Fighting Mold And Mildew In Gym Showers

A reader writes: “We clean a gym that has an old shower area with grout missing. There seems to be a lot of mold and mildew that keeps coming back. Any suggestions would be appreciated.”

What caught my attention was your comment about mold and mildew coming back. I can only make a few observations in this article and encourage you to consider bringing a company specializing in mold and mildew remediation to protect the health of those using this area. Note that this can be a serious health issue that should be addressed promptly and thoroughly.

As you may know, mold and mildew can give off spores that people breath that can seriously impact their health. Upon review of the shower area, it is an old gang shower setting with some construction flaws that make it even harder to clean properly. The ceiling tiles are absorbent and should not be in such an area. We noted that many of the tiles are moldy and some are missing exposing the true ceiling which appears to have a buildup of mold and mildew. They probably will need to be removed, cleaned and possibly removed. The true ceiling should also be treated to kill all the existing mold and mildew growth.

Once you have eradicated the mold and mildew, you need to institute a process to deal with it every day to keep it from coming back. The cleaning products you are currently using are not designed to deal with mold and mildew so these pathogens continue to grow as you clean at the surface. Note that there are mildew “stats” and mildew “cides”. The basic difference is that a “stat” holds back the growth of mold and mildew; whereas a “cide” actually kills/eliminates future growth. You need to speak with your distributor to identify the most effective, yet safest product to deal with this infestation.

Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.