Nipping shower mould in the bud

[D.M. Procida]

The grout on the new shower is already showing signs of black mould spores. Since we have a chance to nip this in the bud, what would be the best way of doing so?

Thanks,

Daniele

[Tim S]

D.M. Procida wibbled:

Bleach first - get it killed - it's not permanant - if mould likes your shower, the spores are always going to be floating around - but I've found bleach keeps it knocked back.

Is it the grout or silicone or something else that's sprouting the mould?

Are you a bit down on ventilation - places that can dry out periodically are less attractive to black mould.

Cheers

Tim

[Andrew Gabriel]

Grout won't grow mold, but it might have soap scum on it which is. An old washing-up (or similar) brush will remove the soap scum. (Probably easiest to do this whilst actually having a shower;-) Use of liquid soap will stop the soap scum (although liquid soap itself goes moldy, but hopefully it will wash off before that happens, unlike the soap scum.) Alternatively, try one of the daily shower sprays, which is a weak surfacant (detergent) and sometimes weak acid, to help make the scum run off and/or dissolve before becoming encrusted.

Silicone will grow mold. You can buy it with anti fungal, but that will get washed out of the surface after a while.

Bleach is good for making dirt invisible and will knock out living things whilst it's in contact, but it's not a cleaner, so any effect is going to be short lived as it hasn't changed the reason for the mold, and long term it might damage other things.

[Steve Firth]

Commercial mould cleaner preparations are a mixture of bleach and sodium hydroxide. If you want to replicate one dissolve two teaspoons of sodium hydroxide in 500ml of water ensure that it is throughly dissolved then add 100ml of bleach. Always add sodium hydroxide to water never the other way around.

You can apply the solution using a spray bottle, and it's a good idea to wear goggles when you do to avoid accidental splashback into the eye.

Leave to soak in for about 20 minutes then wash off. You can scrub it into the grout using an old toothbrush.

[Rob]

Having prattled on about my own bleach-based remedies in the past - which do work - I bought some Dettox Antibacterial Mould & Mildew Remover following a recommendation here and it really does work for me - must be about 6 months from the last application and still looking good. Smells horrible for a while though.

Rob

[John]

Best think I ever did was to stop using bar soap and to use only liquid soap. Everything stays sparkling and shiny( Except me)

[D.M. Procida]

You're right to ask - in fact it's the flexible seal between the tiles and the base of the shower, not the hard stuff between the tiles that has sprouted the mould.

Daniele

[Adam Funk]

What causes grout to work loose?

[Andrew Gabriel]

Off the top of my head...

Tiles moving (maybe due to a crack in the wall behind moving).

Grout not mixed up or used correctly, or was too old when used.

[Mark]

I use this and it works. It helps to keep the walls clean and dry and the bathroom well ventilated.