One of the most disgusting things in anyone’s house is mold, nobody pays attention to it until the situation gets out of hand. Molds not only look disgusting, but they are extremely harmful to your health.
Their ideal place to grow is moist and warm areas and once they settle in, can grow at an astonishing rate unless you do something about it. Let’s take a look at what you can do to remove and prevent mold growth in your shower caulking.
One of the best way I have found to remove mold from your shower caulking is with vinegar. It’s easy to use and not only removes, but kills the mold. Other options include using ammonia, borax, bleach, baking soda and even hydrogen peroxide. You can choose any one of them and usually all you will need is water and a spray bottle.
The process slightly differs depending on the product you are using but usually you have to spray the solution around the affected area, leave it for some time and scrub it off.
How Does Mold Form And Grow On Your Shower Caulk
Mold is formed through mold spores; they are present in almost everyone’s homes, but they wait for long periods of time for the perfect condition to form.
These conditions include high humidity, darkness, cellulose, moisture and oxygen. Your shower caulk represents the perfect condition for mold growth.
Usually, the shower caulk retains some water after a bath or a shower along with some soap.
This soap provides the necessary cellulose content for the growth which also acts as their food. If no one pays attention to it then within a couple of weeks, black mold will start growing in the area.
How Is Mold Harmful To Your Health?
Usually, the modern bathrooms are constructed using materials and technique which prevent mold growth as much as they can, but black mold can still form and they have very adverse effects on your health.
If you have any allergies, respiratory problems or asthma, things can get really bad for you. Mold can also lead to excessive sneezing, yeast infections, itchy eyes, etc.
How To Remove Mold From Shower Caulking
Removing mold is pretty easy and you will only need a couple of things.
You can easily get most of things you will need from a department store. Chances are that you will already have a lot of them in your house.
Using Spray Ammonia
One precautionary note, you might need a respirator for this method which you can easily get from a department store or even online. If you don’t have access to a respirator I would suggest going for some other option in this list.
Ammonia can be very bad for your health and you shouldn’t ever inhale it directly. Normal face masks don’t absorb ammonia so I wouldn’t suggest that you use them here.
Make sure that all of your bathroom doors are open and if possible, use a small fan to aerate the room.
Mix water and ammonia in equal parts, that is, 1:1 ratio and pour it in a spray bottle using a funnel. Spray this mixture on the molded surface and leave it for about 10 minutes.
Scrub the area after this and you should see a visible change. The mold should be falling right off.
Repeat this method for a couple more times to make sure all the mold is removed. If the mold comes back after a couple of days or weeks, then there might be mold formation in some deeper areas in your shower.
Using Bleach
Bleach is considered to be an alternative to ammonia, the latter being the stronger chemical. But never mix both of these together as they create pretty toxic fumes.
Mix one part of bleach in one gallon of water and stir it gently.
Similar to the previous method, make sure the room is aerated and wipe the bathroom wall and floor once so that there is no mud formation. You can use a sponge or spray bottle for this method.
If the molded area is relatively smaller then sponge can work otherwise, I would suggest using a spray bottle.
The rest of the steps are similar to the ammonia method, the only suggestion I have is that you wait for a bit more time after spraying the solution.
Vinegar
This is probably my favorite method for removing mold. One of the reasons for this is that vinegar doesn’t just remove the mold, it will kill it as well and it is effective for a lot of varieties of mold. It is also pretty easy to get and use.
I would advise you to use the normal white vinegar as it is the most effective. If you have an issue with the smell, then dilute it with some water.
It goes without saying that in case you dilute it then you will need more of the solution.
The steps here are similar as well, just pour the solution in a spray bottle and spray it on the affected area.
The waiting time here should be around an hour and then you can just scrub it off using a brush or a sponge.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is not as effective when it comes to killing mold, but it can remove it and prevent further moisture buildup in the area which further prevents mold growth.
You can use this method in two ways, either make a paste using a little water or a solution.
If you are using a solution then pour it into a spray bottle but this time there is no waiting time, scrub and spray as you go along. After this, spray once more but don’t scrub at all.
Leave the solution on the caulk and let it dry. This will prevent future molding in the area.
If you are using a paste, then leave it for about 20 minutes before scrubbing it off.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is another effective way of removing mold, I would suggest that you go for a 3% concentration solution.
Pour it in a spray bottle and follow the same steps as I stipulated in the previous method.
Borax
Similar to hydrogen peroxide, borax can be used using a spray bottle as well. For the solution I would suggest using one part borax with ten-part water.
How To Prevent Mold Formation In The Shower Caulk
First things first, make sure that the shower caulk is cleaned every few days. Also make sure that there is no water left on it for prolonged periods of time.
Baking soda is very effective in removing moisture from the caulk which will prevent further mold growth in the area.
A deep cleaning of the shower area every couple of weeks goes a long way in making sure that there is no mold formation.
How To Remove Mold Without Using Bleach
You can use any of the methods I have mentioned above, all of them are pretty effective in removing mold and you can easily access them either online or in your department store.
Borax, vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and even ammonia can be used instead of bleach.
Conclusion
If the mold issue is too severe and it keeps coming back every couple of weeks, you might have to call a professional for a deep cleaning of your bathroom. In severe cases you might also have to replace the caulk.
In general, however, using vinegar will remove mold from your shower caulking easily and quickly. If you get into the habit of spraying vinegar every two week or so in your shower, you will prevent mold from growing in the future. It’s an easy and cost-effective way of preventing the nasty overgrowth.
Mold can be a nuisance and it looks disgusting so removing and preventing its growth is extremely important.
Make sure you take all the safety precautions if you are going to be using ammonia or bleach, other than this, the entire process is pretty easy and quick.
Leave a Reply