Sunday, January 2, 2011

New year, new projects

Happy 2011!  Among our New Years Resolutions are plans to tackle/figure out some of our little house projects.  First up, that mold growing on the bathroom ceiling above the shower.  I know it's growing because there isn't sufficient air flow/venting there.  But, that area is oh-so-cute framed off by the little archway.  Before we moved in, we removed the old shower rod that completely blocked the archway, and currently keep our curtain slightly below the arch.  Recently, we have been keeping the shower curtain partially open while we shower to help with the air flow.  But, the mold that grew previously was still there!  We've already removed it once with just a generic cleaner, but it did NOT work.  Then, I found some internet instructions.  We followed them to a tee, and you can barely tell the mold was ever there.  I forgot to take a before picture, but you can still see where some of the mold spots were mid-project.

The problem area


And in case, that link becomes broken in the future, here are the instructions:
  • Wash the area with a cleaning solution of mild detergent and warm water.
  • Let dry.
  • Mix ¼ cup of bleach with one quart of water and apply the solution {we actually used 1/2 and 1/2 for our solution}. Wait for 20 minutes and apply a second time. Allow another 20 minutes to dry.
Mold Prevention Now that the ceiling is clean, mix a solution of borate-based detergent (such as Borax) and apply it. This solution should not be rinsed, but left to stop mold from growing in the future. Borates have stain removal properties and control bacteria and fungi.

2 comments:

Leslie said...

Oh, we have SO much home improvement that needs to be done this year, most which probably won't get done, but thanks for this tip! What I need to find is a way to keep the grout in our bathroom from molding so quickly!!!

Jennifer said...

My toilet had been making a whining sound when flushed for several weeks. I finally pulled the lid off the tank to see what was up and there was mold all over the inside of the tank! That's what caused the whining noise -- the mold had constricted openings where the water comes out. I also tackled that with bleach.