Mold on the walls and floor in the bathroom: why it is dangerous, how and how to remove it

Black mold must be removed immediately after it is discovered. First, the plaque is cleaned off, for example, with sandpaper, after which it is treated and then washed with a soap solution. This material describes what products to use and what to do if mold has grown deep into the thickness of the wall.

Causes and dangers of mold

To understand why mold in the bathroom is dangerous, it is useful to understand the reasons for its appearance. Even in apartment buildings it appears quite often, not to mention rooms with wooden walls. There are quite a few reasons for this phenomenon:

1. High level of humidity - normally it is 70-80%, but when it rises to 90% or more, mold forms in the bathtub in a matter of weeks.
2. Warm environment - heated and humid air rises to the ceiling and turns into condensation. The combination of heat and moisture creates optimal conditions for mold to grow, which is why black deposits appear in the bathroom.
3. There is no sunlight - usually there are no windows in such rooms, so the sun's rays do not penetrate inside. This also encourages mold growth.
4. Finally, fungi also form due to the lack of sufficient ventilation. In fact, the bathroom is often closed, the ventilation does not always work well. Because of this, moisture does not evaporate, and warmth often remains inside.

When plaque appears, as in the photo, apply mold whitening in the bathroom or other means. Moreover, treatment must begin as soon as possible, because constant accumulations of fungi are dangerous to human health. They can lead to many negative consequences:

• breathing problems, cough;
• exacerbation of asthma, sinusitis;
• pneumonia;
• skin rash;
• headaches, malaise;
• mycosis (poisoning by mold spores);
• gastric disorders (in case of accidental ingestion).

Signs of mold

The fight against mold in the bathroom begins with a thorough inspection of surfaces (walls, floors, ceilings). Particular attention is paid to problem areas:

• at the joints between tiles or mosaic parts;
• at the junction of plumbing fixtures to the floor and walls;
• in corners, especially near the bathtub and sink;
• in the space under the baseboard;
• in different parts of the ceiling.

Quite often, plaque can be determined visually. Although, to understand how to remove black deposits in the bathroom, you need to find all the sources. To do this, it is useful to know the signs by which you can judge the appearance of a fungus:

• characteristic stains on walls and other surfaces, especially at joints and hard-to-reach places;
• the coating can be not only black, but also blue, pink, green and whitish;
• unpleasant smell of dampness - smells like a basement, an old house (“swampy” taste); it feels especially good when brushing your teeth;
• rust on the surface of pipes is an indirect sign indicating an increase in humidity levels;
• sensation of itching in the nose, sore throat;
• difficulty breathing, causeless exacerbation of chronic diseases - in such cases, it is necessary to urgently resolve the issue of how to remove mold from the walls with whitewash.

Preparing for cleaning

There are quite a few anti-plaque products, such as black mold spray, vinegar solution, professional fungicides, and others. But regardless of the drug chosen, certain safety measures must first be taken:

1. Be sure to use rubber gloves while working. It would also be a good idea to take a respirator or mask or safety glasses. If there is too much plaque, it is advisable to use replaceable or disposable clothing (throw on a raincoat).
2. Mold often appears on the seams of tiles in the bathroom and other hard-to-reach places. Therefore, before starting work, you need to remove all furniture and other items. And if this is inconvenient, cover them with thick film.
3. It is not difficult to understand how to remove mold with whitewash and other means. But you need to take into account that you should only work with the windows closed, fans and air conditioners turned on. Otherwise, the spores may spread throughout the room with the wind.
4. Sometimes a dehumidifier is installed in the apartment. If there is one, the device must be turned on before and during operation.

How to remove mold: proven methods

For treatment, different methods are used - folk, professional, sometimes they even use essential oils for mold. As a rule, they operate in 3 stages:

1. Mechanical surface cleaning.
2. Treatment with a professional or folk remedy.
3. Thorough washing using powder or liquid soap.

The fight against black mold in the bathroom begins with mechanical cleaning. To do this, the surfaces are sanded and then vacuumed with a special function. The seams are treated with a grout mixture, after which they proceed directly to processing. To do this, you can use both folk and professional means.

Professional products

If you study how to remove mold and mildew, you will see that there are a lot of professional means to solve this problem. Some of the most effective and inexpensive ones include:

• Biotol spray;
• Neomid;
• Belinka;
• Mellerund;
• Façade-asset;
• AMSS;
• Cilit Bang;
• Unicum;
• Abedis;
• Dall.

Folk remedies

There are also traditional ways to prevent mold in the bathroom. After initial surface cleaning, it is recommended to use the following products:

1. Hydrogen peroxide - wash the walls without diluting the 3% pharmaceutical solution.
2. Mold in tile grout can be eliminated with essential oils derived from lavender, rosemary and tea tree.
3. White (alcohol) vinegar 9% has a pungent odor, but evaporates well, so if there are no breathing problems, you can use it to treat walls. The drug is used without dilution.
4. Another way to wash mold is with a bleach solution: the solution is diluted 10 times and the surfaces are washed.
5. An equally accessible remedy is ordinary baking soda. Take a full heaped teaspoon and dissolve it in 2 glasses of water, then treat with a spray bottle.
6. There is also a way to remove mold in tile joints - using ammonia. The pharmaceutical solution is diluted with water 2 times and also sprayed with a spray bottle.
7. Another effective homemade fungicide is borax. It is diluted with water 10 times and applied to the surface using a stiff brush. You should not wash it off - it is better to leave it for several days.
8. Finally, mold in the seams can be easily destroyed with an antiseptic primer, which can be purchased at a hardware store. This method is suitable in advanced cases when the fungus has grown deep into the walls. We have to remove all layers of plaster, getting right down to the concrete.Then they are treated with a primer, allowed to dry and plastered again, after which the finishing coat is applied.

It is not very difficult to destroy mold if it remains only on the surface. In this case, they are cleaned, for example, with a brush, after which they are treated with any fungicide or folk remedy, and then with a soap solution. But it’s even easier to prevent fungi from appearing. To do this, you need to regularly ventilate the room and clean the ventilation.