I have just recently move into my Nanna’s to save for my own mortgage.
It was when I use the bathroom that I noticed a black mold growing all over the tiles and in between the tiles.
I have told her to open the window when she goes in the shower to stop the mold continuing to grow!
However…….I want to clean up the mold for her……..i havent enough money to have the bathroom retiled!
Is it simply get a cloth and scrub?
Or is there any tricks of the trade that you people can let me in on?
Update:
awwww thanks so much guys for all the sound advice!!! i am taking ALL on board
✅ Answers
? Favorite Answer
In the Uk they sell FLASH with BLEACH,just spray on problem areas & mould will soon disappear,keep spraying regularly to keep away.
Other than that regularly scrub with bleach should keep at bay(Once a week).
Source(s): Use myself
Go to the paint isle at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Not the one with the paint, the one with the masking tape and rollers and stuff. They have little wire brushes, a little bigger than tooth brushes. Buy a couple brass ones. Then get down & dirty & scrub the grout with good ole Comet. It has bleach, so you will need good ventilation or your lungs will sting the next day. See what you can accomplish with that. If it doesn’t go well, you can buy a gallon of hydrochloric acid. Same isle, actually. Pour it on the grout and get the hell outta there for a while. When you go back in, mop it up fast and have a fan blowing ’cause it will actually melt your lungs if you don’t get the air circulating REALLY well. If that doesn’t do it,… well I honestly can’t even imagine that not being effective, but as a last resort you can always remove the grout with a tool (also sold at the depot or Lowe’s) and regrout the tile. Regrouting is so easy it might be a preferable option to hydrochloric acid. But removing the grout takes time and patience.
I also imagine there is probably icky caulk around the tub as well. They now sell tubes of caulk remover at Lowe’s and such. It’s like a big tube of tooth paste and it squeezes out as a clear gentle gel. Leave it on about minutes and the old nasty caulk will peal right up. Recaulking is easy too. Just google for tips.
And stop bugging your nanna about opening windows or doing anything different than what she has been doing since before you were born. They can’t change. Won’t/can’t,… whatever. Yer just gonna stress her out. If the ugly grout really bothered her she would do something about it. She has just grown used to it. But you are right- once you make it all white and sparkly again she will be blown away and love you more for it.
Vinegar will kill the mold. Spray it on and leave it there for minutes. Rinse the shower out. Spray with a bathroom cleaner for mold and mildew and scrub the heck out of it. Might have to do it a couple of times. Don’t use acid on it…..that stuff is meant for outside….sidewalks,driveways and pools. It also needs to be diluted with parts water.
http://www.epinions.com/content_
Almost turned down my first apt because the bathroom & kitchen tiles were really filthy.
The manager s/ not to worry & would take care of it.
Came back & the tiles looked like new.
His “secret” was bleach for the grout & oven cleaner on the tiled areas.
Best regards
Vinegar is very good borrow a steam cleaner and then perhaps try Barkeepers Friend from Salisbury’s to finish off, once you get it clean try shower clean from Mr Muscle this should help the water to run off the tiles faster and should help prevent the damp areas that mould seems to like.
You have just got to keep at it good luck.
Follow your chosen advice here, also, have you considered that the shower head may need a good clean inside… this is a favourite hiding place for germs and can enter the lungs of the elderly quite easily from the handset when showering… un screwing the spray head and regular cleaning / bleaching is good, plus change any plastic handsets annually.
Bleach spray is amazing in getting rid of mold… it’ll wipe those suckers out wherever the bleach can reach. A bottle of Clorox kitchen disinfectant, or something similar, will do the job in no time!
Source(s): The mold loves our bathroom too.
You have some very good suggestions in the answers you have received. I can only add one other thing, add a bath room fan vent that vents the moisture to the outside.
The best thing to use for your problem is Domestos grout buster.I had the same problem what you experiencing and use the grout buster made a world of differences the the grout…………….good luck.
Try a product called Tilex its made for this precise problem.