Remove Bathroom Mold
Mold can start out as just a small spot and become an unsightly, disgusting sight. In severe cases, it can become a health hazard. Fortunately, you do not need expensive materials to tackle this household problem. Get to the mold quickly, and with a few simple steps you will have a clean, fresh bathroom.
Contents
Steps
Baking Soda and Bleach
- Use hot water with soap and baking soda to remove most of the mold. Baking soda is an inexpensive, fume-free, gentle cleaning agent. Try this recipe to make your own baking soda cleaner for the bathroom:
- One teaspoon of liquid soap
- One cup of baking soda
- Several drops of an essential oil (citrus, rosemary, lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, etc.)
- Enough water to form a paste.
- Mix a solution of 1 part bleach to 2 parts water. Transfer to a spray bottle.
- Spray the area with the bleach solution and allow it to dry.
- Spray a second time and scrub with a brush.
- Rinse and repeat as necessary until the mold is gone.
- Replace the caulk or grout if you cannot get rid of all of the mold.
Vinegar
- Put mild white vinegar in a spray bottle without diluting it. Vinegar has a mild acidity, making anywhere you spray it very inhospitable for mold. Do not dilute the vinegar when placing it into the spray bottle; you want to use it at full-strength, not watered-down.
- Spray the vinegar onto moldy surfaces and wait for an hour. If possible, let the bathroom air out during this time.
- After an hour, wipe the area clean with hot water and dry the surface with a towel. Damp surfaces encourage mold growth, so be sure to wipe the area clean fully. After you have wiped the vinegar away, it should not smell anymore.
- Use vinegar to prevent outbreaks of mold before they happen. Vinegar is reported to kill 82% of mold species, making it an exceptionally effective solution for preventing mold from inhabiting your bathroom like it owns the place. Plus, vinegar does not have any toxic fumes (like bleach) and is all-natural.
- Simply spray a bit of vinegar onto a mold-prone surface and leave it. If you do this regularly, mold will have a tough time growing, and you will not have to remove it in the first place.
Borax
- Mix one cup of borax with one gallon of water. Borax is a natural cleaner and also serves as a natural insecticide. It has the benefit of being cheap, readily available, and quite effective. Find it in your local grocery store in the cleaning aisle.
- Vacuum up any mold spores with a HEPA filtered vacuum before you clean. This will minimize the chance that you will spread spores around and simply displace them instead of removing them entirely.
- With a brush, attack the moldy surface with the borax solution.
- Be vigilant about the cleaning solution and/or mold spores traveling to different areas while you clean. You do not want to give the mold a new, nice place to live.
- Wipe up the borax solution and let dry. If you are worried about re-contamination, spray a bit of vinegar in the area to prevent another outbreak.
Ammonia
- Never mix ammonia and bleach together. Ammonia mixed with bleach creates hazardous fumes that can be extremely dangerous. This also means avoiding mixing ammonia-based cleaners (such as many glass cleaners) and bleach.
- Be sure to use only "clear ammonia." Ammonia come in "clear" and "cloudy" or "sudsy" varieties.
- Put the ammonia into a spray bottle and spray the ammonia onto the moldy surface.
- Scrub the area thoroughly with a brush to ensure complete removal of any mold or spores. Leave for an hour or two. Let the air breathe if at all possible, as the smell of ammonia is very strong and unpleasant.
- Wipe away after a few hours.
Hydrogen Peroxide
- Place 3% hydrogen peroxide in a dark spray bottle. Hydrogen peroxide's effectiveness will diminish if it is exposed to light, so be sure to store it in a dark spray bottle to keep it effective.
- If desired, add a little bit of vinegar to the hydrogen peroxide solution in order to up the effectiveness of the solution.
- Perform a spot test on the surface where the mold is on. A spot test will test whether the hydrogen peroxide causes the surface to fade.
- Spray the moldy surface completely and let stand for 10 to 20 minutes while the peroxide attacks the mold.
- Leave for an hour or two. Let the air breathe if at all possible, as the smell of hydrogen peroxide is very strong and unpleasant.
- Wipe the surface clean.
Tips
- Clean your bathroom with vinegar on a regular basis to prevent a recurrence.
- If you have to replace caulk or other parts of your bathroom, use a mold resistant product to prevent future occurrences.
- If your bathroom continually has mold issues, you may have a ventilation, plumbing or other issue that needs addressing.
- Remember to clean the shower curtain, as it can contain mold and mildew spores.
- Be sure your bathroom dries out between showers or baths. Use the fan, open a window, or otherwise ventilate.
- These steps all outlined easy homemade cleaning products. However, you can also buy special mold removal cleaners. Use as directed - some of these cleaners are quite powerful and may produce fumes.
- You can use a spray bottle to apply the mixture instead of a sponge.
Warnings
- Wear a face mask to prevent breathing the bleach fumes into your lungs.
- Wear old clothing (preferably white) in case bleach spills.
- Use any cleaning chemicals as directed on the label.
- Wear safety goggles and gloves when handling bleach.
- These directions are for typical household cleaning in the bathroom. In extreme mold and mildew infestations (such as after a hurricane or a severely neglected house), the area may be a bio-hazard. Professionals may be needed to safely clean out the fungus and its spores.
Things You’ll Need
- Bucket with warm water
- Bleach/baking soda/borax/vinegar, as appropriate to your cleaning method.
- Sponges and cloths
