In a natural environment you will usually encounter mold, which is a fungus. Mold lives, grows and thrives in areas that are moist, damp or wet. In a forest, mold is easily found on the ground because it will eat the decaying leaves that fall from the trees. Anything that mold eats can be digested very easily and it will help the mold to grow in size. Because of this, if mold is in your home, it will cause damage as it wreaks havoc and it can even cause respiratory problems to a homes resident.
Mold is a type of bacteria that is necessary to the world outside your windows but once it makes it way past your front door, it can be a dangerous occupant. Mold has a variety of names which include cladosporium, peniccilium, alternaria, mucor, and aspergillus. Indoor types of mold that will typically be found in home can be found in a variety of colors including red, black, orange, yellow, white, violet, brown and blue.
Mold is a dangerous thing to have in your home because it can live and continue to produce a year round growth without fail, especially if the area you live in has a constant temperature that is humid or warm. If mold is present you can tell when you notice a patch or shape that is speckled. The mold in that area will begin to release a musty odor.
Before you learn how to remove this bacterium from your home, you should know how to prevent it from forming in the first place. You can easily prevent carpet mold or mold that grows in your walls or under appliances such as a fridge or dishwasher. To prevent carpet mold and other types of bacteria, you should keep make sure that your home is constantly 30 to 60 percent humid. If it is not, you can fix this problem by purchasing a dehumidifier.
If an area is always wet or moist, avoid placing carpet in that spot. Use tiles instead of carpet for the floor of your bathrooms because you are likely to have a wet floor often when someone showers or if there is a leak with a pipe or toilet. If areas of your home overflows with water immediately do everything you can to dry the area. Leaving the moisture in place will allow the mold the environment it needs to grow and survive.
Always wear gloves and eye protective goggles when you clean mold and mildew. If you suspect mold is present, try to find the areas of moisture like a flooded section of your home or a leak in your plumbing. A leak in the roof of your house could also be the culprit.
Ventilation such as air conditioners and heating vents can spread the bacteria and make it air borne, so check all of the ducts before moving on. Measure the size of the moldy area. You will want to make sure that it is a problem small enough to be fixed by you. If the mold areas are large a professional should be called in to keep the mold from spreading.
In this next step you will begin the process of cleaning and removing the mold. For small mold jobs a mixture of detergent can be placed in a steam cleaner along with some clean water. To remove mold from carpet you will need to get the area wet so that you can then suck the water back out. You will repeat the process until the water run clear when you remove it. When a water and detergent cleaner won't get the job done, try a raw form of Lysol and add it to some water. Make sure that you do not have an allergic reaction to the Lysol.
When you are still having trouble getting mold out of carpet, you may have to take drastic measures to clean the carpet mold. You will need to get a sanitizer in the form of hypochlorite or regular cleaning bleach. Add this bleach to a bucket of water mixing in one cup of bleach to every one gallon of water.
You can use the new solution on carpet mold and it can also be used to clean a hard surface area. Let the mixture sit on carpet mold for at least fifteen minutes before you proceed. If a carpet or rug is small enough, you can take it outside to work in a well ventilated area.
It does not matter which method you use, you should always use a fan, heater or open window to dry your carpets and rugs as quickly as possible. Remember that wet spots are the reason that you have mold in the first place.
Find more info about
how to clean carpet stains and how to make your own
homemade carpet cleaner at howtocleancarpetstains.com.
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