How to Get Mold Out of Carpet?
Carpet Flooring looks more premium than ordinary Tile Flooring or Wooden Flooring. Most house owners have carpet flooring in their bedrooms and other places.
Keeping your carpet flooring clean is a bit challenging task if you live a busy life. There comes a time when you see some spots of mold on the carpet.
It is just because of the untreated dampness on the carpet. Mold can be of different types with green or grey in color or sometimes it looks like white patches on the surface or at the edges.
If you do not clean it, it will start spreading a bad odor in your room which can be frustrating.
Small mold spots can be removed easily by you without the need for any special work.
However, if the growth of the mold is high, then you need to do proper treatment from professionals to keep the carpet clean.
If you do not know about removing carpet mold, then we will provide you with all the methods by which you can easily remove the mold and stop its growth from the root.
In this article, we will show you the different methods and ways of removing mold from your carpet quickly.
We have prepared a detailed guideline for mold growth and how you can prevent it.
How to Kill Mold from the Carpet?
When you discover the growth of mold on your carpet, you should start the cleaning process as soon as possible.
It would be better if you put the carpet or the rug outside your home in the sunlight for a while.
Thankfully, we have a number of Mold-killing agents with us that you can use to remove and prevent the growth of mold from carpets of different types.
Also see: Best Carpet Cleaners
Depending upon the growth of mold on your carpet area, you can use a suitable mold-killing agent. You can either use more toxic bleaching agents or less-toxic agents as per your requirements.
All the agents work effectively well and remove all types of mold from the carpet area.
You can either buy the readymade cleaning agents from the market or can prepare them on your own by mixing their ingredients.
If you could spend some money on carpet cleaning, then we would suggest you buy mold-killing detergents from the market.
They are mixed up well with different ingredients and work effectively well to clean up the mold.
On the other hand, you could make your own mold-killing detergent by using different ingredients. We have enlisted all the killing agents here.
You could prepare the detergent by mixing one of these agents.
Do not mix these ingredients without knowledge.
If you do not have any knowledge about these ingredients, kindly search for the same on the Internet or seek help from your colleagues and neighbors who are also using the same detergent to clean up the carpet.
If you mix these ingredients without proper quantities and requirements, then the mixture will become highly toxic which would be dangerous for you and for the carpet as well.
Before getting your hands on any of these ingredients, kindly read out the instructions carefully.
Let’s get on to the list of the active ingredients that can be used to make a cleaning agent for removing mold from the Carpet.
Mold-Killing Agents
Baking Soda
Baking Soda is the most common ingredient and a highly useful one to clean up a lot of things in a home.
Baking Soda is easily available and affordable for everyone. If you find small mold spots or need simple cleaning of the carpet, then Baking Soda is highly recommended.
What you can do with this ingredient is, just sprinkle some powder on the affected area and leave it overnight.
Also see: Best Stairs vacuums guide
In the morning, clean up the powder using a vacuum cleaner. The mold spots and minor mold will be removed from the Carpet.
Baking Soda doesn’t carry any bad odor and is an inexpensive ingredient.
If you have some time to clean up the carpet daily or weekly, we would suggest you use Baking Soda as it will also prevent the growth of mold on the Carpet if you regularly clean it up.
White Vinegar
Vinegar is yet another highly used and most common ingredient which is also used in cooking. With white vinegar, you can actually get rid of mold from the carpet.
What you can do is take a plastic bottle with a sprayer and fill it with white vinegar.
Now, spray it on the affected carpet area where you can see the spots of mold or the growth of it.
Keep it as it is for a few minutes and then scrub it well with a plastic brush. Make sure that the area is still wet.
White Vinegar is used by many detergent makers as it is considered one of the most useful cleaning agents. It leaves some smell on the carpet area which you have to bear.
Also see: Vacuum cleaners for hardwood floors
Apart from these ingredients, you can also use a powerful vacuum with a HEPA filtration system. You can also use a steam cleaner as well.
These are the ingredients that you can use to remove mold spots and normal mold from the carpet.
If you find that the mold’s growth is extreme, then you could use one of the following methods with the home supplies.
The following step-by-step guidelines help you to remove the mold using home supplies easily.
Method 1: Removing Carpet Mold with Home Supplies
Check the surface
The first thing you need to do before anything else is to inspect the affected carpet. Check if the mold has reached the base of the carpet or just on the surface of the carpet.
If it has reached the base of the carpet, then it will take some extra effort to clean up. For that reason, you need to hire a professional carpet cleaner.
If the mold has grown all around the base and covered a large area of the carpet, then consider replacing the existing carpet with a new one.
Keep the affected carpet facing outside
Make sure that the windows and doors are open. The airflow reduces the humidity in the air which causes mold growth on the carpet.
It also reduces the odor of the moldy carpet. If the carpet is not removable, you can keep it doorway and turn on the fan to remove moisture from it.
Keep the Carpet in Sunlight
If the carpet is removable, move it outside and hang it there for up to 48 hours. Sunlight kills mold spores and removes odor from them. It also removes moisture from it which causes the mold’s growth.
Make use of Baking Soda
As noted above, Baking Soda is the most common cleaning agent and highly used ingredient that you can use to clean up moldy carpets. Sprinkle some baking soda on the affected area and leave it for 24 hours.
Use a powerful vacuum cleaner in the morning to remove mold spots from the carpet. Alternatively, you can use talk-free baby powder or cat litter if you do not have baking soda.
Make use of White Vinegar
White Vinegar is yet another active cleaning agent that you can use to remove stubborn mold from the carpet.
You just need to spray some white vinegar on the affected area and after a few minutes, scrub it vigorously.
The mold spots and spores from the affected area will be removed instantly with this ingredient.
These are the most common ways to remove carpet mold with home supplies. You can only remove mold spots and spores from the surface of the mold.
If the growth is quite high and spread all over the carpet, then consider going with the Commercial or Professional Treatments which are enlisted below.
Method 2: Removing Carpet Mold with Commercial and Professional Treatments
Anti-mold treatment
This is a highly recommended method to clean up stubborn mold from the carpet. You can get a special anti-mold spray from a nearby drug shop or from the supermarket.
You can also use antifungal spray for the same. You can read out instructions from the spray bottle before actually using it on the carpet.
The method of using Anti-mold spray is pretty easy. You just need to spray it on the affected area and scrub it vigorously. Make sure you keep the spray for a few minutes before scrubbing.
The mixture of Bleach and Water
Apart from the Anti-mold spray and cleaning agent, you can also prepare a cleaning detergent by using bleach and water.
Mix up the bleach powder and some water and spray it over the affected area on the carpet. Leave it for 10 minutes and scrub it off.
To prepare this detergent, take a half cup of bleaching powder and one gallon of water. Before using this mixture, make sure that the bleach powder is color-safe and won’t affect the color of the carpet.
Carpet Cleaning Product
Thankfully, there are numerous carpet cleaning products available in the market specially designed for cleaning different types of carpets.
Carpet Cleaning products can be used by anyone as they are very user-friendly.
They contain deodorizers that reduce odor in the room. Since there are different types of carpet cleaning products present in the market, the method of using them may vary.
Always read out the instructions before using them on your carpet.
Steam Cleaner
Steam Cleaners are effective on all types of carpets. They are designed for specialized cleaning tasks. Thankfully, you can even rent a steam cleaner for cleaning purposes only.
If you have found persistent molds on the carpet, then consider renting a steam cleaner. A steam cleaner provides effective cleaning and removes stubborn mold from the carpet effectively.
Make sure you keep an eye on the moisture after you finish the cleaning process. Drying up the carpet is essential to keep the carpet fresh and free from odor.
For effective drying, you can keep the carpet in direct sunlight. If the carpet is not removable, you can use a portable fan to make it dry.
Not all carpets are steam-friendly. You need to understand the actual usage of the steam cleaner and whether the type of your carpets is compatible with the steam cleaner.
Seek Professional Help
If you are not much familiar with the type of ingredients, or the type of carpet present in your home, then what we recommend to you is hiring a professional with prior experience in cleaning different types of carpets.
Specific types of mold require a specific method and cleaning agents.
A professional person comes with advanced cleaning agents and the latest machines to thoroughly clean up the carpets. They make sure that every single particle of mold and mold spores is removed.
If the mold has grown up to the base of the carpet and spread across the base, consider removing the affected part and replacing it with the new one. For that, you need to visit the supplier’s store.
Preventing Carpet Mold
If you have a carpet in a high-humidity area in your home, then you must consider the following methods to avoid mold growth on your carpet.
Keep Your Carpet Clean
Mold only grows when you don’t keep your carpet clean. Yes, it is essential for you to keep your carpet clean.
You should clean up the carpet every week once with a powerful vacuum cleaner. It captures stubborn dirt and harmful bacteria from the carpet and prevents carpet mold.
Keep Low Humidity
High humidity is the reason behind the growth of mold on the carpet. Keep the humidity level at 65% or lower to prevent mold growth on the carpet.
You can use a dehumidifier to maintain a lower level of humidity in the affected area. You should also provide proper airflow to the areas where you have kept the carpets.
Maintain Proper Temperature
You should also keep an eye on the temperature of your house. Usually, room temperature is good enough to keep the carpet clean and free from moisture.
You can use a dehumidifier or can use a central air conditioning system to maintain the temperature.
Avoid organic carpet
No matter how much money you have, consider using synthetic carpet materials and not organic materials.
When you use organic materials, the chances of growing mold on such carpets are higher than on synthetic carpets.
Final Word:
It is essential for you to learn the most common methods of removing carpet mold. We have enlisted all methods and different ways that you can use to remove carpet molds.
We have also enlisted the methods to prevent carpet mold. Go through the article, learn different methods to remove carpet mold, and have a mold-free carpet.
