Need Advice Concerning Mold in Carpet

My carpet guy is THE BEST. I was always very wary of people coming into my home, but Joe knows his stuff.

Mobile Joe ###-###-#### - he actually lives north of 949, but servies all over the place.

My husband is a general contractor and mold remediator. Depending on the color of the mold it can be very toxic. Also, when you disturb the mold it released spores into the air so as advised by others you should wear a mask and keep the room closed off to the rest of the house to limit exposure to other areas. If you can afford it you should purchase an air purifier to clean the air prior after removal. I do not know what your budget is but if you would like to do it yourself my advice is that you purchase some sporicidin and disinfect the entire room. Black mold can cause serious health issues but small children are most vunerable. Below is the link to the sporicidin website so you can read about the product and find a reseller. Hospitals use the product to disinfect surfaces and it is safe for humans and pets. You do not want to take any chances with you or your childs health. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

http://www.sporicidin.com/mold-products.htm

I doubt it will affect your son, unless he's crawling on it, eating off it or highly allergic to mold.

I would get the carpet ripped up as soon as possible and just keep him out of the room until then. :)

My sister rents out a lot of her properties and so was required to attend a mold seminar put on by some specialists. Not long after, my husband and I had the same problem you are. We have small children and so were also worried so I talked to her. Mold is harmless unless it happens to be a rare form of black mold (only found around 2% of the time), or your child happens to have a mold allergy. So, unless the mold is the specific black kind or it is causing your son to have the sniffles it should be perfectly harmless. No worries.

After the rug is picked up, make sure the boards are dry. Put a couple of coats of Kilz on it to prevent any mold that has seeped into the boards. This should keep the mold (if any) from coming back.

Mold, depending upon the type, can be very dangerous. It can spread into the walls, which would be a nightmare to get out. And, airborne spores can travel through the house. I'm sure all is fine now, but the longer it sits there and grows the greater the risk. Make it a priority, get a sitter, and rip it out as soon as you can. Google it and educate yourself. Here's an article to start http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Serious-Dangers-of-Mold-and...

Mold is a big problem and even bigger if anyone in the house is sensitive to it.

Ask someone to help you if you can and you should be sure to wear a mask when in the room. Coveralls would help and that way you are not bringing it out on your clothes and rubbing it off on your baby.

If you are ripping the carpet out anyway and the floor can take it you might pour a bleach solution on it until you can finish.

its extremely important to find out what kind of mold it is, because some molds are very bad, but most cause breathing problems.

my sister lives in hawaii where they have this really bad black mold, she knew of a family with a baby who breathed in the mold and the mold grew inside the babys lungs and the parents got the baby to hospital barely in time (thank goodness the baby was alright)
my son got asthma from living in Santa Barbara (where its very moist and moldy), it hardly ever comes back now that we live in a dryer area, but his allergies trigger once in a while.

long story short, im pretty sure no matter what kind of mold it is it will probably be bad.

what you can do is set up an air purifier and if this happens to any other places in the apartment it would be good to get a professional to dry the carpets.
if you cant afford that then air out your house for a long time and use bleach to clean up any mold (if it stays bad then i would save money for an air purifier, seeing as how your babies health is at stake)

I would run the Hepa filter as you work. This will help capture any spores that may go airborn. I would then change the filter as soon as you have the mold out!

You should not be doing this, have an expert come right away , in the mean while if its not done you should not be in the house, mold can and does hold a high risk in killing you and your baby if inhaled why do you think the experts where all of the protective gear, it only takes one time to inhale this into your body to cause a severe illiness or death... if the health dept were to take a look they would condeam your house until it is taken out, call your home owners insurance it is covered by most. do not dely

Removed it..... Rent a industrial heat dryer and replace the carpet....

Mold is a real bad one. You should have a professional remove it ASAP but if you can't afford it take precaution, close the vent and the door so spores don't travel, protect yourself with eye goggles and wear a GOOD mask that will not allow you to breathe in the spores, look at paint or hardware stores for a professional quality one, wear coveralls and don't leave that room with them on, don't transfer the spores to other areas. Don't handle your child until you've showered and changes clothes.
Treat it as toxic waste because mold is very much a health hazzard to you and your family.You may need to treat the area after you remove the carpet before you put the hardwood floor down. Good Luck it's going to be a big job.

Hi S.

You said that you were going to remove the carpet and put in
hardwood floors. So just pull out the old carpet and pad, put it in the trash. Then wash the floor with bleach let it dry out and wait. Mold lives on water. If there is no more water going to the area, there should be no more mold after the bleach has killed it. Check behind the base boards as well, make sure that there is nothing left.

Good luck

M.

The mold spores can fly any where. Get into the ventilation, etc. Can affect the baby as well as you guys. As someone already stated make sure the floor dries and get special mold killer at home depot. We had to do that on our bathroom floors.I would also bag/cover the carpet in that room so that mold spores wont fly out as you're moving it out of the house. It doesn't have to be black mold to affect anyone. Black mold is just the worst kind. Also try and get one of the special air filters for the baby's room and can also use it in the different rooms to try and catch any spores that may be flying around.
Good luck. It's not the worse scenario, but you're doing the right thing and taking precautions. Just in case your child is allergic or becomes allergic.

Hi! I'm just wanting to write you in regards to ripping out your carpet and putting down flooring. I suggest you look into cork floors. We have them in our entire house. They're softer than wood or bamboo and very mold/ bacterial resistant and great for allergies. They're more $ then pergo but comparable to hardwood & bamboo and WAY worth it. Good luck!

I don't mean to scare you, but yes MOLD is bad... it attacks the respiratory organs... slowly but surely... can develop allergies, asthma, bronchial infections, lower immune system, etc. It's one of those bad things that we can't just see with our eyes, unless its that old and built up...

Buy a hepa (sp?) filter and also keep the child(ren) away from that room... Also, close & seal off the vents to that room... Wash everything in that room, and also be sure to have the floor cleaned out of the mold before you install a new flooring... this will eliminate your problem and not just cover it up...

Not sure on the costs, but I would also have that room tested for mold to make sure you had it all cleared out...