How to Remove Bathroom Ceiling Mold

mold in corner of bathroom ceiling above tile
  • 2-3 hours
  • Beginner
  • 0-100
What You'll Need
Bucket
Scrubbing sponge
Pair of rubber gloves
Bleach
Laundry soap
Disposable stirring stick
Hot water
Step ladder
Towel
Fan
What You'll Need
Bucket
Scrubbing sponge
Pair of rubber gloves
Bleach
Laundry soap
Disposable stirring stick
Hot water
Step ladder
Towel
Fan

In addition to being unsightly, bathroom ceiling mold can cause permanent damage to your home and is a health hazard for you and your family. It can be caused by the warm temperature of the room, the humidity from baths and showers, low levels of natural light, and poor air circulation.

If you see mold growing on your bathroom ceiling, it should be treated as soon as possible and removed for health and safety reasons, as some mold spores can increase the risk of serious health problems. You can follow the below tips and tricks and advice to remove the mold from your bathroom ceiling.

1. Examine Your Ceiling

Take a close and careful look at your bathroom ceiling to check for any green or black spots. These spots can range in size from small specks to large clusters.

They can be found in one large, water-damaged area or they could be spread out over the entire ceiling. These spots indicate the growth of mold spores and must be removed.

Mold can also be white. This is obviously harder to spot than green or block mold spots are if the paint on your bathroom ceiling is white, as is often the case. If the ceiling looks bumpy, it could be white mold spots that are making it appear that way.

2. Make the Mold Remover

Once you have identified where the mold is on your bathroom ceiling, it is time to start to get rid of it so that it does not harm you and others who use the bathroom.

Before you begin, put on your rubber gloves. This may seem unnecessary, but the gloves will help protect you from both the strong cleaning ingredients you are going to be using to fight the mold as well as the mold itself. Do not forget to do this.

Once you have your gloves on, fill a bucket with 1 gallon of hot water, 1/2 cup of bleach, and 1/3 cup of laundry soap.

Combine the ingredients and mix them with a disposable stick, being careful not to let any of the liquid spatter outside of the bucket. The bleach will effectively get rid of the mold, but it could also accidentally damage nearby materials.

If possible, use a fan because the smell of bleach fumes can be quite bad for you or even make you lightheaded. If it is not possible to use a fan or open a window in the area to let in some fresh air, consider using a respirator.

You should also take breaks if you begin to become lightheaded from the bleach in the mold-killing mixture you have just created.

3. Remove the Mold

Once you have created your mixture and, ideally, found a way to get fresh air into the bathroom, you can place the step ladder below the area that needs to be cleaned. Chances are you will not be able to reach the ceiling without a step ladder. A step ladder is preferred to a chair as it will hold steadier.

Immerse the scrubbing sponge in the bucket with the cleaning solution. Carefully climb the step ladder and begin to scrub the area with mold. Rinse the sponge in the solution as you work, adding more of the mold-killing solution to your sponge.

Be careful not to overdo it, as too much solution could mean dripping, which could damage your unprotected skin or clothing. Take your time on this in order to be thorough but not overdo it.

Examine your ceiling again to see if any spots still need to be treated. Continue the process until all of the mold has been removed from your ceiling.

4. Rinse the Ceiling

Once you have applied the mold-killing solution everywhere necessary, squeeze out the sponge and carefully empty the bucket of the cleaning solution into a sink. You can empty it into a toilet instead if need be.

Rinse the bucket and sponge with clean water after you rid it of its contents.

You should then refill the bucket with cool water and immerse the sponge in it. Climb the step ladder again and rinse the ceiling area with the water. It is now time to pat the ceiling dry with a towel.

Use one you do not care about in case anything gets on it. Make sure the fan is turned on and allow it to circulate the air in the room for at least the next 30 minutes.

While this can technically wait, it is recommended that you wash the towel you just used sooner rather than later in case anything somehow got on it.

5. Prevent Further Mold

Now that you have removed the mold from your bathroom ceiling, you may be wondering how to keep the mold from returning. Mold spores will grow in damp, humid conditions.

Showers and bathtubs tend to produce steam, which rises to the ceiling and settles there in poorly ventilated bathrooms. It is rare that a ceiling gets dried or that it is exposed to sunlight, so spores begin to grow.

To avoid the accumulation of mold spores, it is vital to circulate the air when the shower or bath is being used, especially if the weather is hot and humid. Be sure to open any windows in the bathroom when you are showering, even if it is just slightly.

A bathroom ceiling fan or room vent would reduce a great deal of the moisture in the room. Another solution would be to consider using mold-resistant paint and covering the entire ceiling for protection.

Other ingredients that can be used to help include borax, tea tree oil, and baking soda.

What Removes Black Mold from a Ceiling?

If you have identified the mold on your ceiling as black mold, you may be wondering how to get rid of it. The above-mentioned method of mold removal should work well against the black mold you have identified on your ceiling.

If you are looking for another method, you can try using baking soda and vinegar instead. You could also try using an all-purpose cleaner or even dish soap to get rid of the ceiling mold.

Some stores will even sell cleaning products marketed as being good at removing mold.

As previously mentioned, make sure to circulate air in the room when dealing with cleaning products and use protective equipment like gloves when you are cleaning the mold off of your bathroom ceiling.

Like with other types of mold, black mold in a bathroom ceiling most likely means that there is not proper circulation in your bathroom and the area is staying wet, causing the mold spores to grow.

Once you get rid of the black mold from your bathroom ceiling, make sure to prevent it from coming back by adding property ventilation to your bathroom.

If you do not already have one, adding and using a fan in the room every time you shower is a great way to prevent mold of any kind from growing on your bathroom ceiling and will keep the area safe for you, your family, and any guests who need to use the bathroom.

Mold is easier to prevent than to clean, so make sure to take preventative measures to make sure no more black mold grows in your bathroom ceiling going forward.

Can Vinegar Kill Mold on a Bathroom Ceiling?

Vinegar is a great option for removing mold from your bathroom ceiling. In fact, the common household cleaning product that is known for being a cheap and effective cleaner kills around 82% of types of mold.

To use vinegar to kill ceiling mold, start by spraying distilled white vinegar into a spray bottle. This will make it easy to spray the vinegar over the mold. Spray it thoroughly so that all of the mold is subject to the vinegar.

After you have sprayed the vinegar all over the mold, leave it to sit for about an hour. This will give the vinegar time to really soak in and do its job of killing the mold.

After an hour is up, use water to wipe away the vinegar from the ceiling. The mold should now be dead. Use a brush with a soft bristle when you wipe away the vinegar, this will take the mold with it and allow you to complete the job at hand.

While vinegar does not smell as strongly as bleach does, it will still have a slight odor so use a fan or open a window if at all possible. This will help protect you from the odors associated with using vinegar to kill mold growing on your ceiling.

Like with bleach, it is best if you wear protective gloves and even a mask, if possible, to protect yourself from the vinegar and make sure you are safe.

If the vinegar does not kill the mold, you could try a second time, try a different method, or call in professionals to deal with the ceiling mold issue in your bathroom

Can I Leave Vinegar on Mold Overnight?

As previously mentioned, vinegar should be left on the bathroom ceiling mold for about an hour to do its job. You might be wondering, however, if you can leave the vinegar on even longer, or even overnight.

Leaving the vinegar on for closer to two hours is fine, but it is not recommended to leave the vinegar on the bathroom ceiling overnight. This, simply put, is overkill when it comes to killing the mold and is completely unnecessary.

Furthermore, by leaving something like vinegar on overnight you increase the risk of forgetting about it and not scrubbing it away with water and a gentle brush which is necessary when it comes to getting rid of mold on your bathroom ceiling.

Is Bleach or Vinegar Better for Black Mold?

Bleach and vinegar are two of the most common cleaners used to get rid of mold in a home. You may be wondering which is the better option. While for some it may come down to what ingredients are already in the home, others may weigh other factors as well.

Currently, vinegar is the cleaning substance of choice for many to kill black mold from bathroom ceilings. This is because vinegar is less toxic than bleach. If you use vinegar, there is less risk of it harming you if you smell it for too long or if it accidentally touches your skin.

Furthermore, there is some research out there indicating that bleach only kills surface mold spores, while vinegar gets below the surface and kills the root of the problem. This means vinegar is a longer-lasting solution than bleach and is killing a larger amount of the mold, thereby protecting you and your family from mold and from the mold coming back.

Just because mold can't be seen doesn't mean it isn't there so you should try to get rid of all the mold, not just the surface-level mold that you see when first looking at a room. This is why vinegar is often a better idea.

You could also mix vinegar with some dish soap or even with baking soda to give the mold-affected area an even deeper clean than with straight vinegar alone.

Again, if the vinegar does not seem to be killing the mold, call in a professional to finish the job.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you will be able to cheaply and effectively get rid of mold from the ceiling of your bathroom. Make sure, however, to take the proper safety precautions when doing so.

All the materials needed for this project are likely already in your home, so do not put this project off and do it as soon as you identify mold in your bathroom ceiling.

Once the mold is removed, make sure to take steps to ensure it does not return to your bathroom ceiling. Remember, the best way to deal with household issues is by preventing them from occurring at all through proper maintenance or in this case, ventilation.