Any good ideas for stopping mould forming on shower tiles?

[Figmentofmyimagination]

Warning - boring cleaning thread -

It’s so dull. At this time of year - when it’s cold but the heating is not on (and we are anyway v stingy with heating, especially upstairs if there’s nobody there) - it really seems to take hold on the grout between the tiles. There’s an extraction fan in the shower room linked to the light that stays on for around 10 mins after you’ve switched the light off. It’s an old house (early 1900s) with high ceilings.

We use method shower spray for the glass doors, but I don’t spray anything on the tiles. They are the ‘brick length’ ones - so they look(ed) nice but so much more grout.

I hate housework and would rather a suggestion that isn’t too chemically (although this is a hard water area and we already use prolific amounts of viacal to try to control the limescale so I’m up for a chemical solution if there’s no ‘greener’ alternative.

Room with window:
Open window & shut door until all moist air has cleared.

Windowless room:
Leave light/ fan on for longer. Leave door open. Open window in adjacent room so fan sucks through air from outside.

Grout between tiles can be cleaned with a toothbrush and either (but NOT both together) bleach or limescale remover.

Sealant however has to eventually be replaced once stained with mould as it does not respond brilliantly to either of the above.

Thanks tobe. There is a window - I should have said - but I wouldn’t have opened it since the extraction fan is supposed to do the job.

I also need ideas for getting rid of what has already built up grrr.

Keep an old hand towel in the bathroom and dry the tiles after the last person has showered, plus have a way ( window or fan) for moisure to exit

It’s the only thing we’ve found that works. Chemicals etc failed for us.

I’d like a spray to put on after the shower so that it miraculously doesn’t appear at all - how ridiculous, I know. Like the one for the glass.

No you definitely need window open, fan on, door shut for 10 minutes. Then go back - fan off, window shut, door open (to share heat back in from adjacent room).

I always do this and I never have issues with mould.

The fan sucks out the moist air. The window provides fresh air.

Spraying the tiles will just ADD moisture. Follow my toothbrush tip above. Bit of a ball ache but it's maybe a once a year job...

I'm over invested now 🤣

Dettol Mould and Mildew spray. Spray on, leave, rinse off. Not a very 'green' option though.

HG Mould spray a few times a week. The only thing that works for me

Dry the tiles and grout after use.

We have a Karcher window vac which we run over the glass door and the tiles after a shower - takes less than 30 seconds. No mould, no need for chemicals, uses less electricity to charge than an extractor fan. And we always have the bathroom window open a crack to help reduce the humidity.

Is it black mould or the pinkish type?

I’d second leaving the window open for half an hour after a shower though.

@tactum

HG Mould spray a few times a week. The only thing that works for me

I second this. I had an old house and this was the only thing that worked for me. Just spray. Leave for ten and then shower off. Leave the window open as it’s got quite an over powering smell. It’s about a fiver. I used to use it every couple of weeks. I also used it on the removable plastic seal on the bath screen. It worked a great in that too. V satisfying

I use the thick bleach - the stuff for the toilet. Squirt on any discoloured areas and let it run down the grooves. Leave for a bit. Then rinse off and clean as normal. Comes up good as new.

HG Mould Spray - nothing else compares, and I’ve tried them all.

Window open, door closed for at least an hour after using the bathroom. preferably all the time.

10 minutes of fan really isn't going to be sufficient.

I leave the window open with the door closed pretty much all day. However, I bought a Sonic Scrubber at Lakeland on Friday as my shower is pretty old with lots of books and crannies, it's fab.

www.lakeland.co.uk/25387/SonicScrubber-Cleaning-Tool-with-4-brushes?src=gfeed&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInu2l2YCu8wIVo-jtCh1YeAAxEAQYASABEgIeBvD_BwE

You definitely need to open the window for a bit after showering as others have said. We use the supermarket version of the leave-in shower spray and you can use it on tiles as well as glass. No substitute for actual cleaning, though (said without judgement- I hate cleaning too!)

Thanks for great ideas - will invest in some HG mould spray. And probably one of those sonic scrubbers. And try and train family members to dry the wall...

I think 10 minutes a day of fan is going to do nothing. A fan that is on 24 hours a day will cost about £7 a year to run. (Well it was £7 at two years ago electricity prices, may be more going forward.)

To put it in context, I have a windowless bathroom with an over-shower bath, which steams up the bathroom much more than a dedicated glassed in shower would. After a shower it takes my fan a few hours in boost mode (maximum speed) to get humidity down to a level where visible condensation disappears from mirrors. It also runs 24 hours a day to keep humidity down.

I don't have tiles or grout to get mouldy, but once every few weeks I spray the curtain to remove some red mould. If I see a millimetre of black mould on the sealant I give it a squirt after a shower. Other than that, no problems with mould.

(Incidentally, did you know that grout is generally not water-proof, it will both hold water and can let it through to the wall behind?)

The enemy of bathrooms is water!

Squeegy (is that how it's spelt) tiles and shower screens after every use. It sounds onerous but takes about 40 seconds and ok once you get into the habit. No chemicals and also keeps your tiles sparkling.