Have you noticed dark staining between your shower tiles? If so, it’s smart to learn how to clean mold out of shower caulk. Although the discoloration on the caulk or grout may look like a simple stain at first glance, this area is a known problem spot for mold growth.
Mold thrives anywhere the air is humid and the space is poorly ventilated – the bathroom is a prime location. The silicone mold around your bathtub, between your shower, tiles, and around the toilet is often one of the primary spots that grow moldy.
Aside from looking unpleasant, mold poses a health risk to you and your family if the spores enter the air. Breathing in mold spores leads to several respiratory illnesses and worsens allergies. It’s crucial to figure out how to remove moldy shower caulking to maintain high air quality inside your house and keep your bathroom clean and inviting. Forgo dangerous industrial mold cleaners and use DIY methods for cleaning mold out of shower caulk.
- How to Remove Moldy Shower Caulking
- What Causes Moldy Caulk?
- How to Clean Mold Out of Shower Caulk With Vinegar
- Cleaning Mold Out of Shower Caulk – Baking Soda
- Chlorine Bleach Mold Removal
- DIY Fizzing Grout Cleaner
- Dish Soap Cleans Bathroom Mold
- Borax Is a Mildew Remover
- Trust Ammonia to Clean Mold Stains
- Peroxide for Shower Mold
- Removing Mold With Lemon Juice
- Commercial Caulk Cleaners
- Removing Moldy White Shower Caulking
- Tips to Prevent Mold
How to Remove Moldy Shower Caulking
Discovering the dangerous mold growing in your bathroom is upsetting, yet most homes sometimes experience mold growth in the shower. Once you understand how to clean mold out of shower caulk, you can quickly and efficiently deal with this problem.
Explore techniques for cleaning mold out of shower caulk with vinegar, baking soda, chlorine bleach, a homemade fizzing cleaner, dish soap, Borax, ammonia, peroxide, and lemon juice.
What Causes Moldy Caulk?
Mold growth on silicone caulk is a common problem in bathrooms across the United States. The nature of the bathroom, with high humidity from the tub and shower and a lack of ventilation due to an enclosed space, creates an environment for mold to thrive.
While some bathroom mold is caused by lingering moisture due to poor ventilation, a leaky toilet, sink, or previous water damage, other molds are inherent side effects of the atmosphere. It’s upsetting to find mold spores between the tiles on your shower wall, but you can resolve this issue quickly with the correct cleaning technique.
How to Clean Mold Out of Shower Caulk With Vinegar
Distilled white vinegar or cleaning vinegar is the answer for a safe and natural option to get rid of the mold on your bathroom grout. Cleaning vinegar contains acetic acid; using vinegar and dish soap to get rid of mold and mildew will eradicate mold spores so they scrub right off your caulk.
Wear thick rubber gloves to protect your skin from mold spores, and consider wearing a mask. Transfer the white vinegar to the spray bottle and soak the moldy grout. Allow the vinegar to sit on the grout for at least an hour while it destroys the mold.
Use an old toothbrush as an easy way to scrub shower grout and caulk to loosen the grime, then rinse well. Once your shower dries, inspect the walls for mold spots you missed and repeat the vinegar cleaning if required.
Cleaning Mold Out of Shower Caulk – Baking Soda
Another food-grade ingredient commonly used to remove mold is baking soda. Baking soda destroys everything from black mold to mildew on porous and non-porous surfaces. This versatile powder is used for baking desserts and cleaning the toughest stains, including mold.
In addition to killing the mold spores, baking soda removes their musty odor and cleanses your shower grout. Add one tablespoon of baking soda to two cups of faucet water in a spray bottle and shake it until the baking soda powder dissolves.
Spray your moldy caulk with the baking soda and water mixture, and use a scrub brush to remove the mold from the silicone. Rinse the grout with warm water and reapply the spray before leaving it to soak into the caulk for an hour.
Allowing the baking soda to rest on the silicone lets it penetrate deeper to kill all mold spores and prevent the issue from returning. Give your shower caulk a final rinse, and wipe it with a soft cloth to dry.
Chlorine Bleach Mold Removal
A traditional chlorine bleach solution is convenient for dealing with mold on your shower grout. Chlorine bleach is an industrial-strength cleaner to obliterate mold spores, and it gives you the peace of mind that your shower looks good and is sanitary.
Concentrated bleach can disintegrate the structure of your silicone caulk, so always mix bleach with water to use it on bathroom surfaces.
Pour bleach and water into the spray bottle and agitate it to combine. Spritz the bleach solution onto the mold, soak it for half an hour, and remove the discoloration with a soft scrubbing brush. Rinse the shower caulk with cold water and inspect for any missed areas.
DIY Fizzing Grout Cleaner
Baking soda and white vinegar make an all-natural tough cleaner for dark mold discoloration. Use these potent food-grade cleaners to erase the toughest mold marks from your shower caulk.
Stir the baking soda and warm water to make a thick paste, and smear it on your shower grout using the toothbrush. Combine the vinegar and cold water in a spray bottle and apply it directly to the top of the baking soda.
The vinegar and baking soda react, fizzing to loosen the mold on your grout. Once the fizzing stops, use your scrubbing brush to clean the region and rinse it with warm water.
Dish Soap Cleans Bathroom Mold
Liquid dish soap makes scrubbing black mold off bathtub seals virtually effortless. Although we commonly associate dish soap with cleaning cookware, it’s excellent for removing mold from everything from grout to a shower head.
Mix a tablespoon of dish soap into hot water for light discoloration and scrub the mold growth. Choose a dish soap with no added colorants, as these risk staining your shower caulk bright green or blue. Use dish detergent to get rid of mold, or clean your shower grout regularly to prevent it from forming.
Borax Is a Mildew Remover
Borax, or boric acid, is a mineral found in soil, plants, and the human body. Boric acid works like baking soda powder as it cleans, deodorizes, and eradicates mold spores. Dip a damp cloth into boric acid powder and rub this back and forth over light mold staining.
To clean more extensive areas, create a boric acid spray to destroy mold and leave your grout looking brand new.
Use the sprayer to apply the boric acid solution to your moldy caulk and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. Wipe away the excess mold with a clean rag and rinse the shower wall with hot water.
Trust Ammonia to Clean Mold Stains
Ammonia is a potent mold killer, yet it must be used cautiously to prevent damage to your shower caulk. Though it smells unpleasant, ammonia is a widely used household cleaner as it easily cuts through grease, grime, and heavy dirt.
Ammonia is the main ingredient in many expensive store-bought mold eliminators. Take advantage of this powerful mold cleaner without the high cost by mixing your own ammonia-based mold spray.
Put on the rubber gloves and mask and open the windows before uncapping the pure ammonia. Measure the ammonia and warm water into the spray bottle and swirl gently to combine.
Spray the ammonia onto your moldy caulk, let it rest for a few minutes, and wipe it away with a damp cloth. When moldy marks persist, reapply the ammonia solution. Never use undiluted ammonia on your shower grout, as this could cause it to peel or crack.
Peroxide for Shower Mold
While hydrogen peroxide is often found in a first aid kit, it’s an excellent antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral cleaner perfect for treating mould spores. Safely use hydrogen peroxide on various household services, including the silicone caulk in your shower.
Look for 3% hydrogen peroxide to kill mold. If you have dark-colored shower caulk, perform a small test spot with the hydrogen peroxide before making a comprehensive application. Peroxide may lighten dark-colored grouts; if this is the case, use an alternate method.
Spray undiluted hydrogen peroxide directly onto the moldy shower grout and leave it for up to ten minutes. Use a piece of toilet paper or a few cotton balls to rub back and forth lightly over the grout to loosen the mold.
If you cannot easily remove the discoloration, apply more hydrogen peroxide, wait for five minutes, and try again. Put the used toilet paper into the trashcan, rinse the grout with warm water, and leave it dry.
Removing Mold With Lemon Juice
Lemons are a surprisingly efficient option for a safe and natural technique for mold removal. Like all citrus fruits, lemons contain a high concentration of acetic acid to break down mold and make it simple to remove. Lemon juice is a deodorizer, antiseptic, stain remover, and heavy-duty cleaner with a pleasant citrus scent.
Juice five lemons and transfer the liquid to a spray bottle for easy application. Douse the moldy grout in lemon juice. Leave it for five minutes, and wipe the caulk with a damp towel.
Re-spray the grout with lemon juice and use a soft-bristled brush to carefully scrub the mold off the surface of the silicone. Wash your shower wall with the shower head or clean damp cloths, and let it dry.
Commercial Caulk Cleaners
Pick up a store-bought mold remover when you’re short on time to get mildew off silicone bathtub caulk and would rather not use a homemade cleaner. Study the product labels carefully and choose a mold cleaner marked safe for silicone shower caulk.
Use the cleaner per the directions and heed any safety labels to ensure you get the best results and avoid injury. If you’re uncertain that the cleaner you selected is appropriate for your bathroom, test it in a hidden location before applying it to shower caulk.
Removing Moldy White Shower Caulking
If the mold in your bathroom is severe and has damage rather than just discolored shower caulk, the best course of action might be to remove the caulk altogether. Although cleaning remedies restore the caulk to its original color and remove the mold, they do not repair disintegration.
Shower grout can be peeled and scraped off, though. The process is easier if the bonds are loosened first. Apply undiluted chlorine bleach to some cotton balls, place them over the shower grout to be removed, and cover the area in plastic wrap.
Rest the bleach on the caulk for at least an hour and use a putty knife and a pair of small needle nose pliers to peel away the caulk. When the old grout lifts, clean the area of all bleach and allow it to dry entirely before laying new grout.
Tips to Prevent Mold
Sometimes mold is inevitable, but you can reduce the likelihood of it affecting your bathroom caulk by taking precautions to lower humidity and ventilate the room.
Follow these simple steps to keep moisture content low and move air through your bathroom to reduce the chances of mold proliferation. Treat shower grout mold as soon as you notice it to prevent colonies from expanding and spreading. If left untreated, mold not only discolors but also begins to disintegrate your bathroom caulk.
Did this article answer all your questions about how to remove moldy shower caulking? Nobody wants to take a shower and find off-putting mold stains on the shower caulk.
Though this issue is upsetting, it’s uncomplicated to fix with the right cleaners and a little elbow grease. Don’t let shower mold threaten your family’s health; eradicate mold from your shower grout using proven home remedies to eliminate mold in the shower stall and maintain good air quality inside your home.
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