Fighting Bathroom Mold: a Persistent Battle, but Always Winnable

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In our house, mold isn't a huge problem...at least not the naughty kind...except in our bathroom. We live in an older home that was apartmentalized and the small bathroom is prone to developing mold. It doesn't stick around long because my husband is a mold-killing bandit, but it pops up. There are a few different things we do to stay on top of the problem.

First, in the winter we keep the bathroom door open when the room is not in use to keep the room well-ventilated. In the summer time, we keep the window open to allow more fresh air to come in and encourage ventilation since we leave the room door shut in the summer to avoid cooling it. Keeping the room ventilated helps stop moisture from building up in the wall cavities and on other surfaces. Mold loves moisture and we don't need a bathroom-based love affair going on around here when mold is one of the participants.

My husband also makes a habit of cleaning out and reapplying the silicone sealant between our bathtub and splash guard on a yearly basis. Because of our older home and wood flooring and large temperature swings between summer and winter her in the upper midwest, our floor heaves ever so slightly. This leads to miniscule cracks forming in the sealant over time which can allow mold to start growing and working its way toward the back wall. A yearly tune-up really keeps anything visible from ever appearing and stops the nasty stuff from spreading.

We also practice wiping out the tub and shower when we exit and maintain a dedicated towel for this purpose. We don't wipe out the entire unit, but we do wipe down the edges of the tub and the outer rims of the splash guard to keep standing water at a minimum on surfaces that do not really have a path for water to find its way to the drain.  To ensure this is done most effectively, I had to revert to the dorm room practice of keeping my shampoos, conditioners, and face care products off the edge of the tub and in separate storage. I basically pick the products I want on any given day, take it in with me, and pull it out after I get dressed. We all do this, but for me it is the bigger inconvenience because I have more stuff. However, I'd rather carry my razor into the shower with me and keep mold out of the unit versus keeping a blade that could give me a knick at any moment near mold. (I pick my battles.)

When we do have mold pop up, my husband believes in bleach, bleach, bleach or a product with bleach, bleach, bleach. I prefer produts with added bleach because the smell of it straight is an irritant for me, but I am more of the mildew attacker so I let my husband choose the tools for fighting his mold battles. He gets in there with old, discarded kitchen sponges, a bucket, and elbow grease and pulls everything out of the bathroom, wipes everything down, uses little improvised tools to get into nooks and crannies, and then brings everything back in. He truly finds this the only way to effectively combat mold, and I would agree. After one of his intensive cleanings it takes a couple of seasons for anything to begin to reemerge...and usually that is because we let one of our other steps slide!

Fighting mold can be a continuous battle when you live, like we do, in an older home. A bit of preventative maintenance goes a long way toward keeping the battles well spaced. However, even the best of us slip up sometimes. At that point, a good cleaning product is necessary to battle the mold you have and help keep it from coming back to such a large extent.

If you want more info on Tilex® Mold Stain & Mildew Stain Remover, check out the following link: http://www.tilex.com/mildew-stain-remover/

Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tilex blogging program, for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.