Mold can be a serious problem in homes — but it doesn’t always need to be. One of the places people often worry about cultivating harmful fungal growth is in bathrooms. As an essential component in the home, compromising bathrooms’ safety is out of the question. However, bathrooms can be attractive to fungi because they have a critical combination of heat and moisture that can be conducive to mold growth and other potentially harmful pathogens.

Unfortunately, once mold has begun growing, remediation can become complicated, necessitating professional removal services in some cases. Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to prevent mold in bathrooms.

Understand The Challenge

Much of our bathroom is designed to withstand water and moisture — but that doesn't mean we’re completely protected from mold. When it comes to how to prevent mold in showers, for example, waterproofing is only part of the equation. Most local building codes will require that showers are adequately waterproofed, which, when working properly, will keep water from seeping into the insides of walls or below the floor — but it won’t prevent mold from growing in the shower.

Proper Sealant is Essential

In addition to waterproofed walls and floors that building codes typically call for, properly sealing joints around fixtures such as toilets, sinks, and bathtubs can be an essential part of keeping a bathroom safe from leaks and interior water damage. For this, high-quality silicone sealant is often a great choice — offering a high degree of protection from moisture. Some silicone sealants, such as mildew-resistant RTV silicone sealants, are specifically designed for use in bathrooms and kitchens.

Plumbing Issues: Top Priority

Another critical consideration is the plumbing itself. If there are leaking pipes or fixtures, it will be essential to repair them quickly. In addition to allowing water to seep, drip, or otherwise leak into the bathroom, if water from plumbing leaks into the insides of walls, you may run into serious and costly water damage problems — including potential mold and mildew growth.

Beyond Sealing

Even in a properly sealed bathroom, there’s often nothing to stop water from sitting in grout or other porous spaces for extended periods and attracting mold. That’s where maintenance and ventilation can become critical. It isn’t enough to simply keep the moisture trapped in the bathroom – it is essential to safely remove it after showering or bathing.

How to Prevent Mold in a Bathroom or Shower

We’re likely all familiar with how a hot shower or bath can quickly steam up the bathroom. While this is a normal part of bathing, it’s essential to ensure that this moisture has a safe way to be removed afterward, as it can lead to mold. Here are a few tips for keeping bathrooms dry between uses:

Squeegeeing

A squeegee can quickly shed water down from the walls of a walk-in shower, where it can safely drip into the drain rather than evaporate into the air leaving behind hard water marks. This can be an important step for reducing the humidity level and preventing mold.

Ventilation

Ventilation can become a critical component of keeping a bathroom dry. Typically, it’s recommended to ventilate for about 30 minutes after use to prevent mold and mildew, but this can vary depending on the ventilation options and the bathroom’s layout. Let’s explore a few options:

• Running a fan and opening all the doors: One of the simplest ways to ventilate a bathroom is by allowing the moisture to escape through open windows and doors and running an overhead fan for thirty minutes or more. This will allow the moisture to disperse to a wider area, typically leading to lower humidity levels in the bathroom.

• Running an extraction or exhaust fan: Many modern bathrooms feature an extraction fan, routed outdoors. This is often used to vent undesired odors directly outdoors, but it can also be an effective way to vent out moisture after a hot shower or bath.

• Drying curtains or opening the shower door: After showering, giving shower curtains a shake to shed off standing droplets can help them air out. Leaving shower curtains open can also let moisture move instead of trapping it in the shower space.

• Opening an exterior window: If outdoor humidity is significantly lower than inside, opening an exterior window in the bathroom can help moisture escape and allow for the bathroom to dry completely.

Direct Dehumidification

In some climates, dehumidification presents a bigger problem than in others. If you live in a consistently humid environment, for example, opening an exterior window may be out of the question.

Running an efficient dehumidifier in the bathroom can be an excellent way to remove trapped moisture. If you recommend a dehumidifier to your clients, make sure they know that they will need to empty it out from time to time.

Cleaning

Another critical component in mold prevention is simple cleanliness. This isn’t just cleaning surfaces with safe, mold-inhibiting cleaning supplies. It also means removing damp dirty towels, taking out the trash regularly, and hanging bath mats and towels to dry after each use.

Ongoing Prevention

To keep a bathroom mold-free, remember that prevention is an ongoing process. After you have taken care of mold removal and sealing cracks, it’s important to dedicate some time to client education.

Preventing mold is often the best approach we can take since once mold has set in, we often need to turn to extensive remediation efforts. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to prevent mold, including ensuring that bathrooms are in good repair, checking sealant regularly to ensure that it’s working as intended, keeping the bathroom clean, and working to ventilate the space after each use.

Find High-Quality Mold-Resistant Sealants at Silicone Depot

For the bathroom sealants you’ll need for your next project, browse our selection today. We’re always happy to help you find the perfect mold- and mildew-resistant sealant to keep your clients happy.