apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Straight vinegar works great for rust stains especially. If you don't like the smell, get some vinegar, water and a few drops of an essential oil.

I recently tried Bon Ami and I was AMAZED! Not only did it clean my shower spotless - but I have the 'textured' floor in the tub and all the little grooves were black and nothing else had worked - with a little elbow grease - all the black was gone!

It also worked in the kitchen sink - where I thought I'd have to bleach to get my sink back to white - but the Bon Ami took it up right away!

If you have mildew growing in your bathroom, then bleach isn't going to do crap. It might look like it lightens it, but it won't KILL it, and it will come back the next time you have a humid bathroom. And it can make you sick, so getting rid of it right is super important!

Get an empty spray bottle and mix together equal parts water and Hydrogen Peroxide. Spray onto the offending surfaces and SCRUB! It takes a lot of elbow grease (I just had to do this on the bathroom ceiling... ick, talk about backbreaking), but it will do the job. I wiped everything down with a damp rag after, and then opened the window and door, and set up a dehumidifier and fan to get rid of the moisture.

I admit I have this problem myself--due to my own laziness and the fact that my apartment has no fan.
I'm going to try these suggestions, but what is the secret to prevention? Should I seriously dry my shower every day (forget the stupid squeegees, it would have to be a towel job)? Cracking the window does not help, nor do natural shower sprays.
If I found a place to put a dehumidifier, would that work? Here's a dumb question: how often should I be scrubbing the tile?

I tried bon ami, but found it didn't have the same power as bar keeper's friend. nonetheless, the gritty scrubbing element of either I think far surpasses the effectiveness of bleach in this application.

What about a steam cleaner? I have used them to remove wallpaper and to clean the tub and tile surround. You can buy one at the hardware store for about $100, or rent one, if you won't use it frequently.

You won't have to scrub nearly as much or use any chemicals. Just be careful not to burn yourself. I think the high temperature will disinfect, too.

Amt230, Bon Ami is basically baking soda. Barkeeper's Friend has something else in it, too. I love that stuff, it get EVERYTHING clean.

BON AMI

opps, how'd that happen? I was trying to say that Bon Ami is, I think, calcium carbonate--marble dust, and BKF has Oxalic Acid in it. Baking soda is Bicarbonate.

I just discovered a solution for myself. After every shower I spray effected areas with a spray bottle filled with about 5 parts water, two parts vodka (yes vodka, it kills the growth and deordorizes but doesn't smell boozey) and a drop of all purpose cleaner or even dish soap.

PS:

I forgot to mention that the growth will fade out and die over a few days.

Also: don't use vinigar, it is too acidic and will eat your grout!

yikes: vinegar! Long day!

tea tree oil and water in a spray bottle

i really want to stress again... if you have spotty stuff growing that can make you REALLY SICK and you NEED to use peroxide.

Dissolve together:
½ c vinegar
½ c. borax in warm water.
Apply with sponge or spray bottle.

I found this recipe on ecocycle (http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm) and I used it to get rid of a ton of black mildewy looking stuff in our laundry room when we moved in. There was no grout so I can't speak to that issue that Carder brings up but it did a terrific job removing the mildew with hardly any elbow grease and it hasn't come back since. The dryer creates a lot of steam because it is vented weirdly so I think it's similar to a poorly ventilated bathroom.

Also I occasionally use the Method shower spray in my bathroom as a preventative method but I have never had too much trouble with mildew in there.

Baking soda vinegar *kills* bacteria---great for weekly cleaning in the bathroom and for getting to work on mildew.

I use a Method Shower Mildew cleaner. It smells like coconut and has a blue and green label. I spray it on the tile after the shower, and gently scrub with a cloth: it comes right off and I had a lot of mildew. I understand this might not be the cheapest or most environmentally sound solution but I have very old, delicate tiles and was afraid that hard scrubbing would cause tiles to pop out (the adhesive on our floor tiles is just about done).

For bathtub scrubbing- I use Bon Ami.

I agree with Fatica. **Tea tree oil*** has saved my sanity when it comes to mildew. It is a natural antiseptic.

About 1 tbsp. mixed with 1c hot water in a spray bottle will to the trick. The best part is: spray on, wait 30sec-1min, wipe off! I always repeat at least one more time to get anything that is left behind that I can't see.

I lightly spray hydrogen peroxide (straight) on my shower curtain after every shower. This seems to prevent the mildew build-up.

just opening the shower curtain all the way after every shower really helps keep the mildew down in my shower...

... but will make the mildew grow on your curtains.

i cleaned my grout lines yesterday by spraying on a bleach/water solution, letting it sit for a while, then taking the scrubby side of a sponge to each grout line.

now i read that the mildew is gonna come right back? blargh!

so, no to bleach, no to vinegar... i've got hydrogen peroxide. does that effect tiles/grout in any negative ways?

I am hesitant to use anything with Borax in it as it is toxic and I wouldn't want to breathe it in.