Thursday, March 21, 2024

How To Treat Mold In The Bathroom

Is Shower Mold Toxic

How To Remove Black Mold From Your Bathroom Ceiling

Due to the way bathrooms and showers are constructed today, the black mold you see in your shower is less likely to be the really hazardous type of mold. This is because your shower areas and surfaces dont have cellulose which is required for most of the really hazardous types of mold to grow.

That isnot to say that one of the more toxic molds cant ever grow in your shower. Theycan. If you have a bigger issue in your bathroom or home and THOSE spores haveinfiltrated your shower then your shower can become a breeding ground for somereally bad mold. But regular ol mold in the shower usually more allergenicthan anything.

Beneath The Bathroom Sink

Mold growth can occur under a bathroom sink in 3 common scenarios. First, mold growth can appear after a leak from the water supply lines or the drain pipe. Typically a leak in the supply lines will cause mold growth and water damage to the bottom of the vanity/cabinet. A leak in the drain line is less common, but can occur in the cabinet or in the adjacent wall.

Second, mold can occur due to condensation. Typically this happens in a home with poorly or completely uninsulated exterior walls. These walls remain cool, while the interior of the home is heated. This temperature differential creates a surface below the dew point, and thus, condensation occurs. A moisture meter is helpful for differentiating condensation based mold growth from leaky plumbing. Except for extreme circumstances, the condensation based mold growth will not exhibit a measurable level of increased moisture in the wall. However, mold growth from a leaky pipe certainly will.

But looks can be deceiving. Damage from old leaks can leave stains that can appear actively wet. In the image below a moisture meter shows the moisture content of the cabinet is normal.

Notice the damage to the plywood beneath the countertop.

Tip 3 Check How Bad The Damage Is

If a humid bathroom is the cause of your ceiling mold, its easy to inspect. The moisture came from below the ceiling and floated upwards. So its unlikely theres additional mold on the roof side of the ceiling. In that case, glance up at the ceiling to see how bad the damage is.

But if the mold was caused by a leak, the wetness came from above. Meaning the damage on that side could be far worse. You may need to access the roof or pull apart some ceiling boards and inspect the extent of mold on your bathroom ceiling. This is best done by a professional. You may also need to verify whether the bathroom ceiling is insulated. This affects your remedy.

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Where To Look For Bathroom Mold

The main problem with bathroom mold is that it can appear almost anywhere from caulk to towels. Bathroom is perfect for mold growth due to a constant high level of humidity.

If you want to check your bathroom for signs of mold, then you should pay attention to these places:

  • Caulk, grout, and tiles
  • Towels and bathroom robes
  • Shower curtains and mats

Of course, if you are not sure whether or not you have mold in your bathroom , you can always rely on professionals to do all the necessary checks. Furthermore, they will provide insights into how to keep your bathroom mold-free. In case you already have bathroom mold, they will deal with it effectively to prevent it from coming back.

What Are Health Issues Associated With Exposure To Mold

How to Prevent (and Treat) Mold and Mildew in Your Bathroom

Many people experience no physical symptoms from being exposed to black mold in showers, but those who have asthma, weakened immune systems, or sensitivities or allergies to mold can experience some physical symptoms from the exposure. These include things like:

Even if you dont show symptoms now, repeated and prolonged exposure can lead to a mold sensitivity over time and affect your health. Bathroom mold isnt something to ignore at all.

For many people though, simply the sight of mold in their shower makes them annoyed! It isnt pretty to see and it isnt healthy.

Anytime you encounter a mold growing in your home, it is best practice to just get rid of it as soon as possible.

Just be aware that mold damages what it grows on, so the sooner you attack the mold the better! The first step is to realize that there is an issue that you need to correct!

Read Also: How To Help Mold Allergies

How To Clean Bathroom Mold And Mildew With White Vinegar

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Mold, and its early-stage counterpart, mildew, are forms of fungi that grow in damp areas and replicate quickly. Mold and mildew can cause allergies and respiratory conditions, and sometimes more serious health problems that affect the nervous system. Therefore, you need to get rid of mold and mildew quickly. Bathroom surfaces, particularly tile around the tub and shower, tend to be mold and mildew incubators because of the heat and moisture that accumulate there. But you can usually remove the unwanted substances easily using white vinegar in combination with baking soda as a scouring agent.

Can Bathroom Mold Cause Illness

For the most part, mold just looks bad. For some, it can irritate allergies and asthma.

Mold is relatively harmless, but given the right circumstances it can definitely cause some irritation, Tolliver said. If you have pre-existing allergies or COPD or some sort of respiratory condition, the spores can actually irritate the lining of your lungs and can increase your risk of asthma attacks or COPD exacerbation.

People who are affected by bathroom mold will most likely experience runny noses, coughing and scratchy throats.

Ogden noted that people with allergies should be tested for which specific allergens bother them so they can best protect themselves. Mold is one of the irritants that can be identified through allergy tests.

Doctors can and should identify what the culprit is, she said.

Over-the-counter treatments can frequently ease the feeling associated with an allergy attack, but more severe cases could require a doctors intervention.

Minor adjustments can keep mildew and mold in check to prevent potential allergies.

Read Also: How To Get Rid Of Mold In Your Home

When Mold Becomes A Problem

If your bathroom has a musty smell and little black or white specks dot your ceiling or walls, there’s a chance that mold may also be growing behind your ceiling tiles or walls. Some molds release toxins, and hidden mold can lead to health problems, even in healthy people. When exposed to these toxins in high amounts, you can suffer from symptoms including:

  • Fatigue
  • Lung irritation
  • Eye irritation

If you suspect mold as the cause of your health problems, talk with your doctor and call in a professional to investigate. If the mold in your bathroom isn’t that serious, follow the steps above to clean up the problem and keep it under control.

Bathroom Mold Prevention And Remediation

How to Get Rid of Mold in the Bathroom Easy

After you learn how to remove mold, youll want to prevent mold in the future. The key to stopping most mold is to control dampness. The worst infestations usually occur in damp crawlspaces, in attics and walls where water has leaked in from the outside, and in basements with poor foundation drainage. Stopping leaks, ensuring good ventilation in attics, keeping crawlspaces dry and routing water away from the foundation are the best defenses on how to get rid of mold.

Almost every home gets mold, and that means theres a need for mold remediation. Well show you how to remove major mold infestations.

Mildewcide in paint is usually effective for controlling surface mold in damp rooms like bathrooms and outside in shady areas. Many paints already have mildewcide in them. Check with your paint dealer to be sure of mold removal products. You can add mildewcide, although you might void the paint warranty.

Every product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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How To Remove Mold From Shower Caulk And Grout In One Easy Step

There is something about the bathroom shower of my current home that makes it particularly susceptible to black mold growth and rather resistant to any efforts to remove said mold. I cant figure it out. The house is only a few years old, well-ventilated, and regularly and vigorously cleaned by me. Mold should hate my bathroom. And yet, it still tends to accumulate at the bottom of the shower walls.

Black shower mold is gross, and if youre thinking of selling your home, this is an issue you must address if you have it. Bathrooms in a for sale home should be white-glove clean and feel like a spa. Can you imagine the kind of feelings a moldy shower and bath will evoke in potential buyers? Yuck a moldy shower is not going to inspire them to pay top dollar or even make an offer.

Spray Problem Areas With Vinegar

Fill the bottle with undiluted white vinegar and spray the problem areas. Spray the entire ceiling, not just the moldy areas, as the beginnings of an area of black mold growth are invisible to the naked eye. Let the undiluted vinegar soak for at least an hour, rinse, and repeat. This will start to remove the stains.

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What To Do About Bathroom Mold

Maintaining a bathroom isnât easy. Bathrooms are constantly kept moist from regular usage, which can become a breeding ground for mold and mildew that can make your home look grimey and smell musty. Bathroom mold spores can also be harmful to your health when inhaled, so best to nip the problem in the bud.

In this guide, weâll be showing you tips and tricks to effectively clear your bathroom from mold and mildew. Weâll provide step-by-step instructions on how to get rid of bathroom mold, how to get rid of mold on bathroom walls, how to get rid of black mold in shower, and how to remove mold in bathroom sink drain.

Note: If you are allergic to bathroom mold, make sure to wear a mask and gloves while cleaning!

How To Get Rid Of Black Mold In Shower Grout

Black Mold in Shower: Removal Tips

I also previously wrote a post about the best way to clean grout by using and comparing Magic Eraser on grout, baking soda to clean grout, and a steam cleaner for grout. They all worked fairly well!

I didnt at the time have black mold growing in my shower grout though.

One of the best things you can do when battling black mold in shower grout is to replace the grout completely and re-grout. Mold often seems to grow on grout as it starts to age and crack as it is porous.

No, this is likely not an easy or cheap process, but this will ensure the grout is indeed mold-free. Just be sure to use top-quality grout!

Plus, you may also discover a water issue behind the tile or grout that you can better address so as to prevent it from growing again.

But, if your grout still looks like its in good shape, then try one of the following methods:

Once you remove black from shower grout, be sure to use a squeegee to remove excess moisture and water from your tiles and grout after showering to prevent it from coming back.

Also Check: Can Mold Cause Intestinal Problems

Removing Mold From Painted Walls

If your goal is to only remove the mold, and you do not plan to repaint the walls, its good to use a natural solution that is safe for painted walls.

White vinegar solution acts as the best natural mold remover if you want to clean painted or wallpapered walls in your bathroom.

  • Take two cups of hot water in a bowl.
  • Add two tablespoons of borax and 1/4 cup of white vinegar
  • Mix and pour the prepared mixture into a spray bottle
  • Spray it on painted walls and scrub gently to wipe it clean using a soft sponge
  • If you still see traces of mold, spray the vinegar solution again and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before wiping

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Vannessa Rhoades is the author of Just Right! Easy DIY Home Staging: Second Edition and founder of Three Bears Home Staging®. She is an HSR Certified Professional Home Stager and Certified Expert E-Designer and has staged and consulted on hundreds of properties in person throughout the Houston metro area and virtually across the country.

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How To Remove Mold From Bathroom Walls

Mold in bathroom walls can be tricky to remove because homeowners donât always notice it until it discolors paint. If your home produces a persistent earthy, musty odor, and stains or dampness on the wall, then you may have mold. And if this mold is inside the walls, you will likely have to get professionals to remove it, otherwise, you can follow the same removal process for getting rid of ceiling mold.

In some cases, when mold attaches itself to drywall, itâs best to take down the entire wall or a section of it to prevent spores from multiplying, especially if the wall is damp. If your drywall feels soft, itâs almost impossible to salvage. Then itâs no longer a question of how to clean mold in bathroom walls, but rather when to replace the section of wall.

If you have mold on wallpaper, then you should spray the area and immediately scrub it with a clean cloth or brush to remove the surface layer of mold. Lightly respray the area afterward, wait for ten minutes and then wipe it clean. Let it dry overnight without rinsing to kill lingering mold.

Mold thrives in damp environments, so controlling moisture in the following ways keeps it at bay from your bathroom:

Mold Cleaning Trick #: Vinegar

How to Clean Mold Off Bathroom Ceiling in 4 Steps

Vinegar has been found to kill 82% of mold species! Plus, it is great at preventing mold in the first place. Vinegar contains no toxic fumes like many other agents used to kill mold, such as bleach.

  • Pour mild white vinegar into a spray bottle, do not dilute with water. Vinegarâs acidic qualities make it quite deadly to mold, thatâs why you donât want to water it down.
  • Spray affected surface areas with straight vinegar solution and then wait one hour. If your bathroom has windows, open them up and let it air out during this time.
  • After an hour passes, use hot water and a clean towel to wipe the area. Make sure surfaces are dry to prevent mold from coming right back.

Vinegar isnât always strong enough to get rid of mold on its own, but it is great at preventing mold from growing in the first place. Keep that spray bottle of vinegar in your bathroom at all times and use it to spray surfaces prone to mold whenever they get wet. This makes it difficult for mold to grow, which means you wonât have to waste time removing it in the first place.

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How To Remove Black Mold From Your Bathroom

Your first step before removing black mold from your bathroom is to test the mold to make sure its not the toxic version, Stachybotrys chartarum. To test the mold, get help from a professional mold remediator or use a home mold testing kit like a DIY Mold Test. Only professionals should safely remove this type of mold due to increased risk of lung irritation, skin issues, and more. However, most bathroom mold isnt toxic and you can remove it with store-bought cleaners or home remedies. Remove black mold from your bathroom in a few simple steps:

Step 1: Spray an antifungal cleaner, like one by Clorox, onto the mold. This cleaner uses a specific formula to kill types of fungus such as mildew and mold. Then scrub the mold away with a sponge or toothbrush.

Step 2: After cleaning the area, use a mixture of equal parts water and bleach in a spray bottle and apply it to any remaining stains to lift them. Let it soak for a few minutes and then use a toothbrush to scrub the stains until they are clean.

Step 3: To prevent mold from returning, spray distilled vinegar onto the surface of your shower to kill mold spores and slow down any regrowth. Let the vinegar dry before going on to the next step.

Step 4: Fully dry any remaining wet surfaces with a clean cloth towel. Ventilate the bathroom.

How Much Does Mold Detection And Prevention Cost

According to homeowner reviews from across Canada, the below chart shows how much you can expect to pay for mold detection and remediation services. Keep in mind that every project will differ but these costs can help give you an estimate. For a more accurate estimate, for your project.

City

*costs based on 703 real homeowner reviews as of November, 2021

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