We have mold under carpeting, what should I do?

Question

About one week ago, I found what looked like mold under a carpet. The floor is wooden. The carpet is not wall to wall. All the other rooms do not have carpet or have wall to wall carpeting.

I am thinking I can just solve the problem by washing the floor down with the right chemical and replacing the padding under the carpeting. I spoke to a mold company and they wanted to run some tests and then give me a detailed estimate. They wanted between $500 and $600 for the tests and estimate. That seems very high to me.

What should I do?

Note: I am in the United States

Answer 1

Chlorine bleach does not enter wood pores, only the water component of a bleach mixture will do so, so you end up not killing any mold spores inside the wood; only on the surface. Either use cleaning vinegar solution (50% water and 50% vinegar) or a water-borax mixture. The borax mixture is stronger than the vinegar. The borax-water ratio is one cup of borax to one gallon of water, or one tablespoon of borax to one cup of water.

Wear a high-quality respirator and scrub with a brush and the solution.

If you use the borax-water solution, do NOT sponge up all the excess liquid. Instead, you want the water to evaporate away, leaving as much of the borax as possible to penetrate the wood. This will prevent the mold from growing again.

If you use the vinegar solution, then yes you will want to dry the floor with a towel, etc.

Keep away pets, children, etc from the area. Ensure the floor has dried completely before putting down any new carpet or underlay.

Control moisture in the room.

Answer 2

A wipe down with vinegar or bleach will kill the mold in that area, test on a hidden part of the floor first.

Padding might just replace with new.

This is for healthy people, people with health problems might need extra cleaning/care.

Humidity levels of the room/home should be checked, mold likes high humidity levels.