Keeping bathroom mould free

[mrsoutnumbered]

I'm hoping to move soon, to a house with a lovely shiny bathroom that I would like to keep looking lovely and shiny.

My current bathroom is very damp and cold, and was already mouldy and beyond rescuing when we moved in 5 years ago. I've kept it at bay by regular bleaching and airing.

To those of you with lovely bathrooms, what do you do to keep them lovely? And how often?

Dettol green spray bottle mould and mildew stuff is the bomb! I use it in our wet room shower which is prone to black mould spots on the silicone. Spray on, leave window open and close the door (it's pungent) and leave on as long as poss. No need to scrub. It vanishes!

Air often.

In previous homes I have just replaced the silicone myself where it has become unsalvageable.

I have a little RH gauge and always make sure it's down below 70% before I switch the fan off/close the window after a shower.

@LittleWingSoul thanks! How often do you use the mould spray?

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel oooh interesting! I've not considered doing that, but am now off to google....

I've got a tip for reducing mould round the bath. Squirt strong bleach on it, then cover with a thin layer of rolled up toilet paper. Leave on for an hour, then when you take it away, the mould is gone.
Also paint the ceiling with anti mould paint now and again.

I've tried the bleach and tissue paper trick and it barely worked... The dettol spray did the trick!

I just do it when I start noticing mould. It can happen quite quickly and all of a sudden, I find!

Yes, I think the trick is catching it quickly.

I'm looking forward to waving goodbye to my bathroom. Cleaning it is like polishing a turd.

Electric extractor fan triggered by the light and stays on for ten minutes after you leave bathroom.

I'm having a new bathroom done starting tomorrow. We were advised against getting an extractor fan (cost/noise/ineffectiveness) but there are 2 fire exit type windows so I hope I can keep the mould at bay. Rather excited now!

Moisture sensitive extractor fan

My experiments with the RH gauge have shown that opening a window is a far quicker way to dry the room than running the fan.

I’m reading with interest and for now am drying with towel after using squeegee and hoping for the best but bleach worked for me on mould before

HG mould spray without a doubt!

Amazing stuff I couldn't live without.
www.dehumidifier-reviews.co.uk/hg-mould-spray-review

Getting rid of mould with bleach or whatever is one thing.

Stopping it happening is more to the point.
Reduce relative humidity.

Reduce production:

• when bathing, run cold water in first, then hot: hugely reduces steam produced
• shorter showers- turn water off while shampooing and soaping, be a little bit more economical.
• don't hang really soggy bath towels on towel rail to dry- hang outside or dry in vented tumble drier - all that moisture only leaves the towels by entering the air

Get rid of moisture:
-open window,wide, when bathroom is steamy
-use a Karcher window vac to remove water from tiles, window, and even bottom of bath whenwaters run out(sounds labourious, but only takes ~2 mins, is oddly satisfying,and you can actually feel the room getting drier)

• leave extractor fan on for long enough- 10 mins after light goes out is not long enough
• cheap extractor fans simply don't produce enough air change to don't be job- you usually need to spend over£50, possibly much more. Online guides to the power you need are available.

Get an extractor fan thats as powerful as you need it to be, leave it on for long enough, and you can probably forget everything else I've written

Cheap RH meters are not scientifically accurate, but jolly useful as a indication that your actions are being effective.

Don't treat the mould without treating the cause of the mould.

@Rafflesway yes I bought some for current bathroom but the mould is so ancient and embedded it didn't work! But I have read many great reviews on it!

Would certainly be great for your new bathroom outnumbered.

My nephew bought a huge - ancient - house a few years ago and had massive problems with bathroom mould. I recommended this to him and it worked brilliantly which makes me wonder if you are perhaps dealing with more than just mould presently. Have you tried Bar Keepers Friend stain remover powder which is also very good?

@DancingLedge yes, this is the approach I want to take. In my current mould pit I leave the window open for at least an hour after showering. It also has a fan and a vent which I always leave open.

I'm sure I won't have a problem in my new bathrooms as they're not built the sane way, but they are lovely and I want to keep them that way!

@Rafflesway I think the problem at the moment is that the bathroom has been built on as an extension in a very shady area. So no amount of ventilation is going to solve the problem. It is noticeably colder than the rest of the house.

The walls are literally dripping after I've had a shower, and I'm not in there 5 minutes!

Our bathroom needed replacing (was previously very damp and mouldy, 1850's cottage)
So we had the two external walls platerboarded with insulated board.
We l8st a couple of inches off the room, but so worth it.
Had a proper extractor fan put in too and used Dulux bathroom paint.
6 years on we still don't have and mould!
Dulux paint is fed worth the cost.
Used an own brand 'mould-tec' paint in another room and it's been shit.
Mould in the cold spots (admittedly not as bad as when we first moved it, but still a pita) and the paint comes off too when you have to bleach it.

I had a bathroom redone in August 2016 and was, like you, determined to keep it looking good. We had a moisture sensitive extractor/light fitted above the bath/shower. The bathroom is in the loft space so venting it was simple.

We just never let it remain wet. The last one in the shower in the morning is charged with taking one of the allotted hand towels and drying off tiles, bath edges and seals, chrome work, shower screen.

We have plain white serviceable hand towels for this purpose.
I very rarely use any chemicals in the bathroom aside from toilet cleaner. I don't think it shows its age at all.