mildew on the bathroom ceiling

[schmamy]

I finished most of the basics of the bathroom challenge today, and was feeling inspired to address the disgustingness of the bathroom ceiling. We live in an old (1938) house, and the ceiling and walls, when last painted, were apparently not painted with mildew-resistant paint. Add to that the lack of a vent to the outside (we discovered when remodeling that the bathroom fan was just venting into the attic :hunh) and we've got a nasty mildew problem on the ceiling, and around the top of the walls. It was mostly just above the tub when we moved in, but has spread to most of the ceiling by now. :sick I've sort of ignored it until now, especially because we'll be remodeling that bathroom...but realistically that's not going to happen for another year at least.

The first problem is it's hard to reach, especially above the tub (I can't exactly put my stepstool IN the tub) and the second problem is it won't come off. I did a little scrubbing with some all-purpose cleaner and quickly gave up. It faded, which looked better, but didn't go away...and it took a whole lot of elbow grease. No way I'm doing that for the entire ceiling.

Anyone have experience successfully tackling this? Any recommendations for a cleaner to use, or a method? :help

[KatieMae]

Do you only use natural cleaners or are store-bought concoctions okay? If you don't mind the chemicals, Comet has a spray-bottle product that is a Mildew remover & it works GREAT. Spray & let it work for a few minutes before scrubbing it.

Also, if your bathroom isn't huge, I would buy a quart of kitchen/bathroom paint & just do the ceiling in there as a temporary fix until you can remodel. If nothing else, it would let you see exactly where the live mildew is, so you can address it more quickly next time.

[schmamy]

Do you only use natural cleaners or are store-bought concoctions okay? If you don't mind the chemicals, Comet has a spray-bottle product that is a Mildew remover & it works GREAT. Spray & let it work for a few minutes before scrubbing it.

Also, if your bathroom isn't huge, I would buy a quart of kitchen/bathroom paint & just do the ceiling in there as a temporary fix until you can remodel. If nothing else, it would let you see exactly where the live mildew is, so you can address it more quickly next time.


Nah, I keep meaning to switch over to natural cleaners but I haven't bothered yet. I may start using a vinegar solution for some things once I run out of what I've got, but I'll stick with Soft Scrub for the tub, at least--I was WAY less than impressed when I tried baking soda instead. :duck

I'll have to look for the Comet. DH and I were just talking about it, though, and thinking maybe we'll paint, like you said. It'll just be a pain because a) that's our only bathroom, so it'll be a mess for a weekend, and b) the paint is chipping in several places so prepping it to paint will be so not fun. But a primer of Kilz should take care of it, and then Lowe's has a kitchen & bath mildew-resistant paint. SO not what I want to spend a weekend doing...but the ceiling in there really is disgusting.

[MarynMunchkins]

Honestly, with mold I would choose bleach. Ventilate well after you're done, but bleach it. :yes

We paint bathroom ceilings with exterior paint because it has a fungicide already in it. :) We used the kitchen/bathroom paint and the exterior holds up better in the bathrooms.

[schmamy]

Honestly, with mold I would choose bleach. Ventilate well after you're done, but bleach it. :yes


Well, the ventilation is a problem. Only one window in the entire downstairs of our house opens--the rest are painted shut :rolleyes (thanks so much, former owners). The fan in the bathroom doesn't even vent outside, just to the attic.

[MarynMunchkins]

Personally, I'd rather smell bleach than deal with mold. :shrug But of course, I have mold allergies too. ;)