How to Remove Mildew From a Carpet & Pad
Mildew is a naturally occurring fungus that can thrive on many different surfaces in your home. Mildew spores are always in the air, but they need moisture and warm temperatures to grow. Carpet can provide a common breeding ground for mildew, because of its sometimes damp conditions. If you discover mildew on your carpet and pad, treat them immediately, before mildew multiplies and causes serious damage to your carpet. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Face mask
- Protective eye wear
- Rubber gloves
- Vacuum cleaner
- 5-gallon bucket
- 1 cup laundry detergent
- Sponge
- Cloth
- Steam cleaner
- Mildew cleaning solution
Instructions
-
-
1
Put on a face mask, protective eye wear and rubber gloves. This will help protect you against touching or inhaling mildew or tiny toxic mildew spores.
-
2
Vacuum the carpet to draw out as much mildew as possible. Since the mildew spores are being drawn into the vacuum cleaner, dispose of the vacuum contents immediately.
-
-
3
Fill a 5-gallon bucket with water, and add 1 cup of laundry detergent. Saturate a sponge in the solution, and clean the mildew on the carpet until all of the mildew is removed.
-
4
Wipe away any remaining soap with a cloth dampened in water. Dry the carpet and pad with a high intensity fan and open up as many windows and doors as possible to circulate air over the carpet.
-
5
Use a steam cleaner on your carpet and pad for persistent mildew stains. Use a cleaning solution specifically designed to kill mildew. Steam cleaners can be rented from many home improvement stores.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
It’s important to identify where the mildew is coming from and fix the moisture problem, so the mildew will not return.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit carpet close up image by isatori from Fotolia.com
