How to Handle a Moldy Window in a Bathroom

Defeating mold issues in your home is a battle you must win. We will take a look at controlling the mold growth around a bath tub window that still has wood trim. I have seen a number of houses that have all levels of mold. The bigger the mold issue the more the cost can be to take care of mold in your home. The mold is not the end of the world; left to grow it can become a very serious issue for those with any type of allergies or immune issues. The severity of the problem can be addressed in a couple of different ways to deal with your homes issue at hand. This article will take a look at mold in a bathroom type setting. The bathroom can become a mold breeding ground for many homes.

The bathroom can reach high levels of moisture depending upon how many showers or baths that are taken in a given day. Many older homes where not equipped with exhaust fans to vent out the humidity from the bathroom. Many people now days when they update their bathrooms must add venting to control these levels of humidity; we are finding more and more as we update windows and re-insulate our homes to become more energy efficient, the mold can become more of a issue. The more air tight we make our home the more we need to have proper ventilation to handle this type of problem.

The older homes normally had a window in the bathroom over the bath tub. Normally this window was trimmed with wood casing and wood trim around it. Many people found themselves with mold growing on these pieces of wood around their window. The varnish breaks down over time the water penetrates the wood and then does not dry out enough between showers causing a high probability for mold to grow and at a high rate. To take care of this problem, many people have new tub surrounds put in and the windows then become trimmed out in a plastic or PVC type material. Don't let a contractor update you shower area without taking this wood trim out or cleaning it and covering it. It is a must and is well worth the money to do so.

In the mean time you can spray the area down with a bleach or anti-microbial type solution to control the mold growth on this window area. Not to mention the water will actual start to enter the frame of the window and cause it to rot. You really don't want this to happen, you will pay the price later to have the whole window replaced or wood replaced to rebuild the window. The sooner you stop the water to this area the better off you will be. I am frequently asked why they build the house with the shower area having a wood trim window in it. The houses were not intended to have a shower over the tub when they were built. When the trend hit to have showers over the tub the building practices had not changed. The window was considered to be the venting for the room. I don't know about you but, in the colder climates I am not opening a window in the shower area to vent it when its minus 25 degrees outside.

These windows can also have window kits that can be purchased at additional cost when updating you tub surround in your home. Some of the quick fix cover up companies or tub over your old tub type out fits are becoming very popular with people as they advertise a one or two day install and that they are cheaper than a complete bath remodel, I have seen these companies charging upwards of $6000 just to put the surround over you old walls. A smaller remodeling company in this economy will redo your whole bath for this depending on what you want done and the cost of the fixtures you want to install. Also these cover up places charge extra for any required plumbing such as a new mixing valve for you shower and tub.

In the mean time try to wipe down the window trim and treat it with a mold killing type of product. Once you update your shower area, you will be able to take care of this problem, I have done custom tile surrounds and found the best way when doing a tile tub surround is to have the window done with custom tile window trim to finish the area, the added cost is well worth the expense. I hope this will help with your bath tub window mold problems.

As always with any home remodeling projects, safety first.