Pink Mold in Bathroom (Ceiling, Curtains): What It is & How to Get Rid of It

Are parts of your bathroom turning pink?

That’s because you have pink mold in your bathroom. It quickly grows on ceilings, silicone parts, and on shower grout. This bacteria poses health risks to you, including UTI, and pneumonia.

As soon as you notice it, you need get rid of it – fast! That’s what we’re going to show you how to do.

The pink mold in your bathroom is a type of airborne bacteria that thrives in wet, damp and dark areas like bathtubs, tile grout, shower curtains, bathroom ceilings, silicone parts, etc.

This orange or pink bacteria likes to grow in dark and poorly ventilated bathrooms. Clean your bathroom with disinfectant and detergent to get rid of it fast.

Pink mold (Serratia marcescens) is a type of bacteria and not a fungi as its name may suggest. It can also appear orange or pink-orange in color.

The wet and moist conditions in your bathroom are rife for many bacteria and fungi to grow. One of the signs that your bathroom has fungi or bacteria in it is a change in the color of the walls, doors, ceilings, windows, silicone-covered areas, and other parts.

The color may be green, black, pink, orange, or other color depending on the fungi or bacteria present. You can avoid its presence and stop its spread through proper ventilation of the bathroom. 

Try to keep your bathroom dry and well-ventilated to prevent pink mold. 

Health Risks of Pink Mold in Bathroom

Pink mold may look harmless but is one of the most dangerous bacteria in the home.

When it enters the body, it can cause various health disorders among them urinary tract infections (UTIs) and respiratory infections. It can also cause endocarditis, pneumonia, gastrointestinal infections, meningitis, among others.

These effects are also felt by your pets whenever they come into contact with the mold. Those with a weakened immune system are more likely to be affected by this mold.

Being a fast-spreading mold, you need to clean it away as soon as you see it in your bathroom. This, however, is no common bacteria and you need some guidelines before you embark on the cleaning process.

These guidelines are provided by the Environmental Protection Agency and are meant to protect you against this mold.

How To Clean Pink Mold In Your Bathroom

Having established that the pinkish color in your bathroom is Serratia marcescens, you can follow the steps below to clean the bacteria.

This cleaning method also applies to other areas where the bacteria occurs.

Here’s how to clean pink mold in your bathroom in 3 easy steps:

1. SPRAY THE AREA WITH THE APPROPRIATE CLEANER

The cleaner can either be a detergent mixed with water, a disinfectant with bleach as a base, or an appropriate commercial cleaning agent.

After spraying it, wait for at least 15 minutes before the next step.

2. SCRUB AWAY THE BACTERIA

With gloves and a brush, scrub away the pinkish areas and the surrounding regions.

Ensure the scrubbing is done properly since leaving any traces of the bacteria will lead to regrowth in a short while.

3. RINSE THE CLEANED AREAS

You can rinse the remnants away with a household disinfectant to keep the bacteria away.

It is advisable to carry out this cleaning process every week for about a month to completely kill the bacteria. After the first month of weekly cleaning, call in an expert to do a test on the areas that were previously affected by the bacteria.

If it is still present, continue with the weekly cleaning for another month until you completely eradicate it.

Pink Mold Cleaning Precautions

Cleaning this mold by yourself is forbidden in the following cases:

• If the spread of the bacteria is over 3 by 3 feet.
• If the bacteria is present due to the presence of sewage or other types of contaminated water.
• If the spread of the bacteria is affecting your ventilation and heating ducts.
• If the person to clean it has any form of infection such as asthma and bronchitis.
• If you do not have protective gear such as gloves, masks, and goggles since contact with the mold is dangerous.

Although a minor recommendation, if you’re not sure if it’s the mold in question, you need an expert to carry out a test on the same before deciding on the way forward. At times, the stains may be due to something else.

Also, if your case has any of the precautions above, call in for an expert.

How To Prevent The Buildup Of Pink Mold

The best way to keep this bacteria away from your home, or prevent it from recurring, is through the implementation of the following tips:

• Keep your bathroom areas such as shower curtains, ceilings, walls, and floors free of moisture through providing enough ventilation. Also, wipe off any wet areas after taking a shower.
• Clean your bathroom doors and walls using this guide at least once every week. When shampoos and soaps and other sediments build up on the walls and other parts of the shower, the bacteria feed on them and spreads.
• Fix any leaking pipes, taps, and showers as the leakages will provide damp conditions for the bacteria to grow.
• Keep all rags, shower curtains and carpets around the bathroom dry and disinfected at all times. Wash them as frequently as possible (at least once a month) to kill any lingering microorganisms.
• Replace any infected porous materials since it’s almost impossible to eliminate the bacteria from such materials. These include ceiling tiles, sponges and any other soft and porous materials.

If you’ve experienced the pink mold in your home once, it is advisable to always do a test every month for the bacteria in the most likely areas to stay safe from it.

With the preventive and cleaning tips above, your home will be free of this menace in no time. When you’ve tried all these procedures and you get no result, it could not be Serratia marcescens but another microorganism. Get a fungicide for the other types of molds.