A fabric shower curtain keeps water from entering your bathroom, and gives you a sense of privacy while you take a shower in your most vulnerable state. But, as we all know, where there’s moisture, there’s mold. So what do you do when mold penetrates your fabric curtain?
Fabric shower curtains have a weave design from the process of manufacturing the material. Unlike a plastic shower curtain, fabric shower curtains don’t have smooth surfaces, and mold can get deep into the fibers of your shower curtain. Spores are microscopic, and when they find a cozy spot to call home, they attach themselves to the spot, and start to grow.
In this guide, we’ll be tackling how to get mold out of your shower curtain fibers, and how to clean your shower curtain to keep your bathroom mold-free!
What Causes Molds and Mildews in Shower Curtains?
Mold takes residence in any area that has moisture and organic material. Unfortunately for your shower curtains, the fiber material checks both boxes especially if your curtains are made from cotton, or other natural fibers.
In essence, a wet curtain makes the perfect home for mold and mildew spores to thrive, and the humidity of the bathroom area ensures that mold grows at an exponential rate. If you have other spots in your home that have had a mold attack before, chances are the spores have spread to other areas in your home, so best to nip the problem in the bud.
How to Get Mold Out of Fabric Shower Curtain
Mold and mildew emit musty smells, can cause allergies, and are generally gross to have around your home. Our experienced cleaner at Luce Home have had their fair share of cleaning out mold-infested areas in homes, with much success as we provide training seminars on proper cleaning methods.
Here are ways you can remove the mold from your bathroom curtains using tried and true ways that our cleaners use to get rid of mold on fabrics. Remember to remove the shower curtain rings before you start cleaning for an unobstructed wash cycle.
Laundry Detergent Washing
The majority of mold cases can be caught early, as mold spots are visible even as they’re as small as a pixel. When caught early on, without much damage to your curtains, you may wash your fabric shower curtains in the laundry or washing machine with some plain laundry detergent.
The detergent will kill off any remaining spores, and remove the stain or discolouration from mold and mildew. Set the laundry machine to a gentle cycle, and let the curtains wash as normal in some warm water.
Be sure to rinse your curtains and let them dry well before placing them back into your bathroom to prevent soap scum, and to prevent the mold spores from coming back. Every now and then, you can place some vinegar and water in a spray bottle to create a mold-killing cleaning spray that will keep mold and mildew at bay.
Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment
For substantial staining from mold and mildew colonies, it would be best to treat the curtain stains first before tossing the curtain into the laundry machine. A mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide would do well to kill off mold and mildew spores, while cleaning the stains.
To use the mixture, create a paste from the two ingredients and mix well. Apply the paste onto mold spots, layering on both sides of the curtain to kill mold at the roots. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes to half an hour, or until the paste has dried.
Baking soda is small enough to get deep into the fibers of your curtains, while the hydrogen peroxide provides a disinfectant and cleaning solution to the mix. Together, they effectively remove moderate amounts of mold colonies, and get your curtain ready for machine washing. Toss the curtain into your washing machine, and wash as normal.
Oxygen Bleach Treatment
For largely mold afflicted curtains, your best bet would be to bleach the curtains clean using diluted bleach in a spray bottle. Bleaching is no problem if you have white curtains, but coloured curtains would need a specialized bleach that won’t remove the dye from your fabric curtains.
For white fabrics, apply the diluted bleach onto the mold and mildew stains. Let the bleach sit for a few minutes while you prepare your laundry machine. Add the recommended amount of bleach in your laundry machine, and fill it up with some warm water. Toss your curtains in, and let it cycle. Make sure to do a rinse cycle to remove the traces of bleach.
For coloured fabrics, do the same method, but you will need to soak the curtain into some colour-safe bleach instead of adding the bleach directly. Fill your laundry machine with water and add in the recommended amount of colour-safe bleach. Toss the curtain in and let it sit for 20 minutes. Run a cycle until the mold stains are gone, then run a rinsing cycle. Let it air dry.
How to Prevent Mold on a Shower Curtain
A weekly washing would prevent mold from making a home in your fabric curtains, as washing would disrupt the mold cycle, and kill off spores that would have tried to attach in the nooks and crannies. Washing fabrics with hot, but not boiling, water would sanitize your curtain to remove any pathogens, germs and viruses too!
Along with your cleaning regimen, a cleaning routine for your shower curtain is essential in the upkeep of your home. When you’re too busy to tackle those cleaning tasks, pick up your phone and dial for Luce Home, and we’ll discuss with you a cleaning schedule that’s right for you!
Check out Luce Home website for more details, and check our blog for more tips and tricks on how to clean different areas of your home.
