleach for mold removal

Bleach is an effective mold killer for surface mold. It is good at killing mold species that is growing on non-porous materials like glass, tiles, countertops, and bathtubs. Bleach kills mold that it comes into contact with. However, for molds growing within the surface like drywalls and woods; bleach cannot reach into the porous materials. Thus using bleach as mold removal product on these materials is not effective for bleach can only kill the surface mold and leaving the roots untreated.

Killing mold with bleach solution
- Make sure the area to be treated with bleach solution is well ventilated as bleach produces abrasive fumes. Put on long rubber gloves to protect your hands during the mold removal process.
- Create a mild solution that made up of one cup of bleach to one gallon of water.
- Apply the bleach solution onto the mold infected surfaces.
- Leave the solution to set in. Do not rinse with water as bleach will prevent mold growth in the future.

Using bleach as mold removal product: The Cons
i. When bleach solution is used on porous materials, the chlorine in bleach cannot break into the surface, it is left on the surface while the water component is being absorbed into the porous material. This provides further moisture for the mold to thrive on. While the surface mold may be killed but the roots of mold growth are left untreated, which implies the return of mold and this may result in repeated bleaching.

ii. Another downside of using bleach to kill mold is that bleach can cause damages to the materials being treated as bleach is an abrasive chemical. Besides that, bleach produces toxic fumes when mixed with ammonia.

3. Vinegar as mold removal product
Vinegar is a natural and safe mold cleaner. With its mild acidic element, vinegar is able to kill about 80% of the mold species.

Removing mold with vinegar
- Use the white distilled vinegar to remove indoor mold.
- Transfer the undiluted vinegar into a spray bottle and spray onto the mold infected areas.
- Leave the vineger to sit for at least an hour.
- Wipe up the area with water and leave it to dry thoroughly.
- To prevent mold growth on surfaces, you can spray the vinegar on the surfaces and leave it without wiping clean with water. In order to ensure the surfaces stay mold-free, you may need to repeat this every other day.