[ian richards]

I am having to give a quotation on tuesday afternoon which has been described as a mould area on a woolen carpet, caused by a constant drip.
If it is mouldy can it be rectified, or do i advise on an insurance claim.
I have been summond by an insurance company, who i am charging a call out fee.
Ian. 

[Ken Wainwright]

Hi Ian

The only certain way I know of to remove mould/mildew staining is with household bleach. Unfortunately, this will strip the dye and dissolve wool .  I have on rare occasions had success with some types of mould with rust remover (hydroflouric acid), but don't hold your breath for that one. Perhaps some of the Fire and Flood techs. may be able to help, or perhaps the stain section on another forum.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[paulchambers]

House hold bleach i believe will clean mould but not kill the spores and the mould will reappear  (i think)   Paul

[eclipse]

as far as i am aware paul you are correct (bleach dosn,t kill the spores) to kill the mould spores you need to apply some sort of antimicrobial which should kill the mould and the spores
the discolouration and staining is another matter depending on the carpet type and how severe  the staining is it may be permanent also if the mould has been caused by a long term leak check the backing of the carpet because the chances are that it will have rotted or delaminated (if it hessian backed)
Also an issue which should be addressed is if it is a long term leak then the floor be it either concrete wood or whatever will have suffered some sort of water ingress and if so will require drying out to prevent any further damage to carpets , underlay , flooring material and walls due to the wicking effect of water!
And to be honest with you when i was doing the water damage restoration and a carpet is mouldy or delaminated quite bad it would tend to be reccomended for replacement

[John_Flynn]

Hi Lee

Longtime NO talk !!

I agree 100% with your reply uplift carpet, treat with Anti-Microbal, dryout and replace with new carpet.

[woodman]

Hi Ian

if an insurance company has appointed you then they will probably ask for a report from you on the condition and recommendations on restoration or otherwise.They will also want some idea of replacement costs to justify any possible attempt at restoration.

Ask them for an authority fee to proceed with attempted restoration anything up to £250.00 as the likelyhood is that it will not be restorable and the insured knew the leak had been on going for some time, there might be a question about mitigation on the insured's part which they might ask your opinion on.

As others have said pull the carpet back and check whats going on underneath, bend the carpet over if you can in the affected area, if it cracks and the secondary backing splits then almost certainly it's beyond restoration.But still check primary backing.If its all wool as you say then establish if wilton or axminster check backing again and for shrinkage,if mould has eaten away at the back the pile will just pull away with ease in your hand again this is beyond restoration.

If all seems ok then drying from the back is urgently required so an airmover needs placing under the carpet,apply a  antimicrobial,gripper rods if moulded and rusted will also need to be replaced as will underlay if required.

48 hrs later recall re-check and proceed to refit carpet and clean as required or
inform insurance of situation and recommend replacement as the case may be.

I would try and get payment from the insured and ask her to claim back as you are going to be waiting some time for payment otherwise.

Good Luck

[ian richards]

Hi
You guy's have been fabulous, thankyou all, for all your help, i feel that i'm now going in much better prepared. I will let you all know of the outcome.
Cheers.
Ian.