My husband pulled up the carpet in our hallway to reveal what we thought was going to be nice hardwood, similar to the rest of the floors in our new home. Instead he found an unsalvageable mess. There has obviously been some water damage in the past. There are mold spots, the wood has actually shrunk causing gaps between the slats, and the wood is dull and splintering. Can anyone recommend a cleaning method and some product to use to stop the mold growth before we put down new carpeting?
2007-02-25 11:20:08 · 5 answers · asked by Tink 4 in Home & Garden ➔ Decorating & Remodeling
We are not trying to save the floor. The wood would need to be replaced. It's on the second floor and there is no damage to the ceiling under the area. There is no water problem now and the floor is very dry. Is there a product that can be applied to seal in any mold that may remain after a good bleach cleaning.
2007-02-26 01:34:28 · update #1
I first suggest finding what caused the water damage because if that isn't fixed, it will happen again. We had water damage in a living room from a leak behind a washer that was part of the kitchen in another room!
If you want to do it right, you need to sand the floor with a belt sander and fill in the cracks with wood putty and restain the floor with a polyurethane varnish. A good wash with diluted bleach before puttying and sanding and letting it dry should kill the mold. If you have some kind of moisture still going on underneath the house, you have a current mold problem that needs correcting now!! Covering it up with carpet will not solve your problem and is hazardous to your health.
I would thoroughly recommend checking out why there was water in the first place or moisture getting under the carpet, because the new carpet pad is going to hold that moisture in and make it worse.
Also better make sure that the wood holding the floor up isn't dry rotted to the point that the floor will rot through. Better to save your money on new carpet now than later and have to start all over again!
2007-02-25 11:43:15 · answer #1 · answered by happychef 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
First stop the water from coming in the home. Leave the floor uncovered until you are sure the leak is fixed. Clean the mold off the wood with a bleach and water solution, about 1 part bleach to 2 part water. Do the cleaning with the windows open and lots of air moving, use a fan if you can. After cleaning leave it dry for 2 or so days before you carpet. Also there is a pad from Stainmaster that has a breathable film to let water vapor get out of the floor if any is still there. It also has an odor remover built in.
2007-02-25 21:00:35 · answer #2 · answered by rlbendele1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Really not that big of a deal. You just need to clean off the mold with bleach. And let it dry out. THink about all the times you spill a glass of water, or whatever on the carpet. That moisture can go through the pad and grow mold as well. NOT ALL MOLD IS DEADLY. Really. Massive amounts of black mold can cause respiratory conditions, but it is HIGHLY over exaggerated.
2007-03-04 18:41:21 · answer #3 · answered by ericamp19 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This happened to my mom. She tried a few professional cleaners but nothing worked. In the end she used good old laundry bleach to kill the mold along with some sanding. First sand down to take up any residue from cleaners used already. (mixing bleach with other cleaners can cause poisonous gasses) Next using safety gear put down the bleach and leave on for about an hour. Scrub floor then mop up and rinse well. Let dry completely, and sand again before putting down carpet.
2007-02-25 23:09:16 · answer #4 · answered by songbird092962 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Brush off as much as possible, then use Bleach to clean it, When you are done, Use a wood varnish, give it a few coats. that should do it. In order to prevent this from happening you must first find the source.
2007-03-05 18:54:20 · answer #5 · answered by lennie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋