This is the time of year when the temperature begins to fluctuate a bit between freezing cold and warm enough to take a nice walk. These drastic changes in temperature happen pretty often throughout February, because it is one of those months when one season is transitioning into the next.
Your carpet has many layers, including a pad underneath that protects your subfloor from being damaged by the dirt and debris that gets tracked through the building. But, when a leak from a faulty pipe happens, the subfloor, carpet, and pad are all fair game for damage – and mold.
Thankfully, there are some things that you can do to prevent mold in your carpet should you have the unfortunate event of water damage occur in your building.
Here are a few tips to follow:
- Make haste. As soon as you know that there is water in your carpet, get the towels, rags, and sponges out to soak up the water. You want to draw out as much water as you can from all of the layers. A wet-dry vacuum cleaner is very good for this task. You might have to work at it for a bit, but it is really essential to pull as much water as possible.
- Dry it out. Plug in as many fans as you have to dry out the room where the water got into the carpet. Mold needs moisture to grow, and if you are working to remove the moisture you can delay the growth. Keep the fans going in that room 24-hours a day for at least one week. It will take a long time to get the water all dried out.
- Add a dehumidifier to the room. Pulling the moisture out of the air in that room is an important part of keeping the environment as dry as possible to reduce the growth of mold. While you may not see it or feel it, the air inside does have moisture in it and it is important to reduce as much of it as you can.
If you have a pipe burst in your home, make sure to act fast and set into motion a plan to remove as much water as possible from your carpet. This goes for all flooring as well, don’t let water sit in a puddle on linoleum or hardwood.