By Matt Fox
Home & Garden Television
It's just a matter of time before your bathroom is invaded by one of its worst enemies — mildew. Especially where moisture is trapped and doesn't have a chance to dry. And one of its favorite places is in the shower and bath area.
Look at your bathtub. Do you have little black spots in the caulking around the tub where the tub meets the walls? That mildew is feeding off the caulking. It's a perfect breeding ground for the spores to multiply. It's a tough job to get rid of the mildew, but it's not impossible.
Mildew is a spore that needs to be killed. Just wiping away the black marks doesn't mean you killed it. The best way to kill the mildew is to use a bleach and water solution. Just mix up a batch of warm water and bleach and wipe the area down.
I use a solution of 50 percent water and 50 percent bleach. Wear a pair of gloves to protect your hands, and wear a pair of goggles for your eyes. And if you're like me, an old pair of jeans works great, too.
Apply the bleach solution with a damp sponge or soft cloth. After you have wiped on the bleach, let it set for a few moments so it can really work, and then rinse multiple times with warm water.
Now you may have killed the mildew, but the black spots might still be hanging around. Or, if your caulking is pulling away from the tile and tub, it's time to remove the old caulking and re-caulk.
Scrape the old caulk from around the tub. I like to use a razor blade placed in a blade holder. Gently cut and scrape away the old caulking, being careful not to scratch the tile and the tub.
Once you have removed all the old caulk, wipe the area clean with some rubbing alcohol and let it dry.
Before you reapply new caulking, fill the tub up with water. As funny as this may sound, this will put weight in the tub, pulling apart the joint where the tub meets the tile. This will allow for expansion and contraction of the caulking when the tub is being used. If you don't fill the tub first, the caulking will not have as much give-and-take when the tub is being used.
With the water still in the tub, run a continuous bead of tub-and-tile caulk along the tile and tub. Then smooth out the caulk with a plastic spoon. I try not to use my finger when I use silicone caulk because it sticks to your fingers and it's a bear to clean off. If you do get some on you, just wipe it off with a little rubbing alcohol.
The caulk will dry fairly quickly, but the longer you wait before draining the water and using the tub, the longer the caulk has to get firm.
That's all it takes to freshen up your tub and tile. And by the way — you may want to keep your solution of bleach and water in a little spray bottle and use it around the house any time you see mildew rearing its ugly little head.
(Matt Fox writes this column with Shari Hiller. They also co-host the Home & Garden Television show Room by Room. For more information, visit HGTV.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
)
