If you’re struggling with mould in the bathroom, there are several things you can do to help prevent it from growing and spreading – and they don’t require much work at all
Battling mould in the bathroom is a frustration nearly every homeowner faces. However, there are straightforward measures you can take to prevent it from taking hold and spreading throughout your home – requiring minimal effort.
The discussion emerged after an exasperated homeowner took to Reddit, explaining: “You should know mould in the bathroom can be prevented entirely by keeping the bathroom door open during/after showering.” They continued: “If you’re renting a place with lacking ventilation, opening the bathroom door will generally prevent mould. Why you should know this – I am moving into a new apartment now, which again has a mouldy bathroom.
“I have lived in my current apartment mould free despite the previous renters claiming that the mould always returns. Both renters seemed completely clueless on mould.
“This advice only applies to the very common bathroom mould where the issue is generally high humidity. Other instances of mould can have a variety of causes that are potentially really difficult to fix.
“Also, don’t clean mould with soap. You will keep cleaning endlessly if you do that. Use a special mould cleaner or something similar (with a face mask and gloves as the stuff is nasty).”
Offering their professional insight, specialists at National Plastics outlined how mould develops when humid air meets a cold surface, like a wall, window, or mirror, causing moisture to condense into water droplets. Within our homes, condensation builds up for various reasons – be it poor ventilation, missing insulation, or insufficient heating.
Fortunately, there are some straightforward solutions to tackle this.
According to experts: “Bathrooms create more moist air than any other room in your home, due to the daily use of showers, baths, and taps.
“Because of this, the chance of mould developing is high.” You could try some of their tips to minimise the risk:
- Install ventilation in the form of a fan or vent to ensure moisture can leave the room.
- If you do not have sufficient ventilation, then always open a window while you are in the bath or shower to prevent excess moisture from building up.
- Try and dry towels outside if you can.
- Wipe away any excess moisture from surfaces to help prevent the creation of mould.
- Keep your bathroom warm to help reduce condensation by using underfloor heating, heated towel rails, and radiators.
On a Reddit thread discussing the issue, one user commented: “Maintenance man here, for the love of god use your exhaust fan. Don’t make me bust my a** to peel all that caulk.”
Another added: “We have an old house with no bathroom vent fan, but we do have a window in each bathroom.
“So far it’s one of maybe three houses I’ve seen with bathroom windows. If you have one, crack it open to let moisture escape.”
A third user shared: “I live alone and never close my bathroom door to shower and yet mould is constantly appearing. This is despite times that I’m away from home for a month at a time.”
