Some areas of the house need a bit of elbow grease to clean and maintain – the bathroom is certainly one of them. Since a lot of moisture can build up in the bathroom, it could be a great breeding ground for mold. “Most shower curtains will have black mold if you don’t wipe them off,” says the microbiologist and professor Charles Gerba.
The next time your shower curtain or shower surrounding looks a little dirty, use the following expert tips to clean it thoroughly. You want to do this on a monthly or quarterly basis at least to keep harmful mold out, says Becky Rapinchuk, natural cleansing expert and founder of Clean Mama.
How to clean the plastic pads?
If there is a plastic liner inside the shower curtain, or if the curtain itself is PVC or polyester, cleaning is relatively easy. Rapinchuk: “If you have a plastic shower curtain, you can machine wash it in cold water and hang outside to dry.” Focus here on the cold! Make sure to run it in a cool environment so that the liner does not melt.
If you don’t have a washing machine, you can wash it with your hands. All you need is baking soda and a damp microfiber cloth or a regular cloth will do. Rub the liner using baking soda, then rinse off any residue before hanging it to dry in the shower.
How to clean a shower curtain liner?
Fabric blinds can also be machine washed using the same procedure. Rapinchuk notes that she will throw the bath towels in a fabric curtain to keep them from clumping. If the curtain is badly stained, you can also add baking soda and vinegar to the mixture. Then, before the rinse cycle, add 1 cup of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
After the curtain is washed, you can hang it up to dry or blow-dry it with no heat, which Rapinchuk loves to do. However, always check the care label as some heavy materials may take longer in the dryer to facilitate complete drying.
If you do not have a suitable machine, try hand washing it using the same process for washing shower liner.
How to clean your shower bar and rings?
Cleaning your shower curtain is just as important as cleaning what it clings to! These shower rods and rings can collect all kinds of molds and germs.
First, remove the rings from the rod. Dilute white vinegar or apple cider vinegar in a sealed bucket or sink and let the rings soak in the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes or more. Use a brush or cloth to clean the irritating spots.
You can also make a more abrasive cleansing scrub by using 12 cups of baking soda, 1 to 2 tablespoons of Castile soap, and a pinch of apple cider vinegar. Use it to scrub curtain rods and the rings.
Get rid of black mold in shower curtains
Removing those mold spots can be a difficult process. If these are porous areas like carpet and drywall, you may need to scrape or remove them. If you are trying to eliminate bacteria from a vinyl curtain, here are some steps you can take:
Bleach cleaning
Decide if you want to try removing it while hanging the shower curtain or if you need to take it off for cleaning. If you are using a vinyl or plastic shower curtain, you can clean it while it is still hanging.
Step 1: Make sure you are in a well-ventilated area where you will be working with bleach.
Step 2: Open the curtain and use a spray bottle of four parts water and one part bleach to spray the area with the solution.
Step 3: Try wiping it clean using a damp rag or cloth. The black shape should be fairly easy to wipe off the surface smoothly. Again, ensure you have a ventilated area while working using bleach. The advantage of bleach is the removal of paint and easing on how to clean shower curtain mold. Read the label on the bottle if you are not sure which surfaces to clean.
Vinegar disinfection
ome people do not use bleach to clean plastic or vinyl shower curtains due to toxic fumes. If you want, you can use white vinegar as an alternative.
Step 1: Fill a spray bottle with 1 part vinegar and 1 part water.
Step 2: Spray the curtain.
Step 3: Rub well. You can leave your vaporizer in the shower.
For preventative maintenance, spray the curtain with a vinegar solution once a week and allow it to air dry. This will prevent molds from coming back.
Baking soda cleaning
If you see black, green, pink, or brown after using the above mold solution, try to use the baking soda. You can simply make a paste with equal parts baking soda and water. Use gloves to rub the paste over the moldy areas remaining to remove it. Clean it and rinse. You may repeat this if necessary.
Remember that it is important to find the source of the moisture so that the black stuff does not come back. Only when you reduce humidity can you control it. Otherwise, they will come back.
Conclusion
No one wants to take a shower with your bathroom smelling awful and curtains looking dirty. Unfortunately, the shower curtain tends to get dirty when you are in such a humid condition and there are lots of soap suds building up then molds can also build up. With the tips mentioned above, you’ll never have the excuse of having a dirty and moldy shower curtain.
