Mold in the shower is gross — having one of the dirtiest things hanging around the place you go to get clean stinks. Depending on the severity of your mold issues, there is a way to get rid of it without resorting to toxic and harsh substances. Check out our suggestions after the jump.
What You Need
Materials
Any green cleaner, our recommendations would be one of the following: water & vinegar, Bon Ami, baking soda & water, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, borax & vinegar, grapefruit & salt.
Tools
Squeegee
Exhaust fan and/or open window
Sponge, Cloth and towel
Toothbrush
Scrub brush
Dehumidifier (optional)
Instructions
1. The first step to eliminating mold is to prevent it from growing in the first place. If your bathroom has fan, use it. If it doesn't open a window in the bathroom, or open the bathroom door to keep air moving. This is very important and an effective way to prevent mold growth.
2. After each bath or shower squeegee off all surfaces, especially horizontal surface that may have water sitting on it for extended periods of time. If you like the after sprays you can use that too at the end of the shower. If you have a shower curtain don't leave it open for very long or else mold will grow in the folds of the curtain.
3. It's easiest to clean right after you've taken a hot shower and the room is steamy in the room, which helps loosen mold & dirt from the surfaces.
4. Spray your chosen green cleaner on affected areas and let sit for several minutes up to an hour. Using a scrub brush or a sponge, wipe down the walls of the shower. You might need to put a little elbow grease into it, but don't resort to bleach, which only temporarily makes the mold disappear. Toothbrushes work great on the mold joints.
- Tea tree oil: Mix two teaspoons of tea tree oil in two cups of water and place into a spray bottle — spray onto moldy areas and don't rinse.
- White vinegar: Apply directly onto sponge or spray onto surfaces. Option to add an essential oil for a nice smell and additional mold fighting power.
- Citrus juice: Apply juice from citrus of your choice (lemon, grapefruit, orange, etc.) directly to a sponge and wipe surfaces.
- Hydrogen peroxide: Mix one part hydrogen peroxide with two parts water, spray onto surface and leave for an hour.
- Borax and vinegar: Mix 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup vinegar to make a paste. Scrub with a brush or sponge and rinse with water. Let mixture sit for an hour before rinsing with water for stubborn mold.
5. Consider running a dehumidifier in the room if the bathroom's in the basement, or if you're lacking an exhaust fan, or windows or doors to keep open.
6. If the mold persists, or doesn't go away, it's possible that the grout and caulk may need to be replaced, if so read our series about green cleaning the grout: Part 1 & Part 2.
Related:
- How To Combat & Prevent Mold
- Effective Non-Toxic Ways to Get Rid Of Mold in the Shower?
- How To Make Your Own Bathroom Cleaners
- 10 Ways to Green the Bathroom on a Budget
- Best Product: Squeegee, Not Shower Spray
- How To Remove Moist Air From Bathroom With No Fan?
- Use LEED As A Guide to Green Your Bathroom
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bleach only "temporarily" make mold disappear in the same way that all the other products you mention make mold "temporarily" disappear.
a friend of my husband's is an environmental scientist whose family has a business of diagnosing and treating mold in homes and offices. They use pure hydrogen peroxide, not cut with water.
do these rememdies "work" on painted walls? im renting so i dont want to be doing any more damage than good.
This is really helpful! I live in an old 1890s rowhouse turned into apartments and my bathroom does not have a fan. I do my best to open the window (when I remember) but mold still seems to lurk in the corners of my tub. Recaulking just covers issue and it tends to grow back and reappear either way. I will definitely give this a go this weekend!
I can back vinegar. Our concrete basement floor kept growing mold after this winter's flooding, and a wet mop of straight 5% vinegar killed it and kept it from coming back about 2 months now. Astonishingly, it didn't even smell bad - it dissipated very quickly. You could see in foaming when applied to heavy mold growth. Bleach is good for bleaching the color of mold, and good on hard surfaces like porcelain, but for porous surfaces, it doesn't soak in. I've also read good things about borax as both treatment and preventative if you don't wash it off. Hydrogen peroxide can undo grout sealant - though if you're combatting serious mold, it may be worth it. You can always reseal later.
Also - just noticed the hint to add a fragrance to vinegar. I've read elsewhere that adding organic compounds to mold killers actually serves to give the mold food. Those eco-friendly all natural cleaners for the bathroom are doing the same thing.
@thorndale - You can actually wash a vinyl shower curtain in a washing machine. It could be you aren't getting all of the mold and soap scum cleaned off, and that's why it's coming back so quickly. While it's washing, thoroughly clean the tub behind it too. Also, after showering, make sure it isn't stuck to itself and that there is room for air to circulate around it so it can dry.
@thorndale
I wash mine in the washing machine, as suggested by the previous poster, and I also use Method's Daily Shower Spray. It doesn't kill mold directly, but it helps with soap scum.
I love this bathroom. We are about to remodel our bath that is the same layout as this. Anyone know where the shower and the wallpaper come from?
what about mold that grows underneath silicone joints? We have a beautiful tiled shower/bath area, but the joints develop mold after 6 months. Last year, I peeled the moldy silicone off, rented an industrial heater to dry the room for 24 hours, and cleaned with vinegar... to no noticeable effect. Mold is back. Grrr..... Anybody have suggestions? Thanks!
I've tried everything and nothing seems to work in our shower. Maybe because we live in Florida where it's humid all the time? Not sure but I squeegee the entire shower when I'm done, run the exhaust fan for 30 minutes each morning, open the blinds to get help from the sunlight and spray it down with an enzymatic mildew remover but there's still mildew!! I make and sell green cleaning products as a side business so I've tried every single suggestion under the sun to try and combat this and haven't found anything that truly works. I REFUSE to go back to bleach. Just the smell of it makes me sick now.
Can anyone recommend a good mildew resistant caulk?