Removing Mold From Shower Calking, Step by Step

Mold loves moisture, and no place in the house has more of it than the inside of the shower. Given the chance, mold will grow in tile grout, on tiles, around the drain and on the caulking. Mold growth is difficult to prevent in such a water-rich environment, and if you don’t know how to clean mold from shower caulking, your bathroom will never look one hundred percent clean.

Mold growing on the caulking isn’t the same thing as mold growing behind it. When mold is growing behind old caulk, you really have to remove the caulk to do a thorough cleanup, and I can tell you from years of home maintenance experience that this can be a tough job. Although there are products that soften silicone and weaken its bond to the surface to which it’s stuck, nothing actually dissolves it, so the job necessarily involves scraping and pulling.

Cleaning mold is easier when it’s growing on the caulk’s surface, however. In this post, professional cleaner Michael Bogoyavlenskiy shows you how to clean mold from shower caulking.

What Causes Mold in Shower Caulking?

Mold spores are everywhere, but they only grow into mold colonies in places where they find moisture, nutrients and warmth. There is plenty of moisture and warmth in a shower stall, and soap and shampoo deposits, along with stray strands of hair and other debris, provide the organic matter for nutrition. Some mold species can even feed on the caulk itself.

• Pro tip: To prevent mold from growing in the shower stall, provide plenty of ventilation. After showering, leave the shower door or curtain open, open a window, leave the bathroom door open and run the bathroom exhaust fan long enough for everything to dry out.

Gather your supplies

For this procedure, you’ll need two ingredients: household bleach and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). You’ll also need a bowl, a toothbrush and some paper towels.

“You need to use actual, standard bleach for this,” says Bogoyavlenskiy. “Make sure it isn’t ‘toilet cleaner’ or any other product, as these have a lower concentration of the ingredient you need, which is sodium hypochlorite.”

For those sensitive to bleach, Bogoyavlenskiy recommends hydrogen peroxide as an alternative.

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