3 Easy Ways To Get Rid Of Bathroom Mould
Unfortunately, bathrooms and mould are like salt and pepper, gin and tonic, socks and shoes. And bathroom mould is not only unsightly and smelly, it's also pretty unhealthy - and can damage the structural integrity of your home. So if you've found bathroom mould on ceiling, walls, tiles and elsewhere in your otherwise luxurious bathroom, how exactly should you go about getting rid of it?
Why does bathroom ceiling mould grow?
Believe it or not, mould is spread by microscopic spores that float about in the air - and they absolutely love the warm, moist air and surfaces in bathrooms. Within a day or two of the fungal spores landing on a bathroom surface, all that warmth and moisture will be causing visible mould growth.
Haven't yet spotted mould on the ceiling in your bathroom? To keep it that way:
- Dry any wet surfaces after a bath or shower
- Promote fresh, clean air circulation
- Use the bathroom exhaust fan frequently
- Keep your bathroom clean and bacteria/dust-free
- Use bleach and antibacterial cleaning agents
- Fix any leaking tapware, pipes and fixtures however minor.
If that mould on bathroom ceiling and other surfaces has already taken hold, here's the bad news - it's fairly difficult to get rid of at this point. Every time you think you've made progress, those microscopic spores have been released by your efforts and are now floating about in the air ready to land on another bathroom surface.
How to get rid of bathroom mould, then?
1. Bleach
We don't always advocate for harsh chemical solutions to problems - but we'll make an exception for mould, which can be harmful to your family's health and extremely damaging for your bathroom and home if left to prosper.
So pull out a particularly nasty chlorine bleach and let's get to work. Just be careful, because it's a harsh chemical and it will stain your bathroom if not used with caution.
- Spray it on the mouldy patch
- Let it sit for 30 minutes
- Scrub with a hard-bristled brush/toothbrush
- Rinse with hot water.
2. Vinegar
We'd actually prefer if you started with this safer, milder, non-toxic white vinegar solution - but we put bleach at #1 because it's quite a bit more effective.
- Put some undiluted white vinegar in a spray bottle
- Spray it on
- Leave for 30 minutes
- Scrub with a brush
- Repeat
- Rinse with hot water.
3. Borax
Somewhere between the safety of vinegar and the harshness of bleach is Borax - just be careful not to breathe too much in, and definitely don't ingest any! If you don't have any, you'll find them in the supermarket cleaning aisle.
- Mix up 200g or Borax with 4 litres of water
- Fill up a spray bottle with your diluted solution
- Spray it on
- No need to rinse except if you have skin allergies.
How to remove bathroom mould with our help
Here at In Deep Plumbing, we've seen more bathrooms and more bathroom ceiling mould than we'd like to admit to. If you're a Gold Coast local and you're keen to hear our expert guidance about how to deal with the problem of bathroom mould, and investigate if a plumbing issue like a hidden water leak could be causing it, don't hesitate. Our friendly Gold Coast plumbers are always standing by and ready to help with all your bathroom and household plumbing issues and questions, so get in touch with In Deep Plumbing today!
