What Is the Pink Mold in Your Shower? The “pink mold” creating slimy buildup in your bathroom is not actually mold at all: it's a bacteria. The two most common bacteria causing pink shower mold are called Serratia marcescens and Aureobasidium pullulans.
With the curtain still attached to the rod, spray any areas of the curtain that have visible mildew spots or pink mold, using a 1:1 solution of bleach and water. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Wearing gloves, sprinkle an abrasive sponge with 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and then drizzle lightly with liquid dish soap.
It might be unpleasant, but if you bought a clear shower curtain and it's now pink, it's because it's been attacked by mould. All the cleansing hot water is precisely why your shower is covered in mould. Moulds grow best in warm, damp, and humid conditions, and spread and reproduce by making spores.
It's usually not as hazardous to your health as black mold and other fungi, but there are some pink mold dangers, such as urinary tract infections, intestinal problems and in rare cases pneumonia. You'll definitely want to rid your bathroom of the pink mold and take steps to keep it from coming back.
White vinegar treatment is known to be the most effective means of removing mould. If there are particularly stubborn stains the same laboratory recommends using bicarbonate soda to remove them.
Vinegar can be an effective treatment for pink mold, though not as effective as baking soda and bleach. Where vinegar truly shines is in preventing pink mold from reoccurring after you've cleaned it up once.
Pink Mold in a Shower
Rinse the areas with mold using the hottest water possible and your shower sprayer. Make a paste of four parts baking soda to one part liquid dish soap. Use your nylon scrub brush and the baking soda paste to scrub the areas with mold.
The best product to use is bleach. Bleach can kill pink mold bacteria, and also tackle any stains it leaves behind. This solution will work on most common surfaces, like baths, faucets, and bathroom tiles.
It may not be as toxic as black mold, but pink mold has been linked to urinary tract infections, wound infections and gastrointestinal distress. It can also cause various ailments such as lung infection, rashes, allergy, and inflammation, bleeding in lungs, malaise feeling, and other respiratory troubles.
This unsightly growth often occurs in showers and tubs. Surprisingly, despite the common name, pink mold is actually not mold at all, but rather, is an overgrowth of a common bacteria called Serratia marcescens. This airborne bacteria thrives in warm, damp places.
The “pink mold” you may find in your shower actually isn't mold, but a very common strain of airborne bacteria that's found throughout the world. The bacteria, Serratia marcescens, cause that pink or even red slime you might find in your shower, toilet bowl, or around other water fixtures.
In general, expect to replace a shower curtain once a year, but the actual replacement time will vary depending on the type of liner you use, how many people live in your home, and how often you launder it.
Spray a solution of two parts hydrogen peroxide and one part water onto the shower curtain. Let the hydrogen peroxide sit for five to ten minutes. Rinse thoroughly. Use a baking soda paste and scrub the mold until it's gone.
Once established, the organism usually cannot be eliminated entirely. However, periodic and thorough cleaning of the surfaces where the pink slime occurs, followed by disinfection with chlorine bleach, appears to be the best way to control it.
The Fast, Easy Way to Clean a Shower Curtain
The vinegar will work to break down soap scum and mold. If the bottom of your shower curtain is extra grimy, use a brush or sponge on the lower section to help loosen soap, dirt, and odor-causing bacteria.
Over time, shower curtains become dirty due to mould, mildew and a build-up of soap scum. But when this occurs, it doesn't always mean you have to throw it away and get a new one. Shower curtains can easily be washed and refreshed, and the majority of shower curtains and liners can be cleaned in a washing machine.
The good news is Serratia marcescens is mostly harmless. Touching it while you're showering or cleaning won't cause any problems (in rare cases it can cause infections through open wounds or the eye). But it's unsightly and you don't want it in your bathroom. Here's how to get rid of “pink mold” for good.
Exposure to this mold can lead to hypersensitivity pneumonitis, also known as “humidifier lung,” which causes a cough, difficulty breathing, and fever.
So what's causing these mysterious pink rings? And why does it keep coming back after you've scrubbed it away? While many people believe the stains to be a sign of poor-quality or overly metallic hard water, most likely it is a bacteria known as Serratia Marcescens.
White Distilled Vinegar – An excellent mould-killer, diluted vinegar can be worked directly into the stain – or you can pre-soak the clothing in a bucket of water mixed with one cup of vinegar. You can also add 1-2 cups of vinegar to your washing machine per cycle to kill any mildew odours and brighten your whites.
The Pink Stuff is an acidic paste that safely removes limescale, soap scum, and other dirt from shower glass doors. Apply it to the glass and scrub it with a soft cloth or sponge. Rinse your shower glass off with warm water before repeating any of these steps as needed until all unwanted marks disappear.
Pour enough undiluted white vinegar into the empty spray bottle to cover the area of mold growth. Spray the mold directly, fully saturating it with the vinegar, and allow the vinegar to sit for at least an hour. Don't be tempted to scrub or rinse; the mold needs time to completely absorb the vinegar.
Also, you risk causing damage to the area beneath the mold when you leave the vinegar to sit on it for too long. So when it comes to removing mold with vinegar, it's best to avoid leaving it overnight and stick with the 30 minutes to 1 hour sitting time.
Does Vinegar Kill Mold? Yes, vinegar is a mild acid that kills 82% of mold species. It's often used as a natural and nontoxic alternative to cleaning chemicals when it comes to killing household mold. Cleaning vinegar, which contains 6% acetic acid, is the best type for killing mold.