Get Rid of Black Mildew Under Cailking in Bathtubt
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Want to know how to get rid of moldy caulking in your shower? Use the following cleaning tip to remove black mold from caulk around your tub.
Everyone knows mold is gross. Unhealthy. Bad for you. Yet, it's in pretty much every home, especially in areas where there is moisture naturally, like in your bathroom!
We have mold growing in our bathroom, along our bathtub, in the caulking that's there. As we live in an apartment, it's not exactly up to us to remove and replace the moldy caulking, though that would be the ideal way to deal with the situation – remove the caulking and reapply new caulking around our tub, addressing any underlying issues that may be there.
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If you own your home, that is the best route to go.
But, if you want a "quick fix" or something that is more affordable than new caulking, and likely far less time consuming, and don't want to wait two days for the new silicon caulk to dry, the following is cleaning tip that works really, really well.
Be sure to hit up my follow-up post with info on how to tackle all the other black mold in showers you may be dealing with – grout, drains, curtains, walls, ceilings, and more!
You can watch the video explanation here:
How to Get Rid of Mold in Shower Caulking
Materials Needed to Remove Mold from Caulking
- Bleach
- Bowl
- Water
- Gloves
- Cotton balls or Cotton Coil (preferred for large areas)
- Ventilation mask (optional but recommended)
*Please remember that bleach is a harsh chemical. You MUST wear gloves and use ventilation. Use at your own risk.
Instructions on How to Remove Mold on Caulking
How to Remove Mold from Caulking in Shower
- Fill a large bowl with water.
- If using cotton balls, you can stretch out the cotton balls before dipping them in the bleach water to make it easier to attach to a wall.
- Put on gloves and mask, open a window, and/or turn on the fan in the bathroom.
- Add a small amount of bleach to the water. Mix.
- Dip cotton balls (or coils) into the bleach water.
- Apply the cotton balls directly onto the caulking with mold on it in your shower or bathtub.
- Continue adding cotton balls to moldy parts of the shower.
Continue adding more cotton balls or cotton coils to all moldy caulk in your shower, including along window ledges, and up the walls. Because the cotton is so wet, it will stick vertically. However, start at the top and work your way down if bleaching moldy caulking vertically, as the liquid will seep out and make the cotton balls below it fall off. It's okay to keep the cotton fairly wet, but it doesn't have to be super wet and drenched, especially if doing vertical parts.
- Leave the cotton there for about 2-4 hours or until mold is removed. Be sure to shut the bathroom door and keep the fan running as you wait.
- Spot check an area to see if the mold on shower caulking is gone. If not, reapply and wait another hour.
- If the spot check looks good, continue to remove the cotton balls or cotton coils from your bathtub caulking.
Discard them into a trash bag. Always be sure to handle bleach with gloves on and a mask if you have one (and glasses if you are worried about splashing or spills).
- Let air dry.
You don't need to rinse with water, though I found it helped make the smell go away faster.
*If it doesn't work, check the date of your bleach. Bleach has a fairly short shelf-life. If you haven't used your bleach in five years, or your bottle doesn't smell very strongly like bleach, get a new bottle and try this again.
An important note about using bleach to remove mold
Bleach is no longer considered to be the best way to remove mold. It is only effective if the mold is on a non-porous material like tile, bathtubs, glass, and countertops. It doesn't reach the mold growing underneath the surface. Also, bleach can damage the materials it is used on as it's a harsh, corrosive chemical. The fumes are strong and harsh and it must be handled with gloves.
Also, you should NEVER mix bleach with ammonia.
However, the bleach does do a great job at removing mold usually and also removes any mold stains as well, which is why I used it in my bathroom. I usually prefer less harsh chemicals or natural cleaning agents, but I am also a fan of using something that works, the first time.
Other alternatives to using bleach to remove mold from caulking would be:
- Borax
- Vinegar
- Ammonia
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Oxygen Bleach
I, however, have not been able to find many tutorials on how to use these products specifically for cleaning moldy caulking in bathrooms, so if anyone has tried using them, with success, I'd love to know! I tried making a paste of water and OxiClean and slathered it onto the moldy caulking, but it did absolutely nothing. It dried out shortly after application and didn't remove the stains at all.
If you know how to remove mold from caulking without using bleach, I'd love to know!
In the meantime, bleach totally works to get rid of mold on shower caulking! Just be careful handling it. Enjoy a whiter bathroom!
For more tips on how to clean, especially your bathroom, check out these cleaning tutorials:
- How to clean a bathtub the easy way
- How to clean a bathtub with Bar Keepers Friend
- How to clean shower heads
- How to remove hard water stains from windows
- How to clean grout in the bathroom
- How to clean porcelain sinks
- How to remove rust stains from porcelain sinks
- How to shine bathroom faucets
- How to clean a curling iron
Get Rid of Black Mildew Under Cailking in Bathtubt
Source: https://www.whatsupfagans.com/remove-mold-caulking-shower/