Black Mold Keeps Coming Back? It's Not Your Bleach (The Filipino Way)

That black mold in your shower grout went white when you bleached it, and a few weeks later it was back, was it not? The bleach did its job, anak, and anak is how we say my child. The water that grew it is still there. My mother's comfort room in Batangas got soaked every single day, and I never saw a black line on its walls. So here is why bathroom mold keeps coming back, how to get rid of black mold in the grout with one careful pass, and the four small changes that keep it off. WHY IT COMES BACK - A University of Arizona team found household bleach cleared more than 99 percent of mold on drywall. The bleach worked. - The EPA says no mold grows without water or moisture, and a leak or spill dried within 24 to 48 hours usually will not grow mold. Your shower wall gets wet again every morning. - MAPEI says ordinary cement grout is the most porous kind, the one that takes in water and stains the easiest. - If your line is in the soft caulk where the tile meets the tub, that is a different job for another day. MY MOTHER'S CR - Her comfort room in Lipa: a cement floor tipped toward a drain, a timba, a pail, with a tabo, a dipper, floating in it, water thrown at the walls, and the door left open. TWO WARNINGS FIRST - Never mix bleach with vinegar, and never mix bleach with ammonia (Poison Control). - Put a few drops of water on the line. If they soak in, the grout is not sealed. If they bead up, it is sealed, and Custom Building Products says grout sealed with their product gets a neutral cleaner only, with no bleach, no acid and no ammonia. THE ONE PASS - Scrub it with detergent and water, then dry it completely (EPA). I use a squeeze of dish soap in warm water, a stiff nylon brush and an old towel. - Bleach only for a grey shadow left on unsealed grout, no stronger than 1 cup in 1 gallon of water (CDC). Window open, gloves on, and a hidden spot first. - Suka, vinegar, is for the white crust on the glass, not this line. THE FOUR CHANGES - The bath mat comes off the floor. - The shower curtain gets spread flat so it can dry. - The squeegee goes down the walls after every shower. - The door stays open, and the fan runs 20 minutes after, the Home Ventilating Institute's number. Aim for humidity below 60 percent (EPA). Tell me in the comments how many weeks your line takes to come back. SOURCES: EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home. CDC, About Mold. University of Arizona, Indoor Mold Control on Porous Surfaces Using Household Bleach (Reynolds, 2008 to 2011). MAPEI grout guidance. Custom Building Products, TileLab Grout Sealer TDS-147. National Capital Poison Center. Home Ventilating Institute. FDA CPG Sec. 525.825. NMSU Extension Guide G-304. The Home Depot shower curtain guide. Clorox bathroom mold guide. Social Weather Stations 2019 survey via the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Michael L. Tan, Philippine Daily Inquirer.