Black mold questions?

Question

I have a window air conditioner in my living room that we just noticed today that it was dripping water onto the carpet behind the couch. The air conditioner has been in the window for about 1 1/2 months and has been running most days. There is an area under the couch and in front of the couch that is about 4'x4' in area that is wet. I have been soaking up water with towels and the water is brown.

So my questions are:

1. Can black mold grow in just 1 1/2 months?

2. Does the water being brown tell me if there is or is not mold?

3. How can I find out if there is mold without tearing up the carpeting?

Answer 1

How old is your house?  Older houses are generally draftier, and they will dry out more quickly and be less susceptible to mold than newer houses with Tyvek underneath the siding.

The brown water is probably just caused by some sort of coloration leeching out of the carpet padding.

"Black Mold" is somewhat of a health issue, but my experience (in the northeast US) is that it's more of a marketing issue by companies who get rid of it.  Your best bet is to dry the carpeting as well as you can and then let it dry out.  The padding is probably soaked as well, so you need to get the carpet as dry as you can, then walk on it to squeeze the water from the padding into the carpeting, then dry the carpeting again, and do that until everything is as dry as possible.  Then put a fan on it for a couple of days.

Mold is much more likely to grow behind walls than under the carpeting - I'm pretty sure you need air and moisture, which is tougher under the carpeting.

Answer 2

Mold grows very fast. Especially in a moist environment. The brown water is not an indication of mold. The colour could be dye, dirt or a mixture of both, or due to the padding under the carpet. In any case the carpet needs to dry out or you will have a problem soon, if not with mold then with rotting and decomposition of the carpet padding, and or bacteria that could lead to respiratory troubles. You can have a sample of the water tested for mold if you don't want to tear up the carpet.

Mold can be a serious health issue, not just unsightly. Some household molds can kill you. Stachybotrys is one mold that is not to be messed with. This is one mold that commonly grows in water damaged areas.

Answer 3

Yes mold grows very fast. Brown can be from many things. you need to reset the a/c where the outside is lower than the window allowing the water to drain away from the room. If you see black then there is mold under the carpet. It should be (carpet) pulled back and dried out.

**JD

Answer 4

Hi, dont take any chances, take out the carpet and replace it, dont just dry it out. it can caues you to be sick