Maintaining the prevention of mildew and the moisture that can cause it in your bathroom is something that is important to do.  Dampness is just one of the contributing factors to mildew.  Some of the others are lack of circulation, low levels of light, and warm temperatures.  Mildew is going to be either black or white, and it will normally be located on the walls and ceilings of the rooms.  You will also find it on your shower curtain and in between your tiles.  Some of the ways that you can help prevent this are as follows.

Items Needed:

• Mask
• Gloves
• Cloths or towels
• Bleach
• Brighter lights
• A dehumidifier
• An insect screen
• An extractor fan

First: Insect Screen and Extractor Fan

The average human will excrete about a liter of water each day simply through the condensation in our breath.  So, you can just imagine the amount of moisture that can be produced by and collect in a bathroom in the same amount of time.  If you do not find a way to rid the room of this moisture, then it will find somewhere to settle, and eventually mildew will occur.  The best way to make sure that this does not happen is to have an extractor fan.  There are a couple of options that you can use if you cannot have an extractor fan.  The first is to open a window to vent the moisture.  The second is to use a dehumidifier.

Second: Proper Drainage

Another way to prevent the build up of moisture in the bathroom is to make sure that all the drainage pipes in the bathroom and the house are doing their job.  This means that there should be no leaks in them because this can allow for the walls to become damp.  Any basements or other underground levels of your home should be made damp-proof.  For those levels not being use for a living area, you should have charcoal around to absorb any extra moisture in the area.

Third: Lighting

Make sure to take advantage of any light that can come into the room.  Mildew will not grow well if there is bright light present.

Fourth: Soap Residue

Make sure that you clean up any oils and soap residue regularly.  These are the perfect things for mildew to feed from.

Fifth: Shower Curtain and Carpeting

Make sure that you leave your shower curtain closed so that it is fully spread out after each shower.  This will allow it better circulation to get dry.  Make sure that there is not a lot of carpeting in your bathroom, and launder your rugs and mats that are in there on a regular basis.

Sixth: Dry Water Residue

Make sure that you wipe down all surfaces at the end of each day so that they are as dry as they can be.  This will reduce the amount of water and moisture that is in the room which will lessen the amount of mildew that you will have.  Do not leave any wet rags or towels in the room to dry either.

Seventh: Bleach

After taking everything else into consideration, you should also bleach the room occasionally to make sure that any mildew that is in there gets removed.  This is one of the normal ways suggested for removing mildew.  There is another alternative that will work just as well though.  Take a mixture of half water and half 35% hydrogen peroxide and spray it on the mildew.  This will work to remove it, and is more friendly to the environment.  Always make sure that you clean the area afterward with soap and water, then spray the area.  Without cleaning it again, wait about an hour and then respray.  That is the only difference is that it will have to be gone over two times.

If you can tell that your bathroom is damp from the smell of the room, then you should make sure that you are checking for leaks anywhere.  If you find marks from leaks or water there is probably mildew around that area.  Mildew is something that can cause problems for some peoples respiratory systems.  This means that any time you are going to work to clean it, you should have on a mask.