Dear Home Ec 101,
What is the best way to clean that black yuk that tends to grow in the corners of the shower? I have a ceramic tile shower and I have used every mixture I can think of to rid the shower of the black stuff from straight Clorox to the gimmicks from “As Seen On TV” and nothing seems to work. Help!
Signed,
As NOT seen on TV
Ivy says:
Ah, moldy shower corners are the bane of professional maids everywhere. Getting it off is tough, and keeping it from coming back is fairly easy- but it takes a bit of commitment on the part of the homeowner.
“Mold spores are everywhere,” says Ivy, trying not to breathe and failing. They are just hanging out in your bathroom waiting for optimal conditions to grow. What does mold need to grow? The proper temperature (which is conveniently about the same temp as your nice, toasty, warm bathroom), a food source (yummy soap!) and water. And that’s the problem. What happens after you take your shower is, the water settles and so do the mold spores. If you don’t keep your shower door open and/or dry the shower walls after showering, and if your bathroom doesn’t have great ventilation, it’s a mold factory waiting to happen.
The easiest way to stop mold growth is to keep it from having enough water to thrive. So, once you get this mold off, make sure you dry down the walls and leave the shower door open after each shower. Also consider running the bathroom fan after each shower. I also read turning on the lights can help inhibit mold growth.
There are a few routes you can take to get rid of this mold. First, make sure you have adequate ventilation by opening any windows you might have in the bathroom and turning on the bathroom fan. My old standby, Bar Keeper’s Friend, is what I would try first. Use an old toothbrush or a scrub brush with stiff bristles. You are going to need to put some elbow grease into this- serious scrubbing is required!
Another thing you could try is spraying straight vinegar onto the area and letting it sit for at least 20 minutes, then scrubbing it all off. Vinegar is supposed to both kill and inhibit mold growth. I’ve had good luck with using vinegar on mold, but I can’t say it really has inhibited mold growth. But that’s anecdotal evidence, so don’t take that as gospel.
One more thing you could try is OxyClean. I’d mix it in a spray bottle with water and apply and let sit like you would with the vinegar. This is not something I have personally tried on mold as luckily, I don’t have a tiled shower and haven’t had too many mold issues. However, I’ve read that it works really well.
There’s one more thing you could try. Again, I have no personal experience with it, but I have both read and heard a lot of good things about it. It’s called Zep Pine Disinfectant and Cleaner. Apparently it’s great for getting rid of mold and mildew and keeping it away.
I know I’ve given you a lot of options here, but this is one of those “there is more than one way to skin a cat” things. (Ack! Who would want to skin a cat, anyway!?) Good luck, and let us know what works best for you!
Stumble it!
11 responses so far ↓
1 jim voorhies // May 13, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Tilex Mold & Mildew Spray will get it off too, Ivy. Spray it on, let it sit a while, rinse it off. It has bleach in it but bleach by itself smells worse and makes things slick.
2 Badbadivy // May 13, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Good tip, Jim! I’ve used Tilex before, but it has the worst barfness smell ever. It does work, though!
3 Jackie W. // May 13, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I have used OxyClean many times on my white tile shower and it works like a charm. I mix up a batch and use a scrubber brush to scrub clean. It has worked each time! Good luck!
4 AA // May 13, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Mean Green! It’s very toxic so keep kids and pets away (and don’t lock yourself in the bathroom after use
I spray it on the corners and let it sit for 20 minutes. When I come back the grout is sparkly clean.
5 kate // May 14, 2008 at 9:22 am
Depends on how long it’s been there, as it failed to work on my mother’s upstairs bathroom (where mildew goes to retire) but those ‘magic erasers’ can do wonders on cleaning it up. Takes a few, cause the effort can rip them, but it works.
6 AnnMarie // May 15, 2008 at 9:25 am
A year or so ago, I asked where I could find Borax, and I finally found it with your help. could you also help me find Barkeeper’s Friend? Do you know what chains tend to sell it? And where would I find it–cleaning supplies, kitchen supplies, pots n pans?
Thank you! My DH was just complaining about the shower last weekend….
And have you tried their stovetop cleaner?
7 Gabriela // May 15, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Bar Keeper’s Friend is available at Bed Bath & Beyond or Linens n Things. I’ve seen it at both stores in the cleaning supplies section.
I also make sure to rinse down the shower walls and the shower curtain liner after each use as I’ve noticed it greatly reduces the growth of any funky stuff.
8 JayMonster // May 15, 2008 at 1:55 pm
There are all great tips here, but I am a bit surprised that the originator said that they used clorox without success. This I find a combination of stunning and a bit worrisome.
Bleach, whether straight or in a product like Tilex, should work well on removing (though not maintaining) mold. If that is not working, then I would be concerned about mold being in or behind the wall. That is the only thing I could think of for a reason that the grout (and I am assuming it is the grout, and not broken tiles) would be that damaged that the mold could not be removed.
9 Margo // May 15, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I don’t know what I did before the magic eraser!!!!
10 Joan J // May 16, 2008 at 6:52 am
I agree about the bleach. It not only cleans the surface mold, but gets to the origin of the mold and kills the spores so they won’t grow back. Surface cleaning is very temporary with mold! Grab some rubber gloves and a rag and put straight bleach in the black areas (rinse thoroughly or it may eat your grout!) and the mold should disappear. Then get a bleach “pen” and use it on your grout lines once a month to keep the mold away. Works like a charm!
11 nate // May 16, 2008 at 5:46 pm
We keep getting these pale pinkish stains on the shower curtains and at the base of the tub…
Our neighbor has the same issue, and he thinks it’s metal in the Mt P. water supply.
Could it be mold?
I’ve found a weak bleach solution or most any bath cleaner completely fades the stains without much scrubbing - but the spots will return in less than a week if I don’t spray on a near-daily basis.
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