Shower Grime, Yuck!

If you like having a sparkling bathroom but hate the smell and fumes of those toxic cleaners, try whats on the web. It's a home made cleaner that claims to leave your bathroom clean.

I wanted to try out this homemade cleaner to see if it worked as well as my usual cleaner. I did some homework and searched Pinterest for the best cleaner for the job. It is one thing to read it, but it's another to see for yourself if it really works.

I left my shower to help set up for the trial. I had black mold around the edge and this reddish slime which after investigation turns out to be a mold as well. This red stuff is a really nasty mold (fusarium and aureobasidium) and doesn't clean with the same product as the black. I thought it was just from hard water?

When cleaning mold, you should use a face mask and rubber gloves even when it's a small amount. You want to avoid it becoming airborne. 


The recipe I used was:

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup Dawn dish liquid

Mix all the ingredients into a spray bottle. Wearing your mask and gloves you are ready for the attack. I sprayed the whole surface of the walls and tub and let it sit for a few minutes. I used a scrub brush and some muscle power, for tough spots I sprayed then sprinkled with baking soda. This causes a reaction and it bubble up and then I scrubbed. The results:

Before

After

The mixture worked on the tile and the tub. I was impressed. 

One of the issues in the shower is also the shower liner. I find that this gets stained and doesn't wash very well. I know the best thing to do is wash it more often but it is a pain taking it down. I had to think of a way to make this job easier. Hmmmm....

Well I came up with the idea to have a piece of the curtain that could be removed easily and washed on a weekly basis. I purchased a standard white liner at my local Walmart.

I divided the total length 
(84 by 3 = 28) and cut the bottom 28 inches off.

On the sewing machine I hemmed the two raw pieces.

Next I used Velcro strips about 3 inches long with the glue on one side and attached it every 10 inches across the top 2/3 rd piece. Be sure to have a Velcro piece right close to the edge on both ends.

When attaching the Velcro make sure you use the scratchy side of the Velcro on the top portion of the curtain. You want to attach it to the front of the top piece about 1" above the bottom edge. 

The soft side of the Velcro goes on the bottom portion. Attach it to the top of the wrong side of the curtain 1" below the top edge. Position them to line up exactly with the Velcro on the bottom of the top portion.

I machine sewed the top and bottom of each Velcro piece on each piece of curtain once in place.  

In this photo you can see that the bottom piece covers over the top portion, this is a view of the front of the curtain. I actually made an error on my curtain, I put the Velcro right along the edge of the two pieces.

It works and the water doesn't leak or anything, but it would be better as I instructed above with the one inch from the edge to the Velcro tape. 

Now I can easily remove the bottom portion of the curtain and through it in the wash weekly. Since the soft side of the Velcro is on the bottom I don't have to worry that it will catch on anything in the wash. It is a good idea if I say so myself. 

To finish off the new cleaning ideas, I also purchased a scrub brush that holds cleaning solution and I keep it in the shower so I can spot clean while I am in there. 

My shower has never been shinier and I am happy with the new cleaning regime.