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UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Steve Weatherley on April 01, 2009, 11:33:51 am

Title: Mould on carpet
Post by: Steve Weatherley on April 01, 2009, 11:33:51 am
I have been asked for my advice on a problem. It started as a pea sized mould patch on the carpet. The owner has had builders check for leaks to the roof, underfloor pipes or any damp / condensation but all checks have not found the root of the problem. Problem grew from pea size to dinner plate size over the course of 6 months. Now 2 years later it's about 2 ft x 3ft and still growing. Customer had carpet cleaned by a professional (not me though!) and it's still getting worse.
I have checked incase it's mistaken as carpet moth and it's not that.

Any ideas??
Title: Re: Mould on carpet
Post by: daysdeepclean on April 01, 2009, 11:42:11 am
I had one a while back where the customers dog used to rub itself on the carpet, same thing with the mould ??? He read somewhere that white wine vinegar does the trick so he tried it.... and it worked  :-X
Title: Re: Mould on carpet
Post by: Joe H on April 01, 2009, 12:51:33 pm
I would imagine just cleaning a carpet with mould will not solve the problem.
Needs to be treated to stop its growth.
Now - what with - that is the question.
Title: Re: Mould on carpet
Post by: Doctor Carpet (Ret'd) on April 01, 2009, 02:25:54 pm
What's the state of the reverse of the carpet and the underlay?
Title: Re: Mould on carpet
Post by: clinton on April 01, 2009, 02:41:48 pm
Good point what roger has said.

I would take it up and have a look under as i think its some sort of fungial growth ???
Title: Re: Mould on carpet
Post by: Ken Wainwright on April 01, 2009, 03:13:52 pm
There are so many variables on this one Steve, that an on-liner diagnosis is virtually impossible. So I'll ask a few questions and let you know of some similar problems I've come across.

Where in the room is the problem? Behind/under a sofa or other furnishings? Behind curtains, close to a wall/window/door? Face or face and backing? The questions can go on and on.

Three cases spring to mind.

Mr Barratt built a home. The main soil pipe was boxed into the corner of the lounge. There was a section of the pipe MISSING. Yes honest, the pipe sticking out of the concrete floor was several inches short of meeting the main pipe. You can imagine what happened.

Many  homes have the radiator water pipes hidden behind the plasterboard wall. Their routing can go anywhere. In this case, the customer complained of damp mould smell, the builders/plumbers were unable to find any problem, so I was called in to clean and deodourise. My inspection quickly found the problem. The radiator beneath the lounge window had the pipes run inside the wall to the bedroom above.  The customers had new curtains fitted. The pelmet was secured by nails, one of which had penetrated the water pipe and a slow drip from it had caused the problem. Lifting the carpet showed the tell tale signs of dampness, mildew and odour. If you come across anything similar, DO NOT remove the nails as water will then gush out. Leave it to the plumber.

The final case was last week, andthere's a mystery for me. Stockbroker belt and a house with 6 noughts on the end, and I had all carpets to clean. Main lounge had the very faintest of mildew odour first thing in the morning, but after ventilation, disappears in about an hour. Finding the source was easy, corner behind a curtain and hifi speaker and a covered up ventilation grid. (I don't think they moved the speaker from one year to the next) Part of the problem was that the mildew had taken to the underside of the suite. The black cotton underside panel on the large sofa, the two chairs and the pouffee were all covered in mildew. But the two seater sofa had a white cotton panel and was not affected :o Over to John Kelly for this one I think.

So Steve, be thorough with your inspection and ask lots of questions.

Safe and happy cleaning :)
Ken
Title: Re: Mould on carpet
Post by: John Kelly on April 01, 2009, 04:00:32 pm
Mould and fungi need humidity, warmth and a food source to flourish. If the floor underneath is concrete it may be a defective DPC could be causing the carpet to become slightly damp by moisture evaporating off the slab. I say slightly because if it was anyway wet it would be in a lot worse condition than that over a period of 2 years. It doesn't take a lot of moisture to cause fungal growth.
Whatever it is there is something causing dampness in the carpet. If its in a corner check for defective pointing or drainage gulleys on the outside in that area.
Most builders wouldn't know dampness if they were in a bath!
Ken, yours sounds like a ventilation problem. Having a grill on the wall may mean there has been a problem in the past. Odds are that wall is facing North or East and will be colder than the rest of the room. This causes a lower vapour pressure area which attracts moisture from the rest of the property. This increase in vapour, which usually occurs during the night, create perfect conditions for mildew growth. Ventilate and heat.
Title: Re: Mould on carpet
Post by: Ken Wainwright on April 01, 2009, 04:11:11 pm
John

My final example above was easy for me to diagnose, but what I can't understand was why there was mould staining on the black cotton panels, but not the white?  Could it be that under this sofa it wasn't dark enough (reflected light?)

Safe and happy cleaning :)
Ken
Title: Re: Mould on carpet
Post by: John Kelly on April 01, 2009, 05:01:53 pm
Possibly or maybe the composition of the fibres or it may have been treated with a mould inhibitor as many are to prevent problems during transport/storage.