Carpets and rugs make an excellent addition to any home. They make rooms appear more spacious and consequently more beautiful while also giving you comfortable feet. However, although these fixtures can be a highly fashionable and valuable addition to any home, they can also be harmful due to their propensity for mold growth.
Mold contact can result in a variety of unpleasant reactions. Mold exposure can irritate your eyes, skin, nose, throat, lungs, and more, whether or not you have a mold allergy.
Cleaning mold from carpet fibers and backing can be challenging or even impossible, in contrast to how simple it is to remove it from hard surfaces like tile. It gets worse because mold frequently starts on the carpet backing, where it goes undetected until it is too late.
According to conventional thinking, moisture is the primary source of mold on carpets, and eliminating moisture from the carpets will solve the mold issue. It is just partly correct.
The most vital step in controlling carpet mold is controlling moisture, but that is only part of the solution. In basements or other areas with potentially high humidity, carpets should always be kept dry, and the temperature should be kept low. Additionally, if you’re thinking about carpeting, use synthetic carpeting made of nylon or olefin.
However, experts have discovered that moisture and temperature are not the primary causes of carpet mold. The main culprit for mold growth is the dirt on your carpet, which is simpler to manage.
Listed below are a few ways to prevent mold in carpet
1. Keep moisture under control
According to experts, the ideal humidity level for keeping a mold-free carpet is often 65 percent or below.
Lowering the humidity in a limited area can be accomplished by using a portable dehumidifier or providing ventilation by leaving windows and doors open as needed. If it’s very humid outside, then keep the windows closed.
It is also critical to address other conditions that contribute to the accumulation of moisture in the basement, such as:
- Examine the ground around the basement from the outside. The land should be sloped away from the house to prevent groundwater and run-off from flowing back toward it.
- Rainwater must be delivered by gutters and downspouts away from the house, typically 4 feet or more.
- Cleaning the gutters will help to stop the overflow.
- If you have a garden pond or a water collection feature in your yard, consider placing it as far from the house as possible.
2. Maintain lower temperatures to prevent mold in the carpet
Keeping the indoor temperature at 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher can facilitate mold growth in the carpet. Because it reduces humidity as it cools the air, portable or central air conditioning can help with temperature and moisture.
3. By cleaning your carpet frequently
Many homeowners avoid placing carpets in their basements due to the risk of mold growth. Even those that appear dry to our senses of sight, touch, and smell, basements are famously wet environments. In a basement’s mainly contained environment, slight humidity gradually accumulates over time and can harm carpet and other materials. But does mold have other causes besides humidity?
The humidity levels of carpets in different conditions (new, old, dirty, and clean) were varied. The researchers were especially interested in seeing if high humidity (measured as 80% or higher) supplied mold/mildew with an incubator in carpeting. They discovered that dirt, rather than humidity, aided mold growth. When treated to the same amount of moisture, substantially or even faintly dirty carpets grew considerably more mold than clean carpets. Mold growth arises from a combination of excessive humidity and dirt.
Mold grows on carpets because of two factors. First, mold spores are present in the dirt. Second, dust or filth on a carpet itself carries moisture. As a result, combined with the ambient humidity in the room, dirt moisture provides a rich breeding ground for mold.
A dirty surface is prone to absorbing moisture from ambient humidity or surface moisture because dirt is a hygroscopic material. Dirt attracts moisture.
4. Use synthetic carpet material
Organic carpeting, such as wool, is more susceptible to mold growth than inorganic or synthetic carpeting, such as nylon or olefin is one of the techniques to prevent mold in carpet.
Maintaining a clean, mold-free carpet is crucial for protecting your investment and your health. Contact Carpet Cure for more details on maintaining a safe and healthy environment in your home!
Also Read: Unique Reasons Your Grout Lines Get Mold Revealed.
