How do u get rid of mildew?

[JEDI]

the caulk around my shower has mildew. I tried those mildew stain removers (X14), and it just lighted the color from black to grey. Short of removing the caulk and re-caulking, what can i do?

And if i have to remove the caulk, what's the easiest way to remove it?

THX

 

[Mday]

have you scrubbed the mildewed area?

and did you let it sit?

 

[tcsenter]

Bleach works fine. But you need to scrub the grout to break the scaley layer under which the mildew hides and lives.

Oh and lightening the color from black to grey may be a sign that the mildew is dead but the grout is permanently stained. Scrub-a-dub-dub

 

[shiner]

Bleach, scrub, bleach, scrub, bleach.....repeat as much as necessary.

 

[kgraeme]

Yep, bleach. I've used all the "As seen on TV" products and nothing works as well as bleach.

 

[HiTek21]

Make sure you have the windows and a fan running or else you might get high :Q

 

[XMan]

The government has a secret formula to quickly and easily remove mildew. But George W. Bush and his Cabinet are witholding it from the American people so they will be more agreeable to an invasion of Iraq.

 

[Rivergater]

i have this same problem and it really freaks out all of my guests that use the shower.

 

[JEDI]

ok, i used one of billo wool pads and nothing is coming out. Do i need steel wool to scrub it out?

or would it be easier to talk off the caulk and re-caulk?

THX

 

[tcsenter]

ok, i used one of billo wool pads and nothing is coming out. Do i need steel wool to scrub it out?

You don't need steel wool, a plastic abrasive scrub pad is fine. Get a spray bottle and mix a solution of 10% bleach (9 parts water : 1 part bleach). Spray, scrub scrub, spray, let sit a while, repeat. Rinse thoroughly. Use gloves and don't get high off the bleach fumes.

or would it be easier to talk off the caulk and re-caulk?

Oh, this is caulk, not grout. Ahhhh

Yeah just pull, peel, scrape the crap out and re-caulk. Make sure you clean the joints with bleach solution after removing the old caulk so you don't caulk over any living mildew.