What's best way to prevent...

[Margie Davis]

...algae and mold in a Florida bathroom?

I read that antibacterial cleaners aren't necessary to clean bathrooms and kitchens. What's best to clean them?

Margie

[Vox Humana]

The best way to PREVENT fungus from growing is to maintain an environment that doesn't support its growth. You need to keep everything very dry, maintain good air circulation, and provide lots of sunlight. That's pretty hard to do in a Florida bathroom. You need to kill the fungus that is already established. I use a solution of bleach and water. An alternative method is to use steam.

[Phisherman]

To clean mold/algae... Household bleach. Use 1/2 cup (or 3/4 cup) to a gallon of warm water with a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid. Spray on, wait 10 minutes, then rinse in cool water. If the algae and mold have been there for awhile, you'll need to replace "wait 10 minutes" with "scrub lightly." Use plenty of ventilation and rubber gloves.

To prevent mold/algae... Keep the bathroom dry. Use the bathroom fan for 20 minutes after bathing. Dry the walls after each use. If possible, let the sunshine in.

[Lloyd Randall]

The citrus-packing industry has found that if you add equal parts of baking soda and household bleach to your wash water, that makes an excellent disinfectant, and it's easy on the hands.

Borax is another approach. A quart of water will dissolve a couple of tablespoons of it. I like to add a little ammonia. It will clean the spots pretty well and if you don't rinse, the trace of borax will inhibit regrowth of microorganisms.