I've got black mildew stains on the grout and a couple other places in my bathroom over the bathtub. Tilex isn't removing them.
Is there something better I can use?
Is X-14 really better than Tilex, or is it the same stuff?
Thanks in advance!
Bleach kills it.
Scrubbing Bubbles is the best product I have found for the tiled shower, and I use it for cleaning fronts of cabinets in kitchen:o) I also occas. use a window mop with strong bleach to clean and then rinse the shower - don't have to get wet using that. I have tried Tilex, CLR, straight bleach, etc. For grout to be free of mildew, you need to clean off the crud it feeds on, like soap scum - used a razor blade scraper half-way into my regrouting when I kept smelling soap. Matte glazed tile made it hard to see the soap scum, but there was a lot of it. I keep my shower curtain open a bit on both sides after showering, which seems to help. I eventually regrouted my shower, after grinding out the old grout, and being a weakling, didn't get grout lines filled in a couple of places; that seems to encourage mildew, but not extreme, probably because the little pockets hold some water. If there is black, yucky caulking, it should be removed and the area ABSOLUTELY CLEAN and wiped with f.s. bleach before redoing the caulk. Another problem area of our shower is the middle of the floor - it is about 40 y.o. and is difficult to get real clean. Most likely that is because the glaze on the tile has worn somewhat.
When you get the mildew removed think about increasing the bathroom air circulation. It helps to dry the bath area after use. No moisture = no mildew.
Tilex mildew formula is bleach and lye. It should have a long shelf life, but the high pH makes it harsh to work with and limits its efficiency.
X-14 is bleach and washing soda. It should be more effective and less harsh than bleach and lye, but it would go bad sooner on the shelf.
There's something cheaper, milder to work with, and more effective: equal parts bleach and baking soda in water. You mix a little when you need it because its shelf life is in hours.
If you have a bad stain, a paste of baking soda and bleach should remove it.
Another approach uses borax in water. You can't dissolve much borax in water, but a little goes a long way. Adding a little vinegar or ammonia to the borax solution can help it clean better. If you clean with borax and don't rinse, you may find that it's a long time before mildew will grow there again.
Is it possible a sealer is keeping the tilex away from the mold, household bleach[ sodium hypochlorate] does its alot cheaper and works. You pay 10x as much for tilex and its no better, if bleach wont do it I can only guess its been sealed with some type of sealer. The active ingrediant of bleach is what many other products use, but you overpay for them.
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