Page 2 | To panic about what happened when cleaning my shower

Jaxmaxx · 2023-10-11T22:49:21+00:00

I have been cleaning my bathroom today. I had some orange/pink type mould which was on the shower hose and some on the tiles. I had gloves on and had been cleaning it with a bleach spray. I took my gloves off when finished and some of the mould got on my hands from the glove and I have a cut on my finger. I’ve researched what it is and thinks it’s S. Mercescens. I washed my hands straight away but when I read about the mould it says it’s very dangerous and can cause serious infections and even death. I’m really worried now that it will have got into my blood stream. Does any one know about this type of mould. I’m really worried.

Hibiscrubbed · 12/10/2023 04:52

I promise you. OP, nothing will happen. You will be fine.

Gold luck seeking support for health anxiety, it’s an awful thing to have.

Lonesomefetter · 12/10/2023 05:23

It's not mould or fat deposits it's colonies of bacteria, bacteria which grow in showers. The bacteria grows in showers because it is washed away from our bodies. Where it lives quite happily. Our bodies contain bacteria both inside and out, trillions upon trillions of them, a lot of our weight is due to bacteria.

Its true that we can become ill because of bacteria, but think, how likely is a bacteria that was washed from you in the first place likely to cause terrible illness. Not likely! Because it's already on you and surrounding you.

It's possible, but our immune systems are very clever and these illnesses are rare. Just give it a good scrub and swish over with bleach. You will be fine.

Lonesomefetter · 12/10/2023 05:29

BabyFireflyx · 12/10/2023 00:22

I've lived with black mould in my bedroom for 8 years ongoing. I tackle as much of it as I can but it amps up at this time of year every year. Eight years of breathing in black fucking mould every night (I'm asthmatic), I've replaced blinds several times and use a window vacuum to get the running water off the inside of the windows. Landlady won't do a thing about it. It's destroyed several leather items of clothing and several pairs of shoes, I have to wash things frequently to keep the musty smell off them. I keep the windows open as much as I can but it's taken hold from the sheer amount of damp running through the walls.
Put too much pressure on the curtain rail in the living room and the whole thing comes down with a chunk of wall too. Sick of doing polyfilla, waiting a good week for it to dry and drilling again just so we can have curtains hung in the living room! They fell down again the other day and this is the sixth time I'm using polyfilla.
As things stand though, my landlady has not increased my rent in 8 years of us being here (probably because she's aware of the issue). I cant afford to move. Parts of the house like window sills and paint that have been infiltrated by mould would probably but deducted from my deposit if I tried to leave. But there's no house for this rent price any where near me. They're a good £300 plus.

Tbh I would actually worry about this. Give your landlady hell. The only time I lived with black mould I couldn't breathe half the time and was on several inhalers it's seriously detrimental.

HarlanPepper · 12/10/2023 05:39

@BabyFireflyx do you have a dehumidifier? We used to have black mould but since I bought one and ensured the humidity upstairs stays at 55% maximum, it's gone away. I also make sure all the upstairs windows are open as often as possible - in the winter just for ten minutes a day. A quality one will set you back £200 or so but very worth the money.

GoldenSpangles · 12/10/2023 06:16

I do understand health anxiety. One of my children is a med student who moonlights in the emergency department has told me the odd horror story (not details or breaking confidentiality of course.) He has never though mentioned somebody close to death being brought in from cleaning their shower. In fact, his own shower (in the bathroom he shares with his brother) could be a little pink mouldy itself. I am 99.99% sure the OP is absolutely fine.

We used to have a house with a damp problem. Our bathroom ceiling was always being covered with blackish mould. If anybody proposed calling round, somebody would have to dash into the bathroom and use a long mop to clean the ceiling with a generous amount of bleach. Discovering mould resistant paint was a game changer for us - no mould would grow on it. It is specifically developed for damp environments. I am sure there is a UK equivalent. It just basically smothers mould. Along with a dehumidifier it transformed our house and made it dryer and easier to heat.

Luddite26 · 12/10/2023 06:18

To be fair spraying a bleach cleaner in an enclosed space is probably worse for your health.

Harlechchick · 12/10/2023 06:29

Jaxmaxx · 12/10/2023 00:39

Thank you for the kind comments. It’s hard to reason with myself when I feel anxious but these comments have helped.

@Freshstart78 I have just cleaned it with a bleach bathroom spray and then wiped it down which has got rid of it for now but I think it does come back so just regularly cleaning with the bleach spray and also drying the tiles/shower after showering and keeping the room well ventilated

Hi Jaxmaxx,
Just wanted to add my thoughts to the matter. I've got a severely compromised immune system, (due to some medication I need to take for my condition). I get that pink mould/bacteria stuff in my shower cubicle every now and then, which I clean off - but my gloves invariably have a split in them which I only realise when a take them off and my hand is a bit wet!
I've never come to harm from it, and I can say with certainty that I'd have had a small cut on my hand at various times (as I love cooking, but my damned condition makes me clumsy with knives 🙄).
What I would suggest though, is that you use something like a cream cleaner, or similar product which has a slightly abrasive quality, to break down and wash away the bacteria & fat deposits which cause the build up in the first place.
This method was suggested to me by our very friendly plumber who fitted our bathroom, and I have to say that the 'pink' returns vastly less often than it used to in the old shower.
We do all the other stuff you mentioned, like drying off / airing / ventilation etc with the same frequency as we did with our old shower. The only difference is using Ciff, or similar, during the cleaning process of the pink mould. So I assume this is making the difference to how frequently it returns!

Umph · 12/10/2023 06:46

Lonesomefetter · 12/10/2023 05:23

It's not mould or fat deposits it's colonies of bacteria, bacteria which grow in showers. The bacteria grows in showers because it is washed away from our bodies. Where it lives quite happily. Our bodies contain bacteria both inside and out, trillions upon trillions of them, a lot of our weight is due to bacteria.

Its true that we can become ill because of bacteria, but think, how likely is a bacteria that was washed from you in the first place likely to cause terrible illness. Not likely! Because it's already on you and surrounding you.

It's possible, but our immune systems are very clever and these illnesses are rare. Just give it a good scrub and swish over with bleach. You will be fine.

This!

The reason I wear gloves to clean the shower is to protect my hands from harsh chemicals, not from the bacteria!

ActDottie · 12/10/2023 07:10

Tempone · 11/10/2023 23:51

You should probably see your doctor because honestly your anxiety around this is not healthy, you should get help with it.

This

JustMaggie · 12/10/2023 07:10

I imagine the mould would have been long dead before potentially getting into your bloodstream because of the bleach.

Nikki360 · 12/10/2023 07:12

Health anxiety is truly awful the panic is horrendous. Wish it was as simple as you suggest.

FarEast · 12/10/2023 07:15

The amount of bleach you're using is probably more dangerous than any sort of mould.

googlejourney · 12/10/2023 07:17

Skin cells in sudsy water causes that pink stain on tile grout - all showers have it.
Don't worry, just bleach & scrub and it'll go away, it isn't harmful. To be honest it's the bleach fumes that are probably more harmful to you.

Bertiesmum3 · 12/10/2023 07:22

BabyFireflyx · 12/10/2023 00:22

I've lived with black mould in my bedroom for 8 years ongoing. I tackle as much of it as I can but it amps up at this time of year every year. Eight years of breathing in black fucking mould every night (I'm asthmatic), I've replaced blinds several times and use a window vacuum to get the running water off the inside of the windows. Landlady won't do a thing about it. It's destroyed several leather items of clothing and several pairs of shoes, I have to wash things frequently to keep the musty smell off them. I keep the windows open as much as I can but it's taken hold from the sheer amount of damp running through the walls.
Put too much pressure on the curtain rail in the living room and the whole thing comes down with a chunk of wall too. Sick of doing polyfilla, waiting a good week for it to dry and drilling again just so we can have curtains hung in the living room! They fell down again the other day and this is the sixth time I'm using polyfilla.
As things stand though, my landlady has not increased my rent in 8 years of us being here (probably because she's aware of the issue). I cant afford to move. Parts of the house like window sills and paint that have been infiltrated by mould would probably but deducted from my deposit if I tried to leave. But there's no house for this rent price any where near me. They're a good £300 plus.

You need to buy a decent dehumidifier, they do help with damp

Cheeesus · 12/10/2023 07:26

MeinKraft · 12/10/2023 02:19

Just replace the hose head? You don't need a plumber just screw it off and screw a new one on.

Show quote history

If you can unscrew it, you can clean it. I’d try that first.

Daffodilsandtuplips · 12/10/2023 08:30

Freshstart78 · 12/10/2023 00:30

I have this in the shower head I rarely use! Every time I turn it on there’s pink water flying out for 15 seconds or so. How do you get rid of this? No other tap or water in the room is affected. Just that one head.

Can you take the shower head off the shower pipe or detach it from the wall or ceiling if it’s a waterfall type? You may need a wrench to do ss as it can be hard to remove with finger pressure alone. If the head is chrome plated Get some Steradent denture cleaning tablets, put the shower head into a bowl deep enough to submerge it, hot water, about six of the denture tablets into the water and leave it for an hour or two, rinse and replace. You may need to tighten it with the wrench to stop it leaking.

CherryCokeFanatic · 12/10/2023 08:42

How did mould get inside your glove? Maybe you could put elastic bands around the cuffs?

ManchesterGirl2 · 12/10/2023 09:03

Are you seeking help for your health anxiety? Untreated health anxiety can ruin your life, and in my experience is far more dangerous than shower mould.

Peachy2005 · 12/10/2023 09:16

Sorry to butt in on thread. We’re in a rented house with issues in a couple of the bedrooms but they just tell us windows need to be open more…as if we can just be freezing in winter all the time instead! @BabyFireflyx or anyone else with experience of mould in bedrooms…how best to clean it from high up on walls and on the ceilings? Can’t use mould spray as it will bleach bed, carpet, curtains or anything it touches. Cleaning wipes don’t drip but are only antibacterial so presumably no use? I’ve started using a dehumidifier for 3 hours a day so hopefully more won’t grow, but unsure how to tackle what’s already there. Thanks for any advice !

IMustDoMoreExercise · 12/10/2023 09:31

Jaxmaxx · 11/10/2023 23:54

Thank you for your replies. I do have health anxiety and I’ve worried myself more by reading up on it as it says it can enter the bloodstream and can cause infections that are resistant to antibiotics and even kill you. I did wash it straight away

Most people have health anxiety (unless they really don't care if they live or die), so ignore the partronsing posts on here.

It is very very unlikely to cause you any harm, but f you start feeling unwell, then just keep this in mind.

waterlego · 12/10/2023 09:40

@IMustDoMoreExercise I don’t agree that most people have health anxiety. Yes, most people care whether they live or die and lots of people worry about health and risks to health. But health anxiety is irrational and all-consuming. HA is lying awake at night planning your funeral because you have had heartburn for a few days and are completely convinced it’s cancer which will kill you imminently. Or going for a scan where you are told everything looks fine and then going home and convincing yourself that the Dr was unqualified or wrong. It is a mental illness which sometimes needs intervention to prevent it from dominating people’s lives.

Laiste · 12/10/2023 09:44

I honestly though the pink stuff was limescale! I get it off with that Viacal stuff ...

Anyway - @Peachy2005 - i've been there, in the mouldy rented house being told to keep the windows open! 🙄

4 years. Summers were fine. Winters - one big damp management situation.

So firstly - the house has a problem. Black mould is not normal.

I found you have to keep the windows open a crack and keep the place warm and blitz the mould every 2 weeks or so before it built up too much.

Bleach does it. I used to mix a solution of cheap thick bleach and water in a spray bottle (empty flash spray bottle or something). In the kitchen i could move everything out of the way and literally spray the ceiling corners and it would drip. I wore rubber gloves and a shower cap and had the window open to let the smell out. Wipe worktops down afterwards ect.

In the bedroom i would have to just chuck an old sheet over anything i couldn't shift and get up on a step stool and spray as close as i could. The house was normal height ceilings so i could do it.

When the wall paper round one of the bedroom window reveals (the bit of wall at the side and top round the window) got damp and peeled i pulled the whole lot off, damp and not damp. (I made a neat line with a sharp knife where it met the wall paper 'in' the room) cleaned the whole reveal with mould killer and when it was dry i painted it over with cheap white matte bathroom emulsion paint. That bit then stayed mould free for a whole winter. Our last winter there.

It's a fucking shit way to live and i feel for anyone in this situation.

If you have a tumble dryer or heated clothes dryer use it. Dry your clothes in the warmest room of the house if you can. Keep the damp rooms warm and mould free constantly was my best solution.

Jet0301 · 12/10/2023 09:44

I don’t even use gloves to clean my shower! you’ll be fine OP - like others have said the bleach would have already done it’s job and so would the hand washing x

melissasummerfield · 12/10/2023 09:46

Hi, its not mold, its body fat so you will be fine.

CharlotteBog · 12/10/2023 09:58

waterlego · 12/10/2023 09:40

@IMustDoMoreExercise I don’t agree that most people have health anxiety. Yes, most people care whether they live or die and lots of people worry about health and risks to health. But health anxiety is irrational and all-consuming. HA is lying awake at night planning your funeral because you have had heartburn for a few days and are completely convinced it’s cancer which will kill you imminently. Or going for a scan where you are told everything looks fine and then going home and convincing yourself that the Dr was unqualified or wrong. It is a mental illness which sometimes needs intervention to prevent it from dominating people’s lives.

I wish people with HA would include this information in their OPs.
I am not qualified to advise people with HA, beyond suggesting they see their GP.
It's pointless for people to tell someone with HA not to worry.