Mould in shower underneath grout

MercilessKiller

Hi MSE'ers!

Looking for a bit of advice on something I don't know much about!

I moved into an 8 year old new build a couple of months ago. It was very well looked after and refurbished etc. The shower itself looked pretty nice too.

However, after a couple of months of being here I've noticed that it appears there seems to be a substantial amount of mould beginning to show, but underneath the grout! We have been cleaning regularly, so now I'm wondering if there was a problem which the previous owners just covered up by putting down some grout over the top of a load of old mould or something?

Here's a few pictures to show you what I mean. They may not be the clearest pics ever but the faded looking mould isn't actually on the white grout but appears to be underneath it and showing through. One of the pics has a clear gut in the grout where you can see it's just totally black underneath:
https://ibb.co/wp7xfb3
https://ibb.co/VVzC8J4
https://ibb.co/q9r1ZkL

What's the best plan of action for something like this? Is it something I should safely ignore, or is this going to require some heavy work to rip up all the grout, sort out the underlying issue and then re-do it all, and if so, who on earth do I go to for all of that?

Thank you!

Rosco62

Well you need the white sealant replacing and when its been pulled/cleaned out spay/scrub with bleach cleaner then new sealant.Also possibly use grout sealer to stop it going black/mouldy again but only use it after cleaning it thoroughly.

MercilessKiller

Rosco62 wrote: »

Well you need the white sealant replacing and when its been pulled/cleaned out spay/scrub with bleach cleaner then new sealant.Also possibly use grout sealer to stop it going black/mouldy again but only use it after cleaning it thoroughly.

Is all of that quite easy to do or will it be worth paying for someone properly to come out and do it?

I'm guessing you just get a knife to help pull out all the sealent, and then get strong bleach/mould cleaner to get rid of all the black? And then is re-sealing fairly easy? It goes all around the shower enclosure and up in the corner too.... I don't even know how I'd get up to the top to seal it all.

Aylesbury_Duck

It is relatively straightforward but have a look at some youtube videos because there are tricks and tips that make things easier and help you get a decent finish (such as smoothing new sealant with your finger wetted with some diluted washing-up liquid).

Make sure you get all the old stuff out, bleach it and then make sure it's thoroughly dry before applying new sealant.

It looks like you need to replace the sealant and the grout, so check youtube for both.

Chloe_G

If it's anything like my house, the mould will just come back eventually whatever you do!

Aylesbury_Duck

Chloe_G wrote: »

If it's anything like my house, the mould will just come back eventually whatever you do!

The trick is to dry the shower area after use and make sure the room has decent ventilation. I use one of those window vacs after a shower, but a squeegee will do just as well. I wipe watered-down bleach over the tiles and sealant every couple of months and haven't had any mould for a few years.

MercilessKiller

Is it usual for the mould to grow UNDER the grout/sealent if done properly though?

I have a guy coming on Friday to take a look at it but other than the pictures I shared, there's not much else so I don't know if I'm over reacting or if it should get sorted. Does anyone know how much is a fare price for sorting out something like this?

The window in the bathroom has those little openers which I keep open. There's also an extractor fan though that stopped working a few days ago (I'm awaiting a step ladder to be delivered so I can get up there and switch the motor to see if that fixes it).

The fun of moving into a new house!

thrombel

Place strips of kitchen roll over the mouldy areas. Pour neat bleach (thick gel type) onto the kitchen roll & push onto the mouldy areas with a knife, making sure contact is made with the mould.

Leave overnight & remove the kitchen roll. This works a treat with mouldy silicone, which I notice some of your silicone is mouldy. I've not yet tried this remedy on actual grout, but worth a go....

As others have said, bathrooms need to be well ventilated & wipe shower down after each use. Even in the winter, I crack the window open after each use. We have also got an extractor fan but I find opening window clears the steam far quicker.

Having said that, I still have to treat mouldy silicone every 6 months to keep it at bay.