No matter how hard you try, sometimes your new bathroom will, over time, start to look less ‘showroom clean’ than when it was first installed. At Alan Heath and Sons we like to keep our bathrooms sparkling like new for as long as possible. Glass and ceramics can look incredible when polished and shined.

But there’s an enemy that thrives on your bathroom and the very ingredients that make it work for you. Mould loves everything about your bathroom and it doesn’t appreciate the gleaming look that we all want.

Mould loves your bathroom!

Mould loves moisture and it loves warmth. Guess what? Your bathroom is perfect for this. When you have a relaxing bath, you run the hot water for a long time to fill your tub. And when you have a long shower at the end of a hard day and you create the perfect environment for mould.

Mould survives on the by-product of your relaxation, as the moisture in your bathroom is caviar to mould. So how can you still enjoy a relaxing bath or a long, well-earned shower, without attracting the attention of our unwanted dirty friend?

Here are our top tips for fighting bathroom mould.

Allow clean and fresh air in and show mould the door!

Sounds simple? Well it is. Moisture will only stay in your bathroom when you keep it there. When you stop steam from escaping there’s only one place it can go – your walls, tiles and ceiling.

Water is an element – H20. We won’t bore you with the science but your bathroom habits turn the water into oxygen, it floats up into the air and then it turns back to water when it cools down on your walls and ceiling. The steam from your relaxation is making the perfect bed for mould to grow.

Break the cycle by letting the steam out through an open window. When you refresh the air in your bathroom to lessen the amount of moist air in your bathroom. Moist air out, fresh air in, less mould in your bathroom.

Cold winter days create condensation

Cold days are worse for condensation (the change of the physical state of matter from gas phase into liquid phase – the reverse of vaporisation). When your bathroom walls are cold on the outside and your bathroom is warm on the inside condensation forms very easily. Add a hot bath and you’re a perfect condensation manufacturing plant!

The right heating in your bathroom will help keep not only the walls warm and more resilient to condensation, but the mirrors and other furniture too. A good heated towel rail can be sized to suit your bathroom and can be as efficient than regular radiators. Ask us about our range of coloured and adaptable heated towel rails. Who doesn’t want to step out of the shower and wrap themselves in lovely fluffy warm towels?

Keep steam in your bathroom to a minimum

If you can’t bear an open window in your bathroom then try to bathe for less time, run the bath with the window open and close it when you get in, or simply enjoy your time for less. The shorter time you have a warm and steamy environment, the less likely condensation and mould will join you.

A larger family will obviously create more steam. The more baths and showers you have the less time the steam will have to escape.

Use mould resistant grout and silicon

We only use anti-fungal grout and silicon that actively repels mould from growing in it. There’s nothing more damaging to a bathroom’s look than discoloured grout around the tiles.

Keep your grout bright white by choosing one of our grouts or silicones that’s resistant to fungus, mould, bacteria and even e-coli and salmonella.

You still need to clean regularly as mould can still grown on top of your grout, but at least you won’t need to re-grout it.

Fit an extractor fan

Our highest recommendation has to be an extractor fan. By taking the steam away with an efficient and quiet fan you can spend as much time as you like in your warm, relaxing bathroom. The extractor fan is simple. It takes the pesky steam out and repels it into the world outside, keeping your relaxing world condensation and mould free!

Humidistat fans will monitor the environment in your bathroom and only switch on when needed.

You can also buy extractor fans with a timer that will automatically turn off at a designated time, ensuring you won’t have a fan running for longer than you need.

Please note: New building regulations state you have to have a fan fitted to a new build or extension with a bathroom in.

We can’t stop science. Condensation will occur when heat meets cold. We can stop the build up though, by understanding it and reacting to it. So the tips are:

• Keep your bathroom warm to stop the walls getting cold.
• Keep it airy to allow the moisture to escape.
• Keep it ventilated with an extractor fan.
• Keep it resistant with mould-resistant grout and silicon.

We can help you keep your bathroom looking showroom fresh.

If you’d like more ideas or would like to see an extractor fan working then just pop down to our bathroom showroom in Coventry and we’ll give you some Alan Heath and Sons expert advice.