Wall to wall sisal carpet on concrete slab. Sisal is developing mold in areas where plastic chair mats cover it. Ideas on how to correct this? Any possible preventive that does not require taking up the carpet? I haven't seen the job or any photos, so not sure what the extent of the current damage might be.
Mold on sisal
- Thread starter timnelson
- Start date
Josh Adler
Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
- Messages
- 219
Remove and dispose
mirf
Supportive Member
it's a throw away thathurts
Desk Jockey
Member
Bad choice of material to put over concrete!
Moisture vapor diffusion makes that sisal a perfect food source for mold, dark, damp, no air flow and ideal and tasty meal for mold.
It's going to be an on going problem any where they stop the vapor flow from the concrete through the sisal to the air space.
Pull the installation or find a donor piece to replace the mold damaged area. Cleaning wouldn't correct the appearance plus it would still have spores that would only need the same to conditions to continue to grow.
Moisture vapor diffusion makes that sisal a perfect food source for mold, dark, damp, no air flow and ideal and tasty meal for mold.
It's going to be an on going problem any where they stop the vapor flow from the concrete through the sisal to the air space.
Pull the installation or find a donor piece to replace the mold damaged area. Cleaning wouldn't correct the appearance plus it would still have spores that would only need the same to conditions to continue to grow.
Bob Foster
Member
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2006
- Messages
- 8,870
It should burn fast and then you would just have to throw away the ashes.
Ron Lippold
RIP
I have heard about a product called concrobium it looks like good stuff. sorry no link its out there though.
J Scott W
Member
Check to be sure this is really Sisal. There are several products designed to look like sisal but are synthetics.
Moisture from the slab being held under the chair mats is the moisture source. This can be due to 100 reasons. Sprinklers, concrete slab below grade on at least one side, plumbing leaks, ground water levels, newer concrete still curing, etc.
If they want to change the situation it is likely they will need to get rid of the chair mats or do something to get the moisture out of the concrete.
Mold scares a lot of people. The resulting hysteria can be like quicksand dragging you in to a situation you don't want to be in. But in some cases it can be cleaned if you choose to. Have to decide on a case by case basis if the procedures required are worth the effort.
Moisture from the slab being held under the chair mats is the moisture source. This can be due to 100 reasons. Sprinklers, concrete slab below grade on at least one side, plumbing leaks, ground water levels, newer concrete still curing, etc.
If they want to change the situation it is likely they will need to get rid of the chair mats or do something to get the moisture out of the concrete.
Mold scares a lot of people. The resulting hysteria can be like quicksand dragging you in to a situation you don't want to be in. But in some cases it can be cleaned if you choose to. Have to decide on a case by case basis if the procedures required are worth the effort.
Lee Stockwell
FOJL
It's oddly funny when two things you hate get together and destoy each other.
AshleyMckendree
Supportive Member
Lee Stockwell said:
Sisal- the real or fake kind is a poor choice if there is going to be a office type chair on it, which is probably why they are using a plastic chair mat.
Like others say above, moisture coming up from the concrete is being drawn up through it because of the warm air in the room is higher than the concrete and under floor Earth.
The quickest answer is to remove the mats, but the rough texture of the carpet will make the casters of the chair hard to roll on it.
The best answer is remove the sisal and install some kind of heavy duty commercial carpet.
The short answer for a test is to bonnet or OP the affected area to see whether that will suffice for now.
I don't recommend TM or portable cleaning.
Gary
Like others say above, moisture coming up from the concrete is being drawn up through it because of the warm air in the room is higher than the concrete and under floor Earth.
The quickest answer is to remove the mats, but the rough texture of the carpet will make the casters of the chair hard to roll on it.
The best answer is remove the sisal and install some kind of heavy duty commercial carpet.
The short answer for a test is to bonnet or OP the affected area to see whether that will suffice for now.
I don't recommend TM or portable cleaning.
Gary
The Great Oz
Member
Remove the sisal before you burn it. And be a good resource for your customer and let them in on the secret of perforated chair mats made for this purpose. Otherwise anything they replace the sisal with is going to have issues.
Nate The Great
Member
The Great Oz said:
Thanks for the secret B... I hope all is well with you!
Hoody
Supportive Member
Ron Lippold said:
I was one of the first people to test that product, ever for the carpet cleaning industry. They mainly sold it to hotels, and the military for different purposes. One of the developers was from Florida, but mom lived in Ohio. He had us clean his mom's house with it. It cleans decently if you allow enough dwell time and scrub it.
If I remember right, Verde Green - the manufacturer, is out of Toronto. I'm pretty positive that the product is mainly sodium borate and some type of filler.
The product was called Concrobium Mold Control, I'm not sure if they market it/sell under that name exactly anymore.
J Scott W
Member
Concrobium now makes two products - Concrobium Mold Stain Remover which is a strong oxidizer based on paracetic acid. I don't think any other mold products use this method.
Mold Stain Remover link - http://interlinksupply.com/index.html?i ... ++++++++++
There is also Concrobium Mold Control that is EPA registered to kill mold and keep it from growing back. This is registered for use on soft surface including carpet, but Sisal may be effected by moisture, leaving water marks etc. So, it may not be the cure for mold on Sisal.
Mold Control link - http://interlinksupply.com/index.html?i ... ++++++++++
Mold Stain Remover link - http://interlinksupply.com/index.html?i ... ++++++++++
There is also Concrobium Mold Control that is EPA registered to kill mold and keep it from growing back. This is registered for use on soft surface including carpet, but Sisal may be effected by moisture, leaving water marks etc. So, it may not be the cure for mold on Sisal.
Mold Control link - http://interlinksupply.com/index.html?i ... ++++++++++
