Carpet Black Mold Prevention
 

• Pay special attention to carpeting, rugs and padding on concrete floors. Carpeting and padding can absorb moisture and serve as a place for mold and other biological pollutants to grow. Instead of carpeting and padding, install ceramic tile or linoleum flooring or asphalt tile flooring, and use area rugs which can be taken up and washed often. In certain climates, if carpet is to be installed over a concrete floor, it may be necessary to use a vapor barrier (plastic sheeting) over the concrete and cover that with sub-flooring (insulation covered with plywood) to prevent a moisture problem

• Only use vacuum cleaners with HEPA filter to remove mold spores from carpeting. Regular vacuum cleaners throw a lot of dirty air (with mold spores) back into the room’s air. Steam cleaning of carpeting is another effective way to remove or kill mold spores.

• Do not use wall-to-wall carpeting because carpeting and padding are great mold food and a great place for mold growth, viruses, bacteria, and dust mites to hide and to multiple. Instead, for concrete floors, use ceramic tile set in cement containing a waterproofing compound. Use colored cement with waterproofing as the tile grout. For wood floors, install vinyl tile or linoleum. Use washable area rugs for comfort and beauty.
  
   

How to Mold Test Carpeting and Padding

If carpeting and/or padding was wet for more than 24 hours, mold growth has probably already begun in the carpeting and/or padding. One way to test your padding and carpeting for mold growth is to attach one of our mold test kits to the side of a cleaned, rubbing alcohol-disinfected box fan so that the airflow through the fan comes from across the surface of padding itself (the carpet having been pulled back) or the carpeting, and then impacts air (and thus possibly mold spores) directly onto the open sticky surface of the mold test kit that has been taped to the fan surface. Run this fan test for 10 minutes; remove and seal the mold test kit; and then observe the mold test kit for 7 days for how much mold growth has happened, or send the kit to the nearest Mold Laboratory for mold analysis and identification. For an effective and accurate Do-It-Yourself Mold Test Kits, please visit Mold Test Kit.

Learn all of the steps you can do in preventive maintenance and in building a new home or other building to prevent mold infestation problems by reading our new book Do-It-BEST-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, & Remediation, available from Mold Mart. In addition, as a home owner or property owner, you should always checking for roof leaks, siding leaks, water intrusion into crawl spaces and basements, appliance leaks, and plumbing and sewer line leaks.

You should do our do it yourself mold test kits every 3 to 6 months to check for elevated levels of airborne mold spores [in comparison to your outdoor mold control test]. You should do testing in your attic, basement, crawl space, every room, and every heating/cooling duct register [with air flowing outward and the system running on fan ventilation]. Mold maintenance and mold prevention are a year-round, forever concern for people who value their health and their property.

SOURCE: Do-It-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation