Your four-step process to a mold-free shower room

One of the most common places to get mold is in your shower room. The conditions are perfect for mold growth – warm, humid, and damp. Add in soap scum and a few body hairs, and you have the food source for mold to thrive.

Mold in the shower is unsightly. It’s embarrassing. It can also be bad for your health – see our article “Is it safe to tackle black mold yourself?” for more details.

In this article, you’ll learn the best way to get rid of mold in the shower, and the mistakes that you should avoid when tackling mold in your shower room.

Where does mold appear in the shower?

You’ll find mold appearing on shower doors, windows, in the shower drain, around the caulking, and on the ceiling. It can even grow in the shower head (yuck!). If left untended, getting rid of mold in the shower can be a big job. It can lurk under flooring, and behind walls, tiles, and baseboards. If you’ve recognized a constant mold odor, it’s best to call a professional.

What the best way to get rid of mold in the shower?

For small infestations of mold in your shower, take the following steps, which we explain more fully in our article “Step-by-step guide on how to kill mold on drywall”:

1. Mix one cup of Borax in one gallon of water.
2. Use a vacuum to remove loose mold. Make sure you use a HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner to reduce the number of spores spread into the air.
3. Scrub the affected area of drywall with a brush, dipping it into the Borax solution regularly.
4. Use paper towel to soak up any excess moisture and remove any mold left behind.
5. Allow the Borax to penetrate the drywall. This will help to prevent mold growth in the future.
6. Let the surface dry completely.

Prevention is key to getting rid of mold in showers

You’ll never get rid of mold in showers completely, unless you eliminate at least one of the conditions mold needs to grow – warmth, moisture, and food. Now, what are the chances of keeping your bathroom moisture free? And, unless you enjoy freezing cold showers, it’s going to be warm in your shower room.

What you must do is to prevent it from reappearing. This means keeping your shower clean and reducing or eliminating the conditions that mold loves:

· Clean and dry the shower after every use

Use a squeegee to remove water from doors and tiled walls. Rinse the shower tray. Then wipe all surfaces dry.

· Use an extractor fan or open a window when you shower

This helps to extract steam from the shower room, reducing the humidity. Leave the fan on or the window open for a few minutes after you finish showering.

· Clean the shower room weekly

Use an antifungal cleaner and give all surfaces a complete and thorough clean at least weekly.

Mistakes that you want to avoid in the shower room

Here are those mistakes that you must avoid when getting rid of mold in the shower room:

• Using bleach to remove mold – it will look clean, but bleach doesn’t kill mold.
• Scraping mold away – you’ll disturb the spores, they’ll become air-bound and settle elsewhere.
• Ignoring the shower curtain – just because you think it gets cleaned when you shower, doesn’t mean it does. It stays wet for longer, and there’s all that food on there for mold to thrive on. In fact, the shower curtain liner is probably the most likely place for mold to grow. Put it in the wash regularly.
• Leaving the loofah hanging – a damp loofah is ideal for mold growth. And then you use it to scrub your back.

Three steps to a mold-free shower

To recap, take these four steps to keep your shower mold free:

1. Clean the shower room regularly.
2. Keep the shower room cool and dry.
3. Use a good shower routine, and avoid the mistakes above.
4. Rinse and repeat.

Do this, and you shouldn’t need to get rid of mold from your shower, because it won’t have the conditions to thrive in the first place.

If you find yourself with a mold issue in your shower room or elsewhere in NJ, contact Porter’s Cleaning. We’ll come and inspect and provide a quote for the removal process. We’ll discuss what techniques we’ll use, and we’ll tell you how to prevent the mold from returning

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