Finding mold in your shower may be scary and daunting, but don’t worry! You’re in luck. While mold found in other places is usually really hard to clean, mold in the shower is usually the easiest spot to clean! And we’re going to tell you how.
We’re Cleaner Guys, a professional mold removal company with more than 20 years of experience. You shouldn’t trust just any old blog or forum on the internet to tell you how to clean mold in shower spaces — we see them claim things all the time that are just plain wrong! Trust professionals who deal with this stuff every single day.
Table of Contents
- What You Need to Know About Mold In a Shower
- The 3 Steps to How to Clean Mold in a Shower
- Preventing Mold in the Bathroom in the Future
- Frequently Asked Questions
What You Need to Know About Mold In a Shower
Before we get to how to clean mold in a shower, you need to understand what makes it different from mold in other places. Mold that is growing on tile and plastic is nearly always actually mildew, which is a subspecies of mold.
There are many species of molds, but most of them only grow on organic, porous materials, like drywall and wood, because they can reach their roots deep into those soft materials. Mildew, on the other hand, is a species of mold that likes to keep its roots very shallow. That’s why it can grow on hard, non-porous surfaces, where other molds can’t!
This difference is crucial when it comes to cleaning. Most species of mold that grow on drywall and wood like to root deeply, and that makes them very difficult — and often impossible — to clean off. But because mildew only grows shallowly on the surface of hard materials, it can be cleaned off fairly easily!
So if you see black or brownish stuff on the tile or plastic of your shower, don’t worry; the following cleaning steps should get rid of it without much hassle.
The 3 Steps to How to Clean Mold in a Shower
Even though mildew is much easier to clean than mold, take care; there is still a certain procedure you should follow to make sure it is removed completely.
1: The Right Preparations
First, you need to have good PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to handle this mold cleaning yourself. Make sure you have every one of these items, for your own safety! Mold is no joke, and we here at Cleaner Guys never clean mold without wearing all these items.
- Cleaning gloves – touching mold or harsh cleaning products can irritate the skin.
- An N-95 mask – scrubbing and wiping the mildew agitates it, causing it to release spores into the air. Breathing in mold spores can cause mold sickness, which can be serious.
- Safety goggles – droplets of harsh cleaning chemicals can flick up into your eyes, which can cause irritation and pain.
- Long pants and a long-sleeved shirt – you want to minimize the chance that mold or cleaning chemicals will touch your skin.
Once you have all the necessary protective equipment, shut the bathroom door so that mold spores don’t float out and contaminate the rest of the home. Then, the last step of preparation is to create air circulation. You want to create some sort of draft to help move mold spores and chemical fumes out of the bathroom, and out of the home.
If the bathroom has a window, open it. If it has a ceiling fan of any kind, turn it on. But if your bathroom doesn’t have either a window or a fan… well, that’s probably why there’s mold in your bathroom in the first place. We’ll get to that later on in this article.
2: The Right Cleaning Products
Many other sources on the internet claim that you can use bleach to kill mold. But they’re not mold professionals. We are, and we strongly advise you not to use bleach on mold. It doesn’t do the best job cleaning it, the fumes can cause dizziness and lung irritation, and it usually cosmetically damages whatever surface it is applied to.
The best cleaning solutions we recommend to get rid of mold in a shower are hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and fungicide. There are many different fungicides you can get, but if you choose to use one, we highly recommend Shockwave by Fiberlock. We are not affiliated with Fiberlock in any way — we just love their products, and use them in our own mold cleaning work!
We do not recommend using rubbing alcohol, dish detergent, witch hazel, or Clorox wipes, which are commonly tried on mold. Click the hyperlinked words to read our articles on why we don’t recommend any of these options.
3: The Right Method
Once you have acquired a fungicide, peroxide, or vinegar, and you have all the proper PPE on, and you have ventilated the bathroom, you are ready to clean the mold in your shower.
- Put your chosen cleaner into a spray bottle. If you use a fungicide, dilute it according to the bottle instructions. If you use regular household hydrogen peroxide or vinegar, you can use them undiluted.
Thoroughly spray down the entire area that has mildew, soaking it well. Let it sit like this for 10 minutes, to allow the cleaner to break down the roots of the mold. - Next, take a clean scrub brush and scrub the moldy area vigorously. Then, use a clean cloth or towel to wipe down the entire area. Repeat as necessary until the mildew is completely gone.
- Lastly, let the bathroom air out with windows open and fans on for at least another 30 minutes, to encourage mold spores and cleaner fumes to exit the room. Then you’re done!
Preventing Mold in the Bathroom in the Future
Simply removing the mold in your shower once may not be enough — it very well could return! That’s because mold only grows where there is excess moisture. So as long as you don’t fix the moisture problem in your bathroom, the mildew will keep growing.
The excess moisture that caused the mold could be caused by a couple of things. The most common cause of bathroom mold is humidity. Bathrooms are by far the most moist, humid room in the house, because they’re regularly filled with water vapor from hot showers.
The second common cause of mold in the shower is related to the first: water sitting on your shower walls for too long. A dry, cool, well-ventilated home will cause moisture on shower walls to evaporate quickly. But if a home has a warm, humid, stagnant environment, the water on the shower walls won’t evaporate as it should. This will almost certainly lead to mold growth.
The solution to both of these problems is simple: turn on a fan or open a window when you shower. You need that hot, water-laden air to circulate out of that room, so that it doesn’t sit in there, keeping the bathroom wet. If you don’t have a window or a fan, or if the bathroom still feels humid long after you shower, then you should get a dehumidifier. This is the only solution that will prevent mold from ever growing in your shower again.
Frequently Asked Questions
All of the answers below are taken from our extensive archive of mold articles. Check out our full blog archives to see all the questions we’ve answered!
Yes, mold can be dangerous! Most species of mold are allergenic, which means they can cause persistent headaches or cold-like symptoms. But a couple of species of mold are very toxic, and prolonged exposure can cause neurotoxic effects, nausea, and even internal bleeding! Learn more in this article.
If possible, do not use a bathroom that has mold in it until it’s completely removed. Mold spores can make you sick, and exposing yourself to them regularly almost guarantees it. Get all mold removed as quickly as possible, and in the meantime, do your very best to use a different room for your hygiene needs. Learn more here.
Touching mold with bare skin often leads to skin irritation, which you should be able to soothe with aloe vera or an oatmeal soak. Touching mold can also agitate and release mold spores, which can make you sick, so avoid touching mold at all cost until it’s removed.
Conclusion
Have you found this information useful? You’d love our free biweekly newsletter! Every 2 weeks, we send out a short email with some top tips and insider knowledge for dealing with mold, water damage, fire damage, and more! Learn more here!
If you find mold on drywall or wood, that’s a much more serious problem, and you’re probably going to need a mold removal company. If you live in Western Washington State, consider Cleaner Guys as a high-quality, well-trusted option! We’re proud to boast award-winning customer service, lower prices than others, and top-notch workmanship. Contact us today through the menu at the top of your screen!
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. No part of this article is medical or legal advice, and may not be used as such. For all serious medical matters, consult your doctor. For all serious legal matters, consult your legal advisor. This article contains Cleaner Guys’ experience and opinions only.
