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How to Find and Test for Moldy Carpeting in Buildings MoldAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• How to recognize, test, and deal with moldy carpeting
• When should wet or moldy carpeting be removed from a building?

This document describes how to find mold and test for mold in buildings, including how and where to collect mold samples using adhesive tape - an easy, inexpensive, low-tech but very effective mold testing method. This procedure helps identify the presence of or locate the probable sources of mold reservoirs in buildings, and helps decide which of these need more invasive, exhaustive inspection and testing. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

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.
• 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.

Hidden mold in or underneath wall to wall carpeting

Hidden mold in and under wall to wall carpeting is notorious and widespread in areas which have been subject to wet conditions such as basements or floors on leaky slabs. The first photo at left shows moldy carpet tack strips which confirms a history of water entry and makes the carpeting highly suspect of serving as a problem mold reservoir. (We tested the carpeting further using a special method.) The second photo shows clean carpet tack strips, indicating that at least since this wall to wall carpeting has been installed there has been no water below the carpet in this area, and suggesting that the risk of mold in this carpeting is low.

Testing 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?

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-contamiation 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: Of course mold may be visible on the surface of carpeting too, such as in this closet. In this case we suspected that the visible carpet mold was the "tip of an iceberg" of hidden mold below.

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About the Author

Daniel Friedman www.inspect-ny.com/sickhouse.htm

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More Information on Finding, Recognizing, and Proper Testing for Mold, More on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• How to Find and Test For Mold in Buildings - Looking for Mold - A 'how to' photo and text primer on finding and testing for mold in buildings
• Recognizing Mold: What mold looks like mold identification photos to help identify mold - choosing what to sample in buildings
• Recognizing Allergens: What various indoor allergens look like - identification photos to help identify pollen, dust mites, animal dander, toxic or allergenic mold - Common Mold and other Allergens, Irritants, Remedies & Advice
• Stuff that is not mold but is often mistaken for it - things you may not want to test. Also, not all "black mold" is toxic - here are examples of harmless black mold.
• Mold Action Guide: an easy step by step outline of what to do about mold
• How to find mold without hiring anyone, for do-it-yourself'ers
• Associations: Sick House, Sick Building, SBS - Air Quality, Government, Private Associations and Information Resources
• Mold Test Kits - How to Collect and Send Your Own Mold Sample to our mold testing lab
• How to find a mold inspector or test consultant: Directory of IAQ,Sick Building, Mold Allergen Testing, Building Investigation Service Providers
• Meruliporia: the house eating fungus or "poria"
• Mold Investigation Tips for Home Inspectors how to find mold, where to look, what is likely to be important. Advice to building inspectors intending to inspect or test for toxic or problematic mold indoors, mold inspection methods, and mold test methods which are valid or invalid
• Mold Risk Levels in Buildings Based on Visual Inspection - simple visual clues help decide on action
• Mold in Fiberglass Insulation© 2005 comments about a field study in process, & more about health hazards from fiberglass insulation - DJF
• Frequently Asked Questions About Mold -- check this FAQ list & IAQ Site Map to see if you can find a quick answer to your mold concern
• When to hire a professional to inspect for toxic mold or other allergens
• Contact Us to arrange mold/IAQ building on site inspection and testing.

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Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

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