Mildew grows in humid environments, which is why the bathroom is the most common place where the mould appears.
Taking showers every day can lead to mildew building up in the corners of the bathroom, and with a hectic schedule, it can be easy to overlook the area to clean until it become very noticeable.
Spotting a patch of mildew in my bathroom, I thought now would be the ideal time to try out a cleaning hack. According to Merry Maids, one natural chemical-free cleaner could kill mould and leave you with a sparkly clean bathroom.
Considered to be a mild acid, white vinegar – the superstar multi-cleaner – is touted as a great cleaning agent to remove mould.
As direct contact with mould can be dangerous, I followed Merry Maid’s strong recommendation to wear gloves before cleaning away the unsightly patch of mildew. Merry Maids said: “Additionally, vinegar’s acidic nature can be irritating to the skin.”
Spraying the area with white vinegar, I let the product sit there for at least five minutes before I attempted to wipe away the mould. In one wipe, a fair bit of the area looked cleaner and some of the mould had already lifted.
Rather impatiently, I fast-forwarded to the next step – not keen on spending the limited amount of hours I get after work cleaning mould, especially when dinner needs to be made and there are other things to do.
Merry Maids instructed to “allow the vinegar to sit for at least an hour” and to not be tempted to scrub or rinse the area as the cleaning hack “needs time”.
When it comes to getting rid of mildew in your bathroom (and mine, as I will have to try this again), then do let the white vinegar sit on the mildew for at least 60 minutes.
Moving on to the next step, baking soda can be used to scrub away any remaining mould and stains. Merry Maids instructed: “Add a teaspoon of baking soda and two cups of water to an empty spray bottle. Shake vigorously until thoroughly combined.”
Rubbing the baking soda into the mildew with a scouring pad should get rid of the mildew completely. The area can then be rinsed with clean, warm water and finished off with one more spray of white vinegar.
And don’t worry about the strong vinegar smell that this cleaning hack creates; from personal experience, the smell fades rather quickly, and I am happy to put on a candle in the meantime.
The vinegar hack isn’t only a solution to getting rid of mildew, it’s also touted as a great preventative measure against mould formation.
Merry Maids recommended spraying vinegar in the bathroom as part of a regular cleaning routine to prevent a mildew infestation from developing in the first place.
Even easier, the cleaning services expert suggested to spritz vinegar over the shower stall after taking a shower every day to keep harder, more lengthy cleaning job in the future.
As for me, I have the excuse that I am living in a fairly new home so the mildew could have been building up long before I came here.
However, now that I have seen the mildew, and there’s still more to clean, I will need to craft some time for a deep clean within the week.
