Tips to Prevent Carpet Mold after Water Damage

Molds can cause serious health problems after dreadful water damage if they are not prevented or treated in time. Exposure to mold growth can cause nose, lungs, throat, and eye problems, such as allergies, asthma, and hay fever.

Molds are nothing but colonies of microorganisms that breed in damp places or in moisture. Since the bacteria are always present in the air, mold can start growing within 24 to 48 hours of water exposure and will continue to grow as long as the level of moisture in the air is high. Molds generally grow on woods, ceiling tiles, carpets, drywall, and insulation.

The only way to prevent mold growth after water damage is by drying the area as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. Follow these tips to prevent or stop mold growth under your carpet.

Remove the Moisture Quickly

Call for a water damage restoration service or dry the entire area using a wet vacuum dryer to remove the excess moisture. The vacuum will suck the water out of your carpet. Once the carpet surface is fairly dry, use a dry vacuum cleaner to blow dry the area. If you don’t have a vacuum cleaner, you can easily rent one. Since they are quite inexpensive, you can even choose to buy one, especially if your area is prone to frequent flooding and heavy rainfall.

Keep the Building Ventilated and Sunny

Open the doors and windows of the building and let sunlight and fresh air in (only if it is less humid outside). Keep the area ventilated until the sun is up. Keep the doors closed overnight. Use ceiling and table fans to circulate fresh air. Keep the fans running 24 hours, at least for a week or two. You can also rent high-power drying fans to speed up the drying process.

Evaluate Your Furniture

Moisture attack wooden structures first. So, you must go through each furniture or fixture thoroughly to see if there is any kind of mold or mildew growth. Remove all damp and wet items from your house and keep it out, under the sun for drying. Discarding wet debris, soaked porous and absorbent materials, such as newspaper, insulation, water-damaged drywall, and the wallpaper will also prove beneficial.

Replace Carpet Padding

Removing saturated carpets right away is the best solution to prevent mold growth. If you are unable to do so, getting rid of the carpet padding alone will also stop further saturation or mold growth.

Sanitize and Disinfect Your Home

Disinfect everything that touched the floodwater, right from your doors and windows, to furniture and kitchen utensils and appliances, to floors and baseboards. Chlorine bleach makes a great choice for sanitizer. Add 1.5 cups of chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of water to make a DIY sanitizer. Don’t forget to wear gloves during the clean-up.

Use Dehumidifier to Remove the Moisture from Air

Since mold-growing microbes thrive in humid air, renting out dehumidifier machines to suck out excess moisture from the air will make the air cooler and taper mold and mildew growth.

Try Steam Cleaning

Steam cleaning essentially removes toxins by sucking up dead mold spores, kills microbial growth, and deodorizes carpets. The high temperature of steam cleaners does the trick. You should definitely consider hiring professional water damage control service when the carpet is soaked with mud water, silt, sewage, mildew, chemicals, or contaminated water. Let us know your reviews in the comments below.