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cleaning of shower walls


rod1946

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Can anyone give me some advice on a safe product to clean the lower walls of the shower without leaving damage. tried Exit Mould in a small area but found it had left a slight yellow stain. I am a solo traveller and live in my van full time for past two and a half yrs. Will be much oblidged if someone could help. Thanks in advance. Rod



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If you have mould growing the first thing is to kill it, the best thing to do this cheaply and safely is a solution of ⅓ (cheap) vinegar with ⅔ water. Spray this on the mould and keep doing it until the mould stops appearing. This may take a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on how much mould is present. Once the mould has died cleaning with a mid non abrasive cleaner like Windex should work.



Alcohol (metho or isopropanol - rubbing alcohol) can be used to kill mould, but it smells, and be careful in a confined space. Alcohol is good for cleaning off mould build up, but vinegar is more effective and less smelly. Bleach appears to work, but often it only bleaches the visible spore growths and does not kill all the mould, bleach also can damage some surfaces. Be careful of many commercial cleaners as they can damage some surfaces and are often a mixture of some quite nasty compounds. Do not under any circumstance mix cleaners and use them in a confined space, they can liberate ammonia or in some cases very toxic chlorine.



The best way to keep showers mould free is dry them after use and occasionally spray with a vinegar solution. If black mould (aspergillus niger) appears spray with vinegar or wipe with alcohol as soon as you see any black spots. This will stop mould from building up.



Hope this helps, not sure how to remove the yellow stain, but it is likely caused by chemical damage to the surface from the "Exit Mould" which contains Sodium Hypochlorite which is quite a nasty chemical bleach and Sodium Hydroxide which is a strong alkali. Many plastics and resins discolour in contact with bleach and alkali, so more bleach or aggressive cleaners may only make the stain worse.



Below is a link to the MSDS for Exit Mould.



http://www.hospitalitydepot.com.au/files/catalog/janitorial/chemicals/washroom/miscellaneous/products/exit-mould-trigger-pack-500ml/Exit+Mould+3100620.pdf



Be careful and good luck.


Regards


Terry


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Terry, thank you for this detailed post. I have no problem with mould but I suspect the information is generally useful. If I ever get mould this will be invaluable.

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We have found that a good coat of car polish on the shower walls and the glass forms a nice glaze and protectant. the water beads off. We use this method at home as well and have found it very successful over the years. Any car polish works well but our preferred is the Amway Silicone Glaze.. A quick wipe over after showering keeps it looking good..and eliminates the need for harsh cleaners.

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A good coat of polish may have saved my glass shower screen when I was in the Kimberly last time.... the water up there with the high lime/calcium content (or something else) etched on the glass..... no amount of cleaning or rubbing will remove it :unsure: also etched the side glass of the tug.....make sure you chamois off your vehicle or shower screen when ur up that way!


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We were flooded to about 1.5m in the 2011 Brisbane flood, and stripped gyprock back to assist with drying of the wall framing. To avert the growth of mould, we used the most recommended treatment of a quarter of a teaspoon of oil of cloves in a litre of water. Mist it onto the surface and then let it dry. It smells "nice" too!! It works in killing mould. As Terry said, bleach only hides it, not kills it.

For cleaning the shower (and basins etc) both at home and in the van, we use one of the citrus sprays (Septone) which removes calcium and soap scum but is not harsh on surfaces. It also makes chrome surfaces bright and shiny. Spray on, give a good rub over with a wet cloth which has some citrus cleaner on it, and rinse well, and then dry off. Good luck, Bas

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Hello All,

To remove the calcium there is a product that we used while we worked in the Kimberley for 12 months. It is a product made by Peerless Chemicals called Calcleen. Make sure you read the instructions well before using. It works extremely well and with very little effort.

Cheers

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