What Cleaning Contractors Need to Know About Mold in Carpet
By: Steve Hanson

One area of growing concern to building owners is indoor air quality. Feeding poor indoor air quality can be one of over 1,000 types of mold found in the United States and over 100,000 types found worldwide. Mold and mildew can grow rampant indoors and lead to various health problems such as allergic reactions, asthma, sneezing, eye and skin irritation, and other respiratory complaints. Carpets that are not cleaned and dried properly can be a haven for mold spores, which thrive on excessive moisture.

There is no practical way to keep mold spores from entering your buildings. Spores enter through open doorways, windows, and ventilation systems. People also track mold spores through buildings, as they can attach themselves to clothing and shoes.

Molds need three things to grow: moisture, nutrients and a suitable material such as carpet, paper, ceiling tiles, drywall or a host of other materials. When molds are disturbed they are released into the air and inhaled by the people in the room. Some individuals are not affected by mold, but others can be highly sensitive.

If asked to clean a carpet that has mold problems you need to first assess the situation. Are there underlying factors that are causing excessive moisture? Water problems, such as broken pipes, leaking roofs, over-watered plants or flooding, and improper carpet cleaning can lead to mold in carpets.

Assess the situation to make sure that it is something your company can handle before agreeing to rid the carpet of mold. First make sure the source of the water problem, such as broken pipes or a leaking roof, is fixed. Then make sure the problem has not escalated to a point where the carpet should just be replaced.

If you decide you can handle the job, clean the carpet with a product such as a biocide that is designed to stop microbial growth. Following are some steps to follow when removing mold and mildew from carpet:

1. Apply a low alkaline all-purpose spotter and wipe it off.

2. Rinse with a mild acidic carpet rinse and neutralizer.

3. Thoroughly dry the carpet.

4. Apply a mildew stat carpet sanitizer. Make sure you follow all label directions and recommendations. Let the solution air-dry.

Although the EPA recommends a bleach solution to kill mold in some situations, many of the mold and mildew removers that contain bleach will harm carpet fibers, so you should not use it. While cleaning, employees should wear gloves and respirators to avoid breathing in the mold spores.

After cleaning, use fans to dry the carpet. Once you handle the mold problem and the carpet is dry, use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to remove any remaining mold spores. Vacuums with HEPA filers won?t stir up the remaining mold spores into the air. If the area is one that will continue to have excessive water, you can recommend the building owner replace the carpet with tile or laminate flooring so you can easily mop up the water as needed.

Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store