mildew question
 

Anyone know the best way to get rid of mildew in the drains and shower exhaust of a bathroom that has not been used for a few years?????

Mild bleach solution. No more than 3%. Spray it with that, let it sit a few minutes and hit it with a scrub brush. Rinse well with regular water. The mildew will melt away. Mold and mildew are easy. They disappear in the face of bleach. Just keep the area well ventilated. To prevent the same thing from happening again, increase ventilation and decrease temps. Condensation is the enemy.

Thanks.

Problem is it's in the drains, and in the shower exhaust—neither of which I can actually get into to spray or scrub.

Any other thoughts?

10:1 water:bleach solution is the norm. Dump down drain, let sit, rinse. For shower exhaust, turn on fan and spray in and let it run a while, the mist will kill the mold/mildew.

Mold/mildew is neither a plant nor an animal, but something else. Like any living organism it needs three things to live, food, water and oxygen. Deny it any one and it will die. With mold/mildew, the spores and survive and come back to life years later. As MRM said, increase ventilation time to dry out the exhaust vent lines

Ethylene Oxide, great fumigant for such things. Just need to get some...vacate the house and wait about a day. Do you know anyone at Dow, Saudi Basic Industries or Royal Dutch Shell?

Otherwise you can mist with the bleach.

Well thanks for that.

Much appreciated!!!

ETO is great stuff, banned in most applications a decade or two ago.

all the good stuff is, damn liberals...

The acute (short-term) effects of ethylene oxide in humans consist mainly of central nervous system (CNS) depression and irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes.

Chronic (long-term) exposure to ethylene oxide in humans can cause irritation of the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes, and problems in the functioning of the brain and nerves.

Some human cancer data show an increase in the incidence of leukemia, stomach cancer, cancer of the pancreas, and Hodgkin's disease in workers exposed to ethylene oxide.

- duh

Cause vs. cure.

I mistakenly spread a load of new multch on the backyard several years ago which was thick with chunks of powdery mildew....thinking it would dissapear with surface exposure to the sun and heat.
It didn't and we lost several years of mellons and other similar vegetables.
I learned to water during the morning, and cut back plants so they had space.
This year there was less, and the zuckini finally survived.

Mildew is naturally occuring, but rather benine compared to other molds.
I've seen wet basements covered with black mold, the deadly stuff.

Spraying with weak bleach solution then covering it should do the trick.

Yea, but it is great for killing mildew! :rolleyes:

I had a mildew problem in my basement and cured it by putting in a dehumidifier and keeping the humidity at 50%. This won't help Dottore's drain problem, of course. In researching my problem I learned that bleach on porous surfaces like latex wall paint and wood won't permanently kill the stuff. The mycelium (roots) bore into the material deeper than you can get with any cleaner and it will come back. Dry ice blasting was recommended as a permanent solution.

Exactly.

That's why you have to change the environment so they cannot grow and reproduce.

This works with animal pests and homeless people too.