Cleaning, killing and removing the mold in a tile shower is important for the cleanliness and health of your home. . . Tile showers are constantly subjected to water as well as dirt and bacteria from people taking a shower in them. . .  Showers make a perfect place for mold to grow and thrive especially in the porous grout lines.

 

 

A shower should be a place to clean yourself and exposing yourself to toxic black mold while  taking a shower defeats the whole purpose of taking a shower in the first place. Mold growing in the grout can also start to get through the grout and into the walls of your home. With continued shower usage the mold will never die and the walls of your home can become a breeding ground for toxic black mold to grow. Also where there is mold there is a good chance that bacteria, germs and other harmful pathogens are growing that can also cause health problems for your family and pets.

Cleaning and removing the mold in your shower requires a systematic approach using a combination of cleaning products and procedures.  You not only want to clean up the mold but to also kill any lingering mold in the tile shower and deep in the porous grout. It is important to kill all of the mold in the grout to ensure it will not readily re grow in the shower when the shower is used again. 

It is important to seal the tile and grout after you have finished cleaning, killing and removing the mold in your tile shower.   You want to ensure that water can not readily penetrate your tile and grout causing new mold to grow in your tiles and grout.  Moldy showers will almost always have moldy caulk that must be replaced to ensure your shower is free from all sources of mold and mildew. 

 

 

Most showers with moldy tiles and grout have caulking that has also has become moldy.  You can not clean caulk that has mold growing in it and this caulk must be removed and reinstalled for you shower to become totally mold free.

 

 

When cleaning moldy shower grout your need three types of professional cleaning products:

• MB-9 is a professional level mold and mildew cleaning and killing product.  MB-9 will not only clean up the mold in your bathroom shower but also kill the mold so it does not have a chance to regrow.

• MB-3 is a professional level soap scum removing product.  In most moldy showers there will be a heavy layer of soap scum that must also be removed.  It is impossible to clean and kill the mold on your tiles and in your grout if it is covered by a thick layer of soap scum.  MB-3 is an extremely effective soap scum remover product that has been used by grout cleaning and restoration professionals for many years.  MB-3 is also the only type of effective soap scum removing product that will not damage stone shower tiles.  You can safely use MB-3 on any type of ceramic, porcelain or stone shower installation without worrying about damaging or etching the finish of your tiles.  Using MB-3 to clean up and remove the soap scum will make the entire soap scum removal procedure much easier without damaging your tiles or grout.

• Stonetech Restore is a mild acidic tile and grout cleaning product that can be extremely effective for removing the most stubborn types of stains in the grout. Stonetech Restore can help to make your grout look just like new again but you can only use Stonetech Restore on ceramic or porcelain tile installations. You can also use Stonetech restore on some acid resistant stones such as some types of slate or granite tiles but you should always test these surfaces first before using the Stonetech Restore acidic cleaner on them.  Stonetech Restore is safe for ceramic and porcelain tiles but this acidic cleaning product can etch or discolor stone tile surfaces. When cleaning the grout in a stone tile shower you can still get effective cleaning results with just using the MB-9 mold and mildew remover combined with the MB-3 soap scum remover.

 

The first thing to do when cleaning the mold in a shower grout is to use the MB-3 soap scum remover product to clean up and remove the soap scum.  You want to first clean up and remove all of the layers of soap scum that have built up in your shower tile and grout. You can also use the MB-3 on your shower glass enclosures and fixtures to remove soap scum from all areas of your shower. You should mix one part MB-3 with two parts hot water and spray it on you shower walls and floor. Use a soft sponge or scrub pad to spread the MB-3 to all areas of your shower walls. Allow the MB-3 at least 5 minutes time to sit on the tile and grout and loosen up the soap scum. You should not allow the MB-3 to dry on the shower walls so you will have to continue spraying the MB-3 on your shower walls to ensure that the product does not dry on the tile or grout shower surfaces.

 

 

 

After you have allowed the MB-3 to loosen up the soap scum then you should scrub away the soap scum with a scrub pad paying particular attention to the grout lines.  Often there will be a heavy layer of soap scum on the grout lines so you need to ensure that you scrub away all of the soap scum from the grout.

 

 

When you are done cleaning up and removing the soap scum from the shower then you should use a sponge to thoroughly rinse away all of the excess MB-3 soap scum remover.  It is important to remove all of the soap scum from the shower tile and grout.  In many showers with heavy soap scum buildup you may be forced to repeat the soap scum removing process a second or third time to ensure you have gotten rid of all traces of soap scum from you shower tile and grout.

 

  

The next step in the mold cleaning process is to use the MB-9 mold and mildew remover to clean up, kill and remove the mold from the  shower. Spray the MB-9 directly on the tile and grout and ensure that you get a good saturation of the MB-9 on the moldy shower grout.  Allow 5-10 minutes dwell time for the MB-9 to react with and kill the mold on the tile surfaces and in the grout lines. Wear rubber gloves when using MB-9 and do not get any of the MB-9 on your good clothes, carpets or other fabrics. MB-9 will discolor most fabrics so it is important to clean up any excess MB-9 after applying it.

 

 

You should use a scrub pad to scrub every grout line with the MB-9 to ensure that you have scrubbed away the top layers of mold. You also want to ensure that the MB-9 can penetrate deep into the porous grout to kill all the lingering mold deep in the grout lines. You should see that after scrubbing the grout with the MB-9 that all areas of the grout have lost the black looking mold and you should see the original grout color come back. If you still see that your shower grout is black then you will need to repeat the MB-9 application and grout scrubbing process until you have removed all traces of the ugly black mold from your tiles and grout. After you are done using the MB-9 then thoroughly rinse your shower with a soft sponge to remove all traces of the MB-9 and ensure there are no lingering traces of the MB-9 in your shower that could be transferred over to your carpets or other fabrics and discolor them.

In most stone shower installations the tile is acid sensitive so you will now be finished cleaning the mold from the grout in your shower.  With ceramic and porcelain tile installations the tiles are not damaged or affected with acidic cleaning products so you can use a mild acidic tile and grout cleaning product like Stonetech Restore to further clean up the grout lines. Often the grout in older showers can be stained so that even cleaning up and removing the mold does not restore the grout to its original appearance.  Using the stonetech restore acidic cleaner is the best way clean up the grout and restore the original appearance of the grout.

 

 

Acidic tile and grout cleaners can often work wonders to clean up stained grout and make the grout look new again.   Acidic tile and grout cleaners will also whiten up white grout and renew its original white appearance. You should mix the Stonetech Restore with one part water and spray it on the shower walls and floor. Ensure that you get complete coverage of the Stonetech Restore with the grout lines and scrub the grout with a scrub pad.  You should see a fizzing effect as the acidic cleaner reacts with and cleans the grout.  You do not have to allow a dwell time when using the acidic cleaner product and you should instantly see how clean and new looking the grout lines have become. When you are done cleaning the shower grout with the acidic cleaner then thoroughly rinse the shower with hot water to remove any of the excess acidic cleaning product.

In most cases a shower that has got mold growing in it will also have caulking that has become black and moldy.  Mold can not be cleaned from caulk after it has become black and moldy because the mold is actually growing in the caulk.  In most cases the caulk must be removed and replaced to ensure that your shower is totally mold free.  You can remove the caulking with a high quality utility knife like the Lenox Gold utility knife and also a razor blade scraping tool can be used to remove the old moldy caulk.  You can read more about how to recaulk a shower here.

 

 

 

 

When you are done cleaning the mold in you shower grout and you have removed the moldy caulk then you should wipe the shower dry with a towel or paper towels and let the shower dry overnight.  Thoroughly drying the shower will ensure that the mold will not readily grow back in the tile shower.  If there are is any live mold still in your shower walls then drying out the shower will ensure that all of the mold has been killed. Mold must have a constant source of water to survive so drying out the shower will kill any remaining mold in your walls and not allow the mold to regrow in the grout.

If you feel that water has gotten behind your tile and grout and into the walls then you may want to dry out the shower for a few days after you have completed the mold cleaning procedure.  It can also be helpful to set up a dehumidifier or some fans in your shower to get your shower as dry as possible in the shortest amount of time.

It is extremely important to seal the shower tile and grout after you have cleaned all the mold from it.  Sealing the shower will ensure that the water can not readily penetrate into the porous stone tiles or the grout lines.  In ceramic and porcelain tile installations it is only necessary to seal the grout lines.  In a stone shower installation you also want to seal the tiles to ensure that mold does not start growing in the porous stone tiles as well as the grout.

It is important to only use a professional grade sealer like Aqua Mix Sealers Choice Gold to seal the tile and grout.  Consumer level tile and grout sealers from home improvement stores will not provide much protection against water penetrating into porous tiles and grout.  Also consumer grade sealers will not last long and will wear out in a few months of shower use.  A one (1) quart container of Aqua Mix Sealers Choice gold will be enough for most standard size showers and give you enough sealer to apply 2 coats of the sealer for the ultimate protection against mold in your shower.

 

 

Apply the sealer using a brush tipped applicator to just the grout if it is a ceramic or porcelain tile installation. If you have a stone shower installation then you should use a cotton towel that is saturated with sealer to seal all the stone tile surfaces as well as the grout lines. Keep applying sealer to the grout and tile surfaces for 5-10 minutes and do not allow the sealer to dry on the tile surfaces. Keep applying more sealer as necessary so that the sealer can be completely absorbed by the grout as well as any stone shower tiles.

 

 

After you are done applying the sealer then wipe up any residual sealer from the shower tiles and grout with a cotton towel or paper towels.  Ensure that all traces of sealer has been removed from the tile surfaces and look at the tiles from many angles to ensure that you don't have any streaks from dried on sealer.  If necessary re saturate an area of tiles with the sealer to remove any streaks or sealer smudges where the sealer accidentally dried on the tile surface.  You should allow the sealer at least 30 minutes time to dry and then for the ultimate protection against mold forming in your tile and grout you should apply a second coat of sealer to the tile and grout.  You should let the sealer dry at least 24 hours before using the shower again.

 

 

Caulking the shower is the final step in the shower mold cleaning and removal process.  You should tape up all the shower seems and apply a professional 100% silicone caulk like Laticrete Latasil to the shower seems.  Smaller showers will take one tube of the laticrete Latasil while larger showers will take two (2) tubes of the Laticrete Latasil caulk.  You should never us any home improvement store brand caulk because this type of caulk will not be 100% silicone caulk and mold will quickly grow in the caulk.   Laticrete Latasil caulk comes in many colors to choose from if you need to match the color of your tiles.

 

 

When you remove the tape and smooth the caulk with your finger you will have fresh new caulk to match your newly cleaned and mold free shower.  After you have applied the new caulk then you should wait at least 24 hours for the caulk to dry. Then you can begin to use your new looking mold free shower again.

 

 

Cleaning, removing and killing the mold in a tile shower can be a time consuming dirty job. If this job seems too involved and labor intensive to do yourself then you should consider hiring a tile, grout and stone cleaning and restoration contractor do this job for you. 

You can read some valuable information about how to hire a tile and grout cleaning and restoration service on our tile and grout contractor information page here.  Tile Cleaning Service.