Bath sealant
The most common place a household meets mould that will not go away, because the growth is inside the bead rather than on it.
Precautions
- Ventilate the area
- Never mix with other cleaning products
- Wear gloves
Start here
What this is, what tends to go wrong with it, and what to do about it.
Made from
What tends to go wrong
A living growth, not a stain. Killing it and removing the staining are two separate jobs, and neither addresses the moisture that caused it.
Why it is difficult: Porous and non-porous surfaces, Moisture control and recurrence, Cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting, Organic load, Surface roughness
The flat, powdery surface growth that appears on damp fabric, grout and shower curtains — and the carpet trade's procedure for it names no bleach at all.
Why it is difficult: Moisture control and recurrence, Porous and non-porous surfaces, Organic load
The organisms behind the marking. Around 1.5 million species, each with its own conditions — and killing them does not end the exposure they created.
Why it is difficult: Organic load, Moisture control and recurrence, Biofilm
- Soap scum· no established method
Not scale and not dirt: a metal soap formed when hard water meets true soap. It is the reason a shower screen films over in one house and not another.
Why it is difficult: Insoluble metal soaps, Water hardness, Evaporative deposition, Adhesion and cohesion, Why different surfaces get different dirt
Already everywhere, water-repellent, and resistant to drying out. Removing them is not the goal, because it is not achievable — denying them moisture is.
Why it is difficult: Moisture control and recurrence, Water-repellent and water-attracting surfaces
The science behind this: Biofilm, Moisture control and recurrence, Cleanability is designed in
Part of Bath.
In detail
The silicone bead sealing a bath or shower tray to the wall is permanently damp, slightly textured and coated with a film of soap and skin oils, which makes it close to an ideal growth surface. Once mould has established, growth that has worked into a material may be impossible to remove completely, which is why marks can come back in the same places after cleaning. The environmental regulator's general principle applies directly: correct the moisture problem or growth returns, and porous materials that have been colonised may need to be discarded rather than cleaned. For a sealant bead, discarding means cutting it out and replacing it, which is inexpensive and is the only durable answer once penetration has happened. Two things prevent recurrence better than any product: drying the joint after use, and ventilating the room so the bead is not wet for hours at a time. A bead that has parted from the wall or the bath is a separate and more urgent problem, because water is getting behind it.
Why
- Bath sealant is explained by Biofilm
- Bath sealant is explained by Moisture control and recurrence
Related
- Bath sealant is made from Silicone sealant
- Bath sealant is commonly affected by Mould
- Bath sealant is commonly affected by Mildew
- Bath sealant is commonly affected by Soap scum
- Bath sealant is commonly affected by Mould fungi
Hacks and claims involving this
- Killing the mould solves the problem Does not work
Sources for this page
Sources
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That water problems are fixed and items dried completely and that porous materials which have been colonised may need to be discarded rather than cleaned. (states this directly)
A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Air and Radiation, 2012 · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That controlling indoor moisture is the primary measure against mould growth. (states this directly)