|
|
How to Find and Test for Moldy Carpeting in Buildings
|
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Inspection & test procedures for moldy or smelly indoor carpeting & rugs. This article describes how we inspect, test, and cure moldy carpeting or rugs. We discuss the risk of hidden mold under carpeting and in carpet padding.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
MOLDY CARPETING - in buildings, how to recognize allergenic or mold contaminated carpets and rugs
 While you may see mold on carpeting in unusually severe cases, carpet, especially wall-to-wall carpeting can be a reservoir for hidden mold, mite fecal, pet dander, rodent dander, fecals, and dust, bacteria,
and other allergens, pathogens, and irritants even though you cannot see anything suspicious on the carpet. Here are some warning signs that carpeting may be an IAQ problem source in a building:
- Carpets which are visibly moldy such as in the photo above - these need to be discarded.
- Carpets that have been wet such as by basement water entry, a plumbing leak, roof leak, sewer line backup. If wall-to-wall carpeting has been wet it probably should be removed and disposed-of.
There are services which will remove wet carpeting and clean it for reinstallation. If wet carpeting is removed and cleaned and dried in 24-48 hours it might have a chance - I'm waiting for more field test data before I recommend this approach. If carpet was wet and stayed wet it's history. Area rugs can often be professionally cleaned and salvaged.
If in a room where the entire floor is covered with a large area of wall to wall carpeting, and just a very small area of your carpeting has become wet or moldy, it may be more practical to cut out the damaged, wet, moldy section, plus 12" past all visible wet or damaged area, replacing or patching that section. If you can live with the cosmetic defect of imperfectly matched carpeting the cost will be much less than a complete replacement.
Be careful: don't forget to check the entire room to be sure you're not leaving other areas of wet moldy carpeting in place. - Thanks to reader Eva for these suggestions.
Readers should see CARPET PADDING ASBESTOS, MOLD, ODORS. Also see FIND MOLD in BUILDINGS, HOW TO and see MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES for an index of what mold genera/species are frequently found on various building surfaces and materials, and see Mold Related Illness: Index of Symptoms and
finally, for an atlas of building molds and for more microphotographs of building mold samples observed in our laboratory, see Mold Atlas of Indoor Clinical Mold, Pathogens, Allergens & Other Indoor Particles. And MOLD BY MICROSCOPE shows what mold looks like under the microscope.
- Carpets over wet padding or carpets, carpet padding, or carpet tack strips which are water stained or
moldy indicating that water or condensation has been present below the carpet. The photo shown here is an example of a moldy carpet tack strip which offers a clue of a limited area of water entry in a basement although
no staining was visible on the exposed top of the carpet.
Notice the small brown stain spots on the back side of this carpet? These are rust marks from the carpet tack strip - another indicator of wet conditions below this carpeting.
- Carpets in basements or located on floors below grade such as in split level homes, particularly in areas where there are periods of high humidity or wide temperature swings in a building likely to produce condensation.
- Carpets exposed to high pet traffic are likely to have a high level of animal dander and, depending on the building humidity history, almost always have a high level of mite fecals and other allergens - this is not a mold
problem but is likely to be an IAQ problem especially for people who are asthmatic or allergic to pets.
I have tested carpets before and after home vacuuming, home HEPA vacuuming, and professional dry and wet process cleaning.
None of these methods can completely clean a carpet, though they might temporarily reduce the level of particles in the very top of the carpet nap.
- Carpet mildew diagnosis: carpeting that has light mold or smells like mold might be described by an inexperienced inspector or a building owner as mildewed carpeting. It's moldy.
Our photo of moldy carpet (left) was taken from a sample of carpeting that was the final target of a building mildew odor diagnosis procedure.
See MILDEW in BUILDINGS ? and see MILDEW ERRORS - MOLD PHOTOS for details.
- Carpet odors: carpeting that smells can be caused by a wide range of problems. See ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE
- Carpet stains: can also be caused by a wide range of sources, some of which are harmless, others may diagnose other building problems such as a heating system that is not working properly, or building air leaks. See CARPET STAIN DIAGNOSIS.
How to Look for Hidden mold in or underneath wall to wall carpeting and carpet padding
Advice for Testing Indoor Carpeting for Mold Contamination
If carpeting has been wet and was not dried within about 24 hours after that event, it is likely to be moldy. if carpeting smells or looks
moldy it also will almost certainly need to be replaced. But what if we don't know a carpet's history, we don't see mold on the carpet nor
on it's underside, but we need to test the carpeting for mold?
Details of our advice on testing carpeting for mold or other contaminants can be read at CARPET TEST PROCEDURE.
In addition to taking a careful case history of the leak exposure to which carpeting has been exposed, and in addition to making a thorough
olfactory (subjective smell test) and visual (by eye) inspection, we on occasion test carpeting using a vacuum method, combining a vacuum
pump with a sampling cassette.
Selection of the area of carpet to be tested is important: choose the most-suspect area of carpeting
such as where leaks or water are likely to have been present or where there may have been cross-contamination from mold remediation in
other areas of the building.
We advise against use of tape samples of a carpet upper surface to screen carpeting for mold since there is a significant risk that such methods will
fail to detect problem mold that is in the carpet but not on its uppermost surface. This condition occurs, for example, when moldy carpeting
has been HEPA vacuumed or cleaned.
However, if there is mold already visible on a carpet (such as is shown in the next section of this article)
it may be appropriate to collect a surface sample using tape in order to identify the type of mold present when that data is needed for
medical or post-remediation clearance test purposes.
How to Recognize Mold Visible on Exposed Carpeting Surfaces
Mold visible on carpeting surfaces: As we also mentioned at CARPET PADDING ASBESTOS, MOLD, ODORS, carpets or even area rugs may not actually be mold contaminated but can smell moldy if the carpeting or padding have absorbed Mold-related Volatile Organic Compounds
(
MVOCs).
In the case of the moldy carpet photo at left, we suspected that the
visible carpet mold was the "tip of an iceberg" of hidden mold below.
Details about types of stains on carpeting, their cause, significance, and cure, are at CARPET STAIN DIAGNOSIS.
Watch out: carpets can absorb other odors besides mold. And watch out for over-using ozone treatments that may oxidize building components and lead to a new and horrible chemical like smell. See OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS. |
Should I Test my Moldy Wall to Wall Carpeting?
Question: is a tape sample of my mold-suspect carpeting surface useful?
I took a clear tape sample of some mold on the carpet in my baby's bedroom, but I don't see any visible mold on the sample, even though I pressed fairly hard. Is that ok to send to you, or must I see the mold on the tape? I just don't want to waste anyone's time by sending an insufficient sample. S.P.
Reply: Testing a Moldy Carpet is Usually Not Needed
Thanks for asking. Our suggestions below, basically recommending that you do not have this carpet mold sample processed, are opinions based on ethics (don't peform unnecessary lab tests), and common sense, not out of a reluctance to be of service:
-
If the carpet is visibly moldy, smells moldy, got soaked, it almost certainly needs to be removed and disposed-of along with the padding. It is near impossible to completely clean mold from wall to wall carpeting, and trying to do so risks health issues as well as wasting money. Toss out moldy carpet, being careful not to spread moldy dust throughout the building in the process, and clean the exposed surfaces, and of course, fix the cause of mold.
- A carpet surface tape sample, unless there was visible mold, is too unlikely to represent the actual mold-condition of the carpet. If we have a technical reason to actually determine what kinds of mold are present in carpeting, for example to allow a client to inform their doctor to what molds they've been exposed at high level, we use a vacuuming method that pulls particles from the carpet interior, under-side, top side, and carpet padding as well as checking the conditions of the subfloor below. Details are at CARPET TEST PROCEDURE.
- And if there is mold visible on the carpet surface, our first point pertains. Despite claims to wash and restore carpets, that approach has not done well in the field and lab tests we've conducted.
Some exceptions to this no-carpet-test advice / opinion
- If there was only very small moldy spot caused by a limited-scope, well understood event - such as a child left a piece of apple wet-side down on the carpet- that's such a localized problem that ordinary cleaning should suffice, and replacing the carpet ought not be necessary. That's because we know the cause, we know there was no extensive wetting nor mold growth, and we are not facing conditions that make further mold growth likely - at least not from the apple.
- If occupants of the building where moldy carpeting is or has been installed need to inform their physician, pulmonologist, or allergist about the molds to which they have been exposed - in which case other building screening samples (such as settled dust) and a more thorough inspection may be in order, lest we focus on the "wrong mold" reservoir or miss something else important.
- Carpeting that is not permanently installed can be removed and sent out for professional cleaning and drying and if appropriate, tested before it is reinstalled in the building.
See STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS and STAINS on & in BUILDINGS, CAUSES & CURES and STAINS on INDOOR SURFACES: PHOTO GUIDE as well as STAINS & Thermal Tracking. See Black stains from animals for details about pet stains on building floors (urine) and walls (various) and see Pet Stains on Walls for diagnosing stains such as the black marks left by pets on walls. Readers should also see STAINS on Indoor Surfaces: PHOTO GUIDE and for outdoor stains, see STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING EXTERIORS
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
...
Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia
Use the search box below to ask a question or to search the InspectApedia.com website.
Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below.
Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- Thanks to reader Eva R.H. for discussing the question of what percent of moldy carpet needs to be damaged to determine to replace all of it. Feb 2009
- Thanks to reader S.P. for discussing carpet testing, September 2010
- Daniel Friedman is retired a mold/indoor air quality investigator and home inspector who continues to work as journalist in Poughkeepsie, New York. He is a member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Society of Home Inspectors. His
non-fiction articles and essays have appeared in The Journal of Light Construction, the Old House Journal, The ASHI Technical Journal, Progressive Builder and New Shelter. His news reporting and
photography have appeared in the Journal of Light Construction, and in various newspapers including the New York Times, Richmond Times Dispatch, Richmond News Leader, and the Poughkeepsie Journal.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
|
- Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, have provided us with (and we recommend) Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates' Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment
Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Technical Reference Guide purchased as a single order. Just enter INSPECTATRG in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- Environmental Health & Investigation Bibliography - our technical library on indoor air quality inspection, testing, laboratory procedures, forensic microscopy, etc.
- Adkins and Adkins Dictionary of Roman Religion discusses Robigus, the Roman god of crop protection and the legendary progenitor of wheat rust fungus.
- Kansas State University, department of plant pathology, extension plant pathology web page on wheat rust fungus: see http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/factSheets/Wheat/Wheat%20Leaf%20Rust.asp
- "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home",
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
- US EPA - Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Building [Copy on file at /sickhouse/EPA_Mold_Remediation_in_Schools.pdf ] - US EPA
- US EPA - Una Breva Guia a Moho - Hongo [Copy on file as /sickhouse/EPA_Moho_Guia_sp.pdf - en Espanol
Mold Contamination Testing, Cleanup, Prevention: references & products
 The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How
to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems- Aerobiology, Building Science, Microscopy, & Laboratory References, an extensive technical bibliography
- Allergens: what they look like in buildings
- Associations: Sick House, Sick Building, SBS - Air Quality, Government, Private Associations and Information Resources
- Atlas of Clinical Fungi, 2nd Ed., GS deHoog, J Guarro, J Gene, & MJ Figueras, Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Universitat Rovira I Virgili, 2000, ISBN 90-70351-43-9 (you can buy this book at Amazon) - The Atlas of Clinical Fungi is also available on CD ROM
- Atlas of Mold Related Illness: Index of Symptoms and health, physical, neurological, psychological, and other complaint which people suspect may be mold or building-related.
- Atlas of Indoor Mold, Online Clinical Mold Atlas, Toxins, Pathogens, Allergens and Other Indoor Particles - Medical Health Effects of Mold (separate online document)
- Black Mold that is Harmless Photos of recognizable, usually harmless black mold on wood, bluestain, ceratocystis, ophistoma
- Building Floods: quick steps after a building flood or plumbing leak can prevent costly mold contamination
- Classes of Mold: what types of cosmetic, allergenic, or toxic mold are a problem? Can mold be cleaned-up successfully?
- Clinical Mold References - Detailed bibliography of mold reference texts
- "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
- "Disease Prevention Program for Certain Vegetable Crops," David B. Langston, Jr., Extension Plant Pathologist - Vegetables, University of Georgia (PDF document) original source: www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/209797.html
- "Disease Prevention in Home Vegetable Gardens,"
Patricia Donald,
Department of Plant Microbiology and Pathology,
Lewis Jett
Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri Extension - extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6202
- "Management of Powdery Mildew, Leveillula taurica, in Greenhouse Peppers," Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, British Columbia - Original source: www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/peppermildew.htm
- Environmental Health & Investigation Bibliography - our own technical library on indoor air quality inspection, testing, laboratory procedures, forensic microscopy, etc.
- Fiberglass: Mold in Fiberglass Insulation© 2005 comments about a field study in process, & more about health hazards from fiberglass insulation - DJF
- Fifth Kingdom, Bryce Kendrick, ISBN13: 9781585100224, is available from the InspectAPedia online bookstore - we recommend the CD-ROM version of this book. This 3rd/edition is a compact but comprehensive encyclopedia of all things mycological. Every aspect of the fungi, from aflatoxin to zppspores, with an accessible blend of verve and wit. The 24 chapters are filled with up-to-date information of classification, yeast, lichens, spore dispersal, allergies, ecology, genetics, plant pathology, predatory fungi, biological control, mutualistic symbioses with animals and plants, fungi as food, food spoilage and mycotoxins.
- Fungi, Identifying Filamentous, A Clinical Laboratory Handbook, Guy St-Germain, Richard Summerbell, Star Publishing, 1996, ISBN 0-89863-177-7 (English) (buy at Amazon)
- Looking for Mold Procedure: what mold is often found where in buildings - simple technical presentation
- Meruliporia: the house eating fungus or "poria"
- Mold Action Guide: Step-by-Step Instructions, What to do about mold, mildew, and other indoor allergens
- MOLD APPEARANCE - WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE Photos of what mold looks like in buildings
- MOLD APPEARANCE - STUFF THAT IS NOT MOLD Photos of NOT-mold material that is sometimes mistaken for mold
- MOLD ATLAS & PARTICLES INDEX, Pathogens, Allergens and Other Indoor Particles - Medical Health Effects of Mold (separate online document)
- MOLD BY MICROSCOPE Mold under the microscope - photo identification of the most common indoor molds found in buildings
- Mold FAQs Answers to Most Questions about Indoor Mold, Mold Related Illness, Mold Cleanup, Mold Prevention
- US EPA: Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Building [Copy on file at /sickhouse/EPA_Mold_Remediation_in_Schools.pdf ] - US EPA
- Mold spores in the Home - a Photo ID Library for detection and identification of mold allergens
- Mold Test Kits - How to Collect and Send Your Own Mold Sample to our mold testing lab or to any mold lab you wish
- Most Common Indoor Molds Found in Buildings, A Table of
- Mycology, Fundamentals of Diagnostic, Fran Fisher, Norma B. Cook, W.B. Saunders Co. 1998, ISBN 0-7216-5006-6 (buy this book at Amazon)
- Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold" remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
- Rot concerns in buildings-some building mold such as Meruliporia incrassata "Poria" risks serious rot and hidden structural damage
- US EPA: Una Breva Guia a Moho - Hongo [Copy on file as /sickhouse/EPA_Moho_Guia_sp.pdf - en Espanol
OTHER IAQ ISSUES: How To Find and Address Other Indoor Air or Indoor Environment Contaminants Besides Mold
Mold or allergens may not be the only or even the main indoor environmental contaminant. Don't let media attention to mold
cause so much enviro-scare fear that other, possibly more urgent hazards go un-addressed.
- Fiberglass building insulation and HVAC duct work insulation hazards
- Sewage and Septic backup contamination in buildings: inspection, testing, remediation, & references to expert sources
- Other environmental risks: Asbestos, carbon monoxide,
electromagnetic fields, environmental illness, fiberglass, MCS - multiple chemical sensitivity, toxic gases, etc
- Indoor Gas Sampling Plan
for Residential Buildings lists a number of toxic indoor gases which we test for, depending on the building
complaint and building conditions
- Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold"
remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
- Pet control - if you can't say goodbye to your bird, cat, dog, guinea pig, hamster, tropical fish, then limit the
areas they occupy and limit the airflow from that area to sleeping or other areas of the building, use allergenic
bedding, eliminate wall-to-wall carpeting, improve housecleaning including use of a HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner. For more details
see our article Dog, Cat, and Other Animal Dander - Information for Asthmatics and Indoor Air Quality
- Rodents, Mice, Squirrel Control - I find high levels of mouse and rodent dander, fecal dust, and urine-contaminated dust in some buildings,
and high levels of these materials in building insulation in those locations. If you have a mouse problem, particularly if mice and their waste (fecals or urine) are contaminating
the building HVAC or building insulation, may need both steps to clean up or remove infected materials and steps to stop an ongoing
rodent problem. If squirrels are a problem, the cleanup needs to include closing off entry openings into the building. Get some
help from a licensed pest control expert.
- ...
|
Mobile View
