Cleaning with Vinegar: removing mold in the bathroom

Do you get mold on the walls and ceiling of your bathroom?  We do and it's gross. 

When we lived in our apartment, we didn't have a vent/fan in the bathroom.  We tried to keep the window open in the bathroom to help keep it aired out, but the mold still formed, especially in the winter when we didn't keep the window open as often.  I sprayed the ceiling with bleach every couple of weeks and that seemed to help. 

The vent/fan in the bathroom in our house is old.  Very old. It still works, but I'm guessing not as well as a new one would.  So, we get mold.  I was spraying with bleach for a while, but now that we have Grace, I don't want to be spraying bleach as often as I did in the apartment. 

In the March 2010 issue of Family Circle magazine there was an article about cleaning the bathroom.  I almost didn't read it.  I was thinking to myself that there's just no hope for our bathroom.  Instead of skipping the article  completely, I read the little snippet about cleaning the bathroom walls and ceiling.

The article suggests a two-part solution to getting rid of mold. 

1. Wipe distilled white vinegar onto the mold with a sponge.  Wait 15 minutes and repeat.  Let the vinegar work overnight. 
2.  The next day, use a sponge to apply hydrogen peroxide on the moldy areas to eliminate any stains form the mold and to prevent it from returning. 

Let me just say, I've heard of using vinegar for removing mold before.  I've tried using vinegar in a spray bottle and spraying it on the ceiling instead of bleach, it didn't seem to work. 

I decided to try this the night before we were expecting company about two months ago.  I wiped the spots with vinegar and saw the mold disappear right before my eyes!  I only had the time to do the first step, since company was arriving the next day and I didn't get the chance to follow-up with the peroxide.  Almost two months later, I still didn't get the chance to use the peroxide, but the mold is still gone! 

Wiping the mold seemed to do the trick.   Just like you would have to wipe away any dirt or grime on your floors or vanity tops.  Makes sense. 

I do see one little spot of mold starting to come back.  It's the spot above my shower.  I had a difficult time reaching it and I know I didn't do as good of a job scrubbing that spot as I did the other spots.  I'm sure if I scrubbed better and followed up with the peroxide that spot would not be coming back....at least not so soon!

I'll be linking this post to Homemaker Monday.