Removing Molded Carpet

Replacing carpet that has been contaminated with mold is something that nobody wants to have to do, but if you are forced to, you need to know that it is not too easy. Molded carpet is a hassle to clean thoroughly and even if you get the carpet cleaned, you still have to replace the padding underneath. The padding is not re-usable.

It can be done by someone who has never removed carpet before, since the process requires mainly some common sense.

You can start this project by taking the moldings that go around the floor of the room up and taking the door off of its hinges. Taking the door off the hinges serves to make more room for you to take the old carpet out and bring the new carpet in much easier than if the door was still attached. You can use a utility knife to cut up the carpet into strips that will make it easier to take up. Be careful, though, since you might have some nice hardwood floors underneath and you do not want to cut them.

Beginning at one end of the room, pull the carpet up off of the tackless strips and roll it up. You can install new tackless strips in their place if you want to put down new carpet afterward. These can be put down around the perimeter of the room, but do not install them in front of doorways. About ½’’ of space needs to be between the strips and the wall. The points of the tacks need to face the wall.

Remove the carpet padding in the same manner.

Check the floor out and see if the mold has done much damage to it. Mold can stain your floor like anything else, so it may need to be refinished. You can clean the stains up by using about five tablespoons of TSP (trisodium phosphate) in a gallon of water and scrubbing, rinsing, and drying thoroughly.

You do not have to re-install carpet back where the old carpet was, depending on the condition of the hardwood floor underneath. You may want to install a new hardwood floor or simply refinish the old one, but your budget may get in the way. If the molded carpet was in a moist area of the house such as your bathroom, laundry room kitchen, or basement, then you may want to avoid re-installing carpet so you do not have to go through this again, even though mold-resistant carpeting can be purchased. Mold-resistant varnishes exist for hardwood floors, also.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York Basement Water extraction and other states and cities such as
new york city mold remediation companies across the united states.