Prevention of mouldy silicone in the shower

[Lobster]

While I'm sorting out the bathroom, here's another query...

Yet again, the silicone sealant in the shower needs replacing due to revolting buildup of black mould/mildew, and It Has Been Decreed that I need to scrape it all out and replace it. Yet again. :(

I remember posting about this godawful job before (actually about the best way of removing the old silicone), just checked and it was only 2 years ago (and the problems's already been back again for a very long time

(or )

Is there no definitive answer to stopping this from happening? I know I used fungicidal sanitary-grade silicone last time, but whatever brand it was, it was clearly rubbish. I can tell you - I'd happily pay 50 for a tube that was absolutely guaranteed never, ever to go mouldy.

I'm sure ventilation is an issue; there's a shower fan on over-run, and the door is always left open; but to be honest, I reckon that unless all the surfaces in the shower cubicle are wiped down and dried each time (not going to happen), it's always going to be at least a bit humid in there.

Would love to hear some recommendations

[stuart noble]

No chance. Humidity in a cubicle with insufficient ventilation equals mildew. End of

[harryagain]

You can buy "bathroom silicon" that is supposedly mould resistant. Dunno how well it works. You can also buy a plastic quadrant strip that covers the joint.

[Dave Liquorice]

In which case you are going to get mould. A squeegy down the tiles/doors etc after *every* use and a wipe along any near horizontal bits that collect water should be enough. If you can't be arsed to keep things clean put up with the consequences...

[Terry Fields]

Dettol Mould and Mildew Remover almost certainly will get rid of it after a treatment or three, but it's quite pungent and your SWMBO might not like it...

...but it's a *lot* easier than stripping and resealing...

This is for a 3-pack, but read the reviews. Your local supermarket should sell it for £3 a single trigger pack and well worth the punt IMHO.

After getting rid of the current spate of black mould, using this every say fortnight will keep it at bay. Cleaning tiles and grout with this stuff brings them up like new... HTH.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Lobster escribió:

Spray bottle with thin bleach and a bit of water. Spray mould, leave overnight, rinse off in the morning, mould gone.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , harryagain escribió:

Did you even bother reading the OP? He said he'd done that.

[Mr Pounder]

After a shower we just give the tiles etc a blast of "Daily Shower Cleaner". A bottle costs about a quid and lasts ages. We had a new bathroom 5 years ago and no mould has formed. The bathroom is small.

[The Natural Philosopher]

mild bleach, heating and ventilation.

Its STANDING water that really makes it happen..

[tony sayer]

In article , Lobster scribeth thus

Got this problem in the main gaff and the rented ones;(..

Seems no matter what you do the shit comes back one way or the other..

However over at SWMBO's mums house in France they have a tiled wall and cast iron bath but the joint betwixt bath and wall tile is made with sand and cement mortar and its never been a problem ever .. so her mum says!...

[DerbyBorn]

Have you damaged the original smooth surface of the silicone by using abrasive cleaners?

[meow2222]

Easy. Apply bogroll, apply bleach, leave overnight. It may take a few appli cations to look like new again

NT

[Broadback]

Following advice read here, some time ago, we keep and old towel in the shower cubicle (we remove it outside when actually showering of course), then after showering we wipe the glass and tile down. this keeps the mould almost totally at bay, it has the added advantage of keeping the water marks off the glass doors as well. After quite some time a little mould appears, I have found that "HG mould spray" is the best product I have found for removing the mould. I have not needed to replace the sealant for several years since following this method.

[stuart noble]

The OP has already intimated that any effort on his part isn't going to happen. Not that I blame him for being realistic. The trick is to minimise the time it takes. A squeegee might help

[Andrew Gabriel]

Using bars of soap in hard water areas in the shower doesn't help this. The resulting thin layer of soap scum tends to go mouldy. Liquid soaps don't generate an insoluable scum.

[D.M.Chapman]

Often hear of people using car wax to a) make most water run off and b) stop prevent the water actually getting to the stuff the mould can grow on.

Not tried it myself, but I can see that a thin layer of something like collinite 476 may help. Certainly the water dislikes staying on my car after a coat of that :-)

Use something like collinite and it'll last for months (last did my car in Sept, can still see it beading up now).

Let us know how it works if you try it :-)

Darren

[bert]

+1

[The Medway Handyman]

This stuff is fantastic;

[Another John]

Oh man Dave! That sounds a bit harsh on the OP?

We consider our shower clean, and we squeegee its every single time we use it. However we don't dry the joints with an old towel ... seems a bit "anal" to me. OTOH we do have mould, and I suppose you are right, but I think there's a difference between "clean" and "pristine"!

Maybe I should add "deep-clean shower" to my weekly housework list. :-(

J.

[Adrian]

FFS, we don't do ANY of that. We get out of the shower. Full stop. No mould on the shower. No mould on the paintwork. No mould on the grout. No mould on the sealant.

Once every while it gets a go-over with a spray-on limescale remover and one of those soft pan-scourer sponges (hard water area)

Or maybe you should address whatever the REAL problem is? Probably lack of ventilation.