White fluff growing on carpet??

starryfishes

Hi everybody,

I have white fluff growing on my carpet. I *think* it is mould but I can't seem to find much info on the net (most stuff seems to be about black mould). Can anyone provide more information on what it might be and how I can remove it? I have wiped it away before but it has grown back (less than a week later). Its growing on a pretty large area of carpet, about 70cm x 30cm.

Feeling creeped out,

Thanks for any help!

YORKSHIRELASS

No experience of this but does the room smell foisty? Is there damp anywhere else? Do you have heating on in the room? Does the carpet feel dry to the touch?

If you havent done so already I would be lifting the carpet so that you can look underneath and see if you can spot any signs of damp/moisture or maybe identify anything underneath that gives a clue to what's going on.

Our neighbours had a very tiny leak coming from their kitchen into the hall and over a long period of time it actually damaged the floorboards underneath the carpet. They noticed a funny smell long before they realised anything else was wrong.

powerwin

Possibly a filamentous fungi of some sort:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC145304/

Is/has the carpet been damp? That may have created the damp conditions in the carpet allowing fungi to grow.

The affected carpet may need to be disposed of. The environment should be checked for damp sources, dried and kept dry.

starryfishes

Thanks for the replies. I don't think it smells and I can't think of a reason why the carpet would be damp...it's in my bedroom so no pipes or anything. There is a window near it (with lots of mould on it mind you, I just lifted up the curtain for the first time!) but that's kept shut.

edwink

It looks like you may have a bit of a damp problem if you have mould on your windows. I would seriously suggest opening the curtains in the daytime and the windows everyday for a while at least. If you are sleeping in there certainly you should.


Do you have any heating on it that room? Is it a house or a flat you are living in? Do you dry your washing at home and if so do you use an airer or a tumble dryer? Maybe you are putting the washing on your radiators to dry and there is no ventilation in the house. If so I would open a few windows for a couple of hours when the washing is drying.

lstar337

starryfishes wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I don't think it smells and I can't think of a reason why the carpet would be damp...it's in my bedroom so no pipes or anything. There is a window near it (with lots of mould on it mind you, I just lifted up the curtain for the first time!) but that's kept shut.

And that is why the mould is there!

you need to ventilate. You exhale pints of water while you sleep, so you are the source of the damp!

You need to find a way to get that moisture out. Open windows if you can, dehumidify if you cant.

starryfishes

Thanks everyone for the enlightenment. I immediately went out this morning to buy a mould remover spray. I hoovered the carpet (not sure if that was a good idea since it might spread to other areas of the carpet??). I also bought some Vanish carpet cleaner which I will use on the area tomorrow.

The affected carpet area is right next to my bed and it is freaking me out that it might affect my clothes, bed etc

lstar337

starryfishes wrote: »

The affected carpet area is right next to my bed and it is freaking me out that it might affect my clothes, bed etc

Not to mention your health!

Don't freak out though, just get it under control and remember to ventilate!