Question about mold in bathroom

[MiamiCuse]

In my shower along the bottom where wall and shower tile floor meet, I have a strip of silicon caulk. There are some black colored spots I think are molds which I periodically use chlorox to clean and it keeps coming back. I never really paid too much attention to it until...recently I came across some reading materials about toxic black molds...and how it can destroy someone's immunity system and cause respiratory problems and allergy etc...I started to worry may be I should have mold test to see what I have? Could it be I have a serious mold problem? The mold seem to be on (or in the back of) the caulk. I do not see any on the grout joints. I also see a few spots along the caulk line that is between the bathroom tile wall and my pedestal sink. Also in my kitchen near the sink, against the wall, where the back splash meets the counter top, same thing, water always splash there.

Does it mean those are molds on the surface and cleaning it will take care of it? Should I continue to use Chlorox periodically as they come back to "control" them or is there a way to solve or eliminate this problem? Does it mean I have a bigger problem behind the bathroom walls? I don't want to over-react but I don't want to take it lightly either, I normally research things on the net and what I read scares the crap out of me!

I have an exhaust fan in the bathroom but apparently it did not help the situation much. Location is Miami - the humidity capital.

Any advise?

MC

[Rick]

serious

[Norminn]

clipped

Mold spores are everywhere, whether you see it or not. It needs food and moisture, and loves soap scum. You probably will never be free of it, but keeping the tile clean and dry will help. If mold/mildew is under the caulk, it should be removed, cleaned with full-strength bleach and recaulked. If you left a house in Florida for a few months with no ac, mildew and mold would be growing on everything. Loves leather. Wipe around sink fixtures after doing dishes, etc, and it will be less moldy.

[MiamiCuse]

I have read various recommendations and some recommended Chlorox (which I have used but they seem to come back faster after usage), peroxide (I have not tried this) or vinegar (I have not tried this either).

I also have used various off the counter cleaner - Oxyclean, ShowerClean etc... that claims to eliminate mildew and mold, they don't work - at least for me they don't.

Does this mean - that my problem is more than skin deep and killing them at the surface does not help, or does it mean those products are crap?

I would like to perform some mold tests myself. I did a search and there seems to be many different DIY home test kits with drastically varying prices - anyone has any recommendation on which to go with?

Thanks in advance,

MC

[No]

Run for your life!

No seriously - The whole mold thing is really over blown. If the mold is growing behind the caulk then the caulk may have failed and should be replaced. There are some caulks that have mild inhibitors. Clean regularly with bleach or a bathroom cleaner with bleach such as X-14 and you are good to go. It will be longer between cleanings if you dry everything after each use. Who wants to do that though.

Get on with life.

[Joseph Meehan]

Most molds are harmless. In fact many are good. Hard to tell about what you have, but in general the scare level is a little too high pushed by those who make money off of scared people. Note: That is not to say you should not be concerned, it appears you are making some good choices.

In any case, who wants black moldy stuff in the shower?

I suggest that you should remove all the existing silicon calk. Depending on the situation you may want to eliminate it all together and use grout, or not depending on the situation. In any case, it is time to get rid of it and if you choose to replace it with more silicon calk use the stuff made for baths as it is mold resistant. It may loose that resistance over the years, but you can just replace it again. Make sure you eliminate all the mold that is there when you replace it.