shower mould

[John.Stitch]

In my ground floor bathroom which is compact it has a bath, shower, loo and basin. There is no window but a fan and the door is 2' 3" wide. The shower is in one corner with two glass side panels which are divided in half to slide open and closed.
Because there is little ventilation there is a build up of moisture. I have mould developing in the joints between the tray and the tiled walls and to a lesser extent between the tile joints.
I have put mould inhibiting mastic into the tray joint, from Travis, but the mould has reappeared, black and difficult to remove with cleaning.

Any ideas for products to eliminate the mould or would a stronger fan improve things, its a std one from screwfix.

 

[Diyisfun]

I think you need a more powerful fan.

 

[gcol]

You'll always get mould around shower areas. Expect to re-silicone every 18-24 months to keep it looking spotless. You can keep on top of mould on your grout by regular cleaning.
Having said this, if you've not got adequate ventilation to reduce the humidity levels then you will get mould appearing quickly. If you already suspect poor ventilation, then as Diyisfun suggests, get yourself a better fan. I.e. if you have a 4" fan, go for a 6" model. You can get fans that will switch on when there's excessive moisture in the air too.

 

[roughcaster]

It is always a good idea as well to dry the shower, tiles/tray with a towel after each use.

Roughcaster.

 

[ricky1962]

Recently came across a similar problem at a job (done by another tiler may I add!) , but rather than the obvious it turned out that damp was coming from behind the tiles due to a TINY hairline gap in the grout. When I removed a couple of tiles I found the plasterboard underneath to be saturated. Have you checked carefully for even the smallest gap?

 

[tiler jase]

More nonsense

Black mould is a combination of three things .Salmonella / listeria / and ecoli. These nasty things grow in humid and damp conditions (especially grout and silicone) and thrive on our dead skin cells and oils every time we shower. BAL microflex grout and microseal silicone will get rid. Too many so called tilers using cheap products is the problem im afraid.

 

[JohnD]

More nonsense

Black mould is a combination of three things .Salmonella / listeria / and ecoli..

Evidence please

 

[tiler jase]

John D

No problem John. Dont take my word for it contact BAL in stoke on trent 01782 591120.The technical support team will gladly assist you. Alternativley you could contact Microban in the USA who invented the product.
P.S My shower at home has been tanked by me, tiled by me, grouted by me and siliconed by me three years ago. Guess whos products i used and guess whos shower over the bath looks as good as when the day it was finished.
P.P.S I have no extractor fan in my bathroom and its still fantastic. You get what you pay for in this day and age.

 

[JohnD]

I was hoping for evidence from someone in the microbiological trade rather than somone in the tiling trade. I was interested to know how bacteria that like to live in the gut have adapted to live on tiles.

Mildew is not one of the organisms you mentioned.

Do you not have the evidence yourself, rather than asking me to go and find it?

 

[gcol]

Gotta agree with JohnD on this jase. Without meaning to be rude, you're talking pants mate. Google "Cladosporium" and you'll find what black mould in bathrooms is all about.

 

[roughcaster]

Echoes of mountford?

Roughcaster.

 

[gcol]

Echoes of mountford?

Roughcaster.

I was thinking the exact same thing RC. If it is, the guy is a glutten for punishment. Just waiting until he starts on about British Standards, then I'll be convinced.

 

[tiler jase]

Fellas

Dont take my word as gospel (you obviously dont which is not a problem). I have nothing to prove. I was introduced to this site by a customer who praised my work and the technical advice and installation proceedures he was given. The end result was a professionally installed and guaranteed wet room that i think most people would be proud of. Rather dissapointingly is the fact he has posted my work in his wet room projects which is a pain to access and the only "my projects" feature on the entire site.
If you still doubt the validity of myself feel free to email / phone the poster, pilot pete.
Feel free to post petes piccies on the forum.
Guess which products he was advised to use and which still work???

 

[tiler jase]

roughcaster

I dont know if you tile but 90 per cent of my work is via reccomendation.
Your ignorance will be your downfall

 

[gcol]

To my knowledge, no one has doubted your tiling skills jase. For what it's worth, pilot pete's shower room looks very smart (although personally I try and avoid mosaics in shower areas, not only because they have a higher failure rate, but also because they get grubby really quickly).

Dont take my word as gospel

Don't worry - talking the amount of drivel that you have been doing, you're not in any danger of us doing that.