A neighbor told me why I have mold and mildew in my bathroom - the problem was solved for 26 rubles
I first encountered mold and mildew in the bathroom a year ago. Just at that time, the builders completed everything that was supposed to be done, collected their tools and hastily retreated, leaving me alone with the fresh repairs. However, as you already guessed, it was destined to remain fresh for only a short time and not everywhere - after a few months, strange dark spots appeared in the bathroom.
War on mold, stage 1—attack the invader using traditional methods
An area occupied by a fungus not only loses its aesthetics, but also becomes hazardous to health. The spores, floating in the air in huge quantities, enter the lungs, then into the blood, after which they spread throughout the body and settle in all organs, including the brain. An infected person suffers from memory loss, dizziness, and lack of vitality. Sometimes the fungus causes bronchial asthma and, according to the latest scientific data, causes a number of cancers.
In general, it was clear that the situation could not be left to chance. On the very first evening, waving a virtual flag with the inscription “SOS”, I went to the forum of stay-at-home moms, where they advised me about a dozen folk ways to combat mold.
Vinegar
To defeat the invader, it was necessary to take table vinegar of 9% concentration, pour it into a spray bottle and generously treat all surfaces where the fungus has settled.After a few hours, wash these areas with your usual cleaning product. But to be sure, I also went over the seams with a cotton swab dipped in vinegar.
The result, to put it mildly, was not encouraging. There was less mold, but she clearly did not plan to give up her position.
Laundry soap
A week later, having made sure that the black plaque had not disappeared anywhere, I began to implement an alternative option:
- Using a regular kitchen grater, I shredded a piece of 72% laundry soap.
- I poured a liter of hot water over the resulting flakes and left for 20 minutes until everything dissolved. To speed up the process, I stirred periodically with a wooden stick.
- I used part of the prepared solution to wash away traces of mold - after 20 minutes of active rubbing of the seams with a dishwashing sponge, the amount of dark plaque decreased significantly. I moistened the surface with the remaining soapy liquid, which became almost clean, and, since it was already late, I left the bathroom in this state until the morning. As it turned out later, the second step was unnecessary - the overall picture did not change noticeably.
Laundry soap was able to slightly quell the fungus on the walls and floor of the bathroom, but it was still far from complete victory over the enemy.
Hydrogen peroxide
Then I had an emergency at work, which lasted almost a month. Devoting time to some kind of mold when you don’t have enough time for yourself and your beloved is blasphemy, so I didn’t take any measures. However, then I still had to remember the danger of the fungus and move on to the third method.
Having stocked up on three bottles with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide at the pharmacy, I again armed myself with a sprayer and, without sparing, treated all the places where mold had grown.The peroxide hissed and foamed - it seemed as if it was going to scare the fungus, rather than burn it out with the force of an oxygen-reduction reaction.
However, the mold gradually began to disappear. This happened literally before our eyes, so I added another portion of peroxide to the tile joints. And - lo and behold! – an hour or an hour and a half later, the bathroom was unrecognizable. In some places there were still dark marks (for example, at the junction between the wall and the side), but in general the result was pleasing. To fix it and “finish off” the fungus, I repeated the treatment twice with an interval of one day.
At this point, the war with the controversial enemy could be considered over. However, I managed to stay in a state of euphoria for a little more than three months. During this time, the mold managed to get bored and returned, now occupying part of the ceiling.
Lemon juice
One day I started cleaning out the refrigerator and found a bag of lemons that had already begun to spoil. I immediately remembered another piece of advice from the forum - the girl told me that the juice of these citrus fruits kills mold and mildew in the bathroom one or two times. It was hard to believe, but why not try?
I didn’t have a special juicer, so I had to use a method proven by chefs - roll the lemons on the table, turning their insides into porridge, and then cut them in half and squeeze them by hand. Having obtained a whole glass of juice in this way, I sprayed it over those places where the plaque was freely located.
Either I had the wrong lemons, or the mold turned out to be a fan of sour things, but the result was not pleasing even after reapplying the juice and waiting a whole day. The fungal spots have only lightened a little.
A break in hostilities and a visit from neighbors
One day, the neighbors also started repairs and decided to change the water pipes, so they came to me to discuss this issue. At the same time, we asked to look at the bathroom to decide where and how to make the joints.
Naturally, mold, which by that time had become almost familiar to me, did not escape their gaze. As it turned out, neighbors once faced a similar problem and spent a long time looking for a solution. The chemicals gave a short-term effect - the fungus returned every time.
As a result, after shoveling through tons of literature, the neighbors found out that the cause of mold deposits is:
- high level of humidity, which is constantly maintained;
- lack of good ventilation (this problem is often found in old houses);
- the use of building materials that do not contain fungicides - substances that do not allow fungus to settle on the surface and germinate.
The neighbors did not have money for a full-scale renovation of the bathroom, so they took the least expensive route - they installed a forced exhaust system so that the moist air would not linger in the bathroom, but would immediately go into the ventilation pipe. And since at the same time they had another family member - a cat - they made a mini-hole in the door especially for him. This hole had to perform two functions at once - provide the animal with round-the-clock access to the tray and guarantee constant air exchange.
Making holes in the door, especially in the absence of pets, was not part of my plans, but I really liked the idea with the exhaust fan. But there was one more nuance - I used the bathroom not only for taking a shower, but also for drying clothes. To prevent hanging laundry from becoming a source of moisture, I had to buy a drying machine.It was expensive, but, as it turned out later, the acquisition was completely worth it.
War on mold, stage 2 - professional attack on the enemy
After installing the fan and dryer, one unresolved problem remained - the same plaque on the seams between the tiles. I didn’t want to wait for it to disappear on its own, having failed to adapt to new climatic conditions. Continue the series of experiments with folk remedies, too, although soda, boric acid and tea tree oil were still on the list.
I had to go to the same neighbors for advice. True, they couldn’t remember the name of the product they used themselves, but they assured me that any hardware store has a huge selection of anti-mold drugs.
And indeed, there were five or six bottles of different colors, sizes and prices on the shelf. By the way, the amounts on the price tags started from 250 rubles and rose to cloudless heights.
I’m not used to buying household chemicals at random, so I started studying the labels. Surprisingly, these funds included:
- sodium hypochlorite (in varying quantities, but everywhere less than 5%);
- nonionic surfactants;
- flavorings (by the way, they were present in only two samples).
So what happens? Do you have to pay that much money for a mixture of tap water, bleach and soap? Having put the bottles back on the display case, I went for other products - “Belizna” (it cost only 16 rubles per liter of 3% solution) and laundry soap (the cheapest cost 10 rubles). Total 26 rubles versus 250 – almost tenfold savings!
At home I crushed the soap and diluted it with water to a thick sour cream. I poured “Whiteness” into a spray bottle, put a little soap in it and shook it up.The resulting solution was sprinkled on all the places where the fungus was visible. After another half hour, I wet the washcloth and thoroughly washed the seams with it. The window in the kitchen and at the same time the front door had to be opened so that the acrid smell would disappear faster, but happiness knew no bounds - the mold disappeared. At all. Hopefully forever.
Now I periodically add bleach to the water I use to wash the tiles in the bathroom. Just like that, for prevention. Perhaps these are unnecessary movements, but there is no such thing as excessive cleanliness.
I would be glad if my experience helps someone destroy mold in the bathroom without wasting time and money pointlessly. And for those who know other methods - effective and personally proven - please share your story of fighting the fungus.
Author: Zhanna Tsvetkova
In the post-war era, when there was no variety of chemistry, my mother always used bleach, (there was no bleach then) laundry soap, hydrogen peroxide, soda ash and vinegar. Depending on what place needed to be sanitized.
Toilet, linen bleaching, floors were washed and boiled with chlorine.They washed everything on boards with laundry soap, and rinsed the linen with vinegar, and ironed everything, because they were afraid of infections, which were quite common after the war. The fungus was fought with liquid glass or office glue. I don’t remember the recipe, but the names are etched in my memory.
When my American friend Dilek came to see me, she found Whiteness in the store, bleached a white blouse and was delighted with the effect and price of the product, and when she flew to the USA, she bought herself three bottles of our cheap Whiteness!
A long article but there is no answer, but the answer is one - heated floors and you don’t have to scrub anything and it’s better to put lemon in tea
You don’t even need to suffer, ordinary whiteness helps best. Two treatments and there have been no stains for two years now.
I'm not sure that lemon has a place in tea...
Thanks to the author for the advice. I had experience. The upstairs neighbors poured boiling water from the radiators into my entire apartment. The wallpaper had fallen off and the carpet was floating. And worse was yet to come. Mold of all colors from yellow to black covered all the walls. Horrible smell! WHITE saved the apartment! I dipped a regular paint brush into white and washed the walls! And the mold is gone! By the way, why is there a sprayer here?
Domestos helps a lot
article is crap! and whiteness! helps
Whiteness - the composition is the same sodium hypochlorite, not chlorine.. from ancient recipes for walls - copper sulfate. (Fence posts properly treated with vitriol do not rot for many years)
There is an even simpler way, ordinary whiteness for 18 rubles. Take a sponge, wet it and apply it to the damaged areas, you will immediately see an excellent result
I removed the ventilation grilles and there is no mold.
class, and the problem is solved, otherwise they come up with vinegar, soap, etc.
My mother also had a constant war with mold in the kitchen and bathroom, only white was saved. I didn't even add soap. Washed walls and ceilings. I also washed the wall in the removable bathroom with white to remove mold. Now they have installed forced exhaust in mine, and I periodically wash the walls in the bathroom with home cleaning.
Good advice! I remember that in Soviet times, in public baths, the floors were washed with kerosene, and there was no fungus in them. Kerosene is sold in hardware stores.
Bleach for 250 rubles is unlikely to work. You have to take it for 500 or more. Personally tried the Dufa mold remover. You spray and the blackest mold disappears before your eyes, looking like a miracle. There is no need to rub anything, the ceiling becomes white, like a newly painted one. Removes moss on marble and facades. All the greenery just disappears and that’s it. Then watch and as soon as black dots appear, treat immediately. The price of the drug is relative - it lasts a long time, especially in the bathroom. 5 years or more.
How much peroxide and bleach and soap will we use during this time?
I'll add a little of my own.
Fungus and mold are also afraid of ultraviolet radiation (sun, UV lamps) and ozone (ozonizers, Chizhevsky’s chandelier). They also do not like soda and Chlorhexidine (sold in pharmacies).
Domestos for the toilet is even more powerful, the result is almost immediately visible and lasts longer, although after such treatment it would be nice to have a mold preventive agent, they sell it in a construction store, there is an odorless suspension, apply it to a dry surface and let it dry, for six months there will definitely be no mold. And after bleach it usually appears within a month.
Domestos contains the same bleach as whiteness - sodium hypochlorite. And in the same proportion - 5%.
I simply inserted a spray bottle into a bottle of white and sprayed it on the mold. The spots disappeared right before our eyes in a matter of seconds.
Your hood isn't working, that's why you're having problems with mold...
Treat fungus and mold on the walls with ammonia 3 times at intervals of 24 hours (work with open windows!)
Thank you for the article. She is very useful to me. We have a good exhaust hood in our bathroom. and spots appeared. I tried all the remedies described in the article. Now I'll try white.
Wow. Only whiteness stopped the mold in our bathroom. Everything else is vanity.
Yes. And so do we.
What if the cold water pipe (riser) is constantly covered with black mold due to condensation? what will help?
Wrap it in a special pipe insulation (usually a foamy gray material), sold in construction stores.
I once treated the entire bathroom with “Whiteness” using a dishwashing sponge, and for about 10 years there have been no traces of mold. True, during this time the tiles and suspended ceiling were installed. But, I think, if there was mold left, it would come out again
My friend removes fungus in the bathroom from the stoves in a very original way. Buys cheap toothpaste. Takes an old used toothbrush, applies the paste to the seams and leaves it overnight. In the morning, wash off with warm water. It happens that in the morning there is no time to wash it off, he will remember when he goes to take a shower. I cleaned my entire bathroom in a month. Try it, maybe it will help you. Start with 2-3 tiles. Look at the result.
The reason for the mold of gypsum solutions when plastering the bathroom and drywall as well.
Whiteness - This is good, but when everything dries, be sure to treat everything with a furatsilin solution - the antibiotic will kill the mold for a long time! Pack of 10 pieces = 5 g per 1 liter of boiling water.
antibiotic does not remove mold because mold is a fungus
The good old way. Copper sulfate solution. Wash and soak and it will disappear forever.
And I just wash with Domestos!!! clean, without diluting!!! Enough for a year or more!
Excellent article, comprehensive and clear and worthy comments, thank you all!
Thank you for an excellent and humorously written story! I was laughing.
“Whiteness” slightly diluted with water and ALL.
The mold goes away.
thanks very good advice I'll try it
Why so much text? Half my life is spent on your reviews (for example, about films), your reviews and everyday advice (I address everyone)... Is it really impossible to just write, lemon, peroxide and laundry soap did not help. A mixture of bleach and soap helped (the proportions were the same) and that’s all. There are also special tools in hardware stores, but they are expensive. That's all! It would have been two lines. No, I need to start that “one day, I decided to look in the refrigerator and found a lemon there, but I didn’t have a juicer and I remembered the old method...”. Why do I need all this: about work, about neighbors, about their pipes being repaired, about your lack of finances for full repairs? So much unnecessary text!
Most likely it was written by a copywriter to order from the website, and they pay for the volume of text and beautiful presentation. The man just wanted to earn more.
I completely agree with you. I'm tired of reading these stories. I want it to be short and specific.
Treat moldy areas with undiluted DOMESTOS. After a day, rinse off or wipe with a damp cloth. Lasts for 6-12 months, it all depends on the humidity in the bathroom.
I washed, wiped everything dry, and no mold.
Wipe it off
I took a steam station and blew the mold out with steam. I washed it off immediately.The bathroom and room are clean, without mold.
The main problem with mold in the bathroom is poor workmanship, or lack of VENTILATION at all. Most often, numerous modifications (changing the ventilation duct, inserting electric motors into the ventilation duct, narrowing the cross-section of the ventilation duct, etc.) of ventilation lead to the fact that it stops working effectively. Due to increased humidity, mold immediately appears. And then articles appear on how to deal with mold. You need to fight not with mold, but with the reasons for its appearance.
I have stump ceilings and suspended ceilings: the space between them is airtight. So far, the fungus is invisible, but what the hell... We need to check, but how?
Back at school, in chemistry and biology lessons, and even in literature class (while reading M. Gorky’s “Childhood”), teachers talked about the properties of copper sulfate (or rather, our teacher told us so that we would understand what we are talking about and why an explosion is so terrible ). It costs a penny in any flower shop, about 20-30 rubles, it has no smell, but it fights mold brilliantly. Previously, builders added vitriol to whitewash during repairs, precisely because it prevented fungi from appearing
To prevent mold from appearing again:
1. After taking a shower or bath, you need to wipe the tiles on the walls and adjacent sides of the bathtub (a suede rag for a car in a plastic tube works well).
2. Leave the door open if possible for better ventilation.
Hello!
I read all the recommendations again. Domestos is effective for a short time, the ventilation in the bathroom keeps the toilet paper on the grate, that is, good, but the trouble is that the “European-quality renovation” was done a long time ago, I am fighting, but the fungus appears from time to time even after kerosene.I haven’t used bleaching or steaming, but I’ll try. I wish you all success in the fight against the most common fungal infection in the world.
It is not that simple.
Black mold survives in outer space and survived Chernobyl.
An herbal that helps is Monarda fistulosa essential oil. But it's very expensive
There is no need to make holes in the doors, you just need to open them a crack and keep them that way.
If there is good ventilation, there will be no mold and there will be no need to wash tiles, dry walls, etc. etc. + warm floor
My respect, the result exceeded all my expectations.
Thanks for the recipe
“Whiteness” or there is a similar professional product, Beamold from Grass, specifically for removing mold, but whiteness is also suitable, work on the tile seams and areas affected by mold, leave for a few minutes, and rinse with a sponge. Due to my occupation, I regularly encounter such problems in bathrooms, as they wrote earlier; forced ventilation will help. I also heard from repairmen that grout for joints is not intended for wet rooms...
Thanks a lot! I just read it in tears: a small black trail of mold in the shower stall - and I went through ALL YOUR TORMENT. Right down to the lemons. I'll buy white today. And nothing has been written much! Interesting read.
Komet helped me. There's chlorine there too. There has been no mold for 5 years now.
Treatment with copper sulfate helped me. I haven’t tried it with bleach, but I’ll take note.
I liked the article, it was written with humor, which we lack. The author is a creative person! But briefly and to the point, it’s very boring and dry. It’s more pleasant to read such articles, as if you are communicating with a person.
For mold and fungi and for all kinds of rot, there is one remedy everywhere - copper preparations. Where everything possible has been treated with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture, and for prevention, there will be no dangerous mold, rot and fungi - bathrooms and basements, floors and carpets, vegetable gardens with beds. Today, copper preparations are expensive - 100 grams up to 100 rubles. This is the most effective of all times.
We also display it in white. All these domostas are an overpayment. The problem is the ceiling and the junction of the wall with the bathroom, ventilation, the number of washables :). You can’t wipe a whitewashed ceiling after washing it. And mold started growing on it. Tension - like living in a bag. Foam tiles - collective farm. The neighbors spilled it several times.
I opened the ventilation, cleaned it where I could get it. But apparently the entire riser needs to be cleaned. Doesn't work.
There are many of us at home. While everyone is washing, it’s almost always damp.
We also have small children. Bleach and copper sulfate are terribly harmful things. Even the smell of bleach is poison for a child’s body. And the vitriol is even worse. We tried quartzing, but somehow without much result. And the smell is also terrible afterwards. Therefore, we clean with white when the children are away for several days.
I forgot to say. I also tried peroxide. It helps a lot. But for about a week or two. Especially the one that is 6%. But I also somehow inhaled it - my larynx burned.
Ammonia and chlorhexidine had no effect at all in my case. Ammonia only smells. And HGS disappointed me in every sense. Even gargling with it doesn’t help. Like Mirrrramistin Okhlobystinsky.
I also tried it with a brush and paste, as someone wrote above. Didn't remove my mold. But the sealant scratched at the joints. Probably, if I rubbed a comet...