Bath, shower, tile joints…. anything that comes into contact with water and moisture for a long time is very sensitive to mold formation. Working preventively and preventing mold formation is of course the best thing you can do. We have compiled the most effective tricks you can make use of to keep your house free of mold.
Table of Contents
Toothpaste
You don’t always have to look far. An old toothbrush with a string of toothpaste is ideal for reaching the small corners and narrow joints of your bath or shower. Add to that some muscle strength and your bath and shower are scrubbed completely spot-tight again.
Vinegar and baking soda
Vinegar and soda are two natural products known to be efficient cleansers that inhibit the growth of bacteria.
The most convenient is to apply them via a spray bottle that you fill for two-thirds with (warm) vinegar to which you add two teaspoons of sodium bicarbonate. Let the mixture fizz for a while before you close the spray bottle and open the door or a window to ventilate the room well because it is penetrating and punishing stuff. A mouth mask and gloves certainly come in handy.
Then spray the mixture on the mold stains, leave it on for half an hour and then scrub them clean with a hard brush. You can possibly replace a part of vinegar with a part of water or dish soap.
If you prefer not to use vinegar, you can try it with soda alone. To do this, dissolve 6 grams of soda (sodium bicarbonate) in a liter of hot water. Or make a paste that you can apply very easily, by mixing a few spoonfuls of water into the soda.
Dabbing a damp sponge in soda (or borax) and scrubbing the affected surface with it is also a possibility.
Tea Tree oil
Essential tea tree oil is another natural product that is often used in the fight against fungi. Mix two teaspoons with approximately 250 ml of water in a spray bottle and spray the mixture on the moldy surface. Let it work for at least an hour (preferably longer) and then scrub away the mold stain with a (tooth) brush.
Bleach
Natural products are of course preferred, but in stubborn cases, they do not always offer a solution. If you need a product that is even more efficient as a fungicide, you can put bleach in the spray bottle, possibly diluted with some water. First, check whether all parts that come into contact with the bleach are resistant to this because it discolors and pales certain materials (such as certain types of tiles). Also, ensure adequate protection of your eyes, skin, and respiratory tract by wearing protective glasses, rubber gloves, and a mouth mask.
You can also dab the fungal spots with a sponge that is soaked in the bleach (with or not water). Let the bleach work, scrub, then rinse with warm water and rub dry.
Hydrogen peroxide
If you have to pull out the coarse guns because all the means listed above do not help to remove the fungus, then you can try it with hydrogen peroxide. It is a whitening agent and a very effective fungicide. Make a paste by mixing hydrogen peroxide with flour, apply it to the fungal stain (for example, a joint), and let it work overnight. Then rinse well with cold water.
You can also pollinate a soda paste (see point 2.) with water peroxide to loosen the fungus. Then scrub with a hard brush and rinse with water.
Acetone or cellulose thiinner
Mold stains on a silicone edge (for example between bath and wall or between sink and tablet) are best removed with acetone or cellulose thinner. Pat the stains with a cotton swab soaked in the product, rinse immediately, and rub dry.
Jenny holds a Master’s degree in psychiatry from the University of Illinois and Bachelors’s degree from the University of Texas in nutritional sciences. She works as a dietician for Austin Oaks Hospital in Austin, Texas. Jenney writes content on nutrition and mental health for the Scientific Origin.
