How to Avoid Carpet Mold After Water Damage
Steps to Follow to Prevent Carpet Mold
Unfortunately, there may come a time where you experience some type of water damage and your carpet may be caught in the crossfire. When this happens, you want to make sure you follow the proper steps to alleviate the amount of damage that may occur. This damage includes carpet mold, so you need to act fast in order to avoid this. If you follow the steps below, your chances of getting carpet mold greatly diminishes.
Remove standing water- The best way to do this is to have a wet/dry vacuum. Using this type of vacuum allows for fast water removal.
Dehumidifying – You are going to want to use a dehumidifier to take the residual moisture out of the air. This moisture, if not removed, continues to feed mold after the water is removed.
Circulate air- It can take several days sometimes to completely dry a water-damaged area. If you use fans, it will help circulate fresh air and speed along the drying process.
Sanitize and deordorize – One of the best ways to do this is to use a steam cleaner. Steamers use cleaning and disinfecting chemicals to kill mold in the carpet. After this process, apply deodorants to clear the musty mold odor.
Dispose of padding – After any water damage occurs to your carpet, it is best to remove the water-saturated carpet padding and discard.
Clean walls and baseboards – Any hard surfaces that were wet by the flooding should be washed with soap and water, then sanitized with a mixture of 1.5 cups of bleach to each gallon of water.Examine furniture – Inspect any furniture that may have gotten wet from the wet carpet. You want to check your furniture for any moisture or water damage.
