Said It Here

How to stop mold in a shower drain that pools water

Linear shower drains accumulate mold quickly because long stretches of water pool inside them after use. Without a reliable way to keep the area dry between uses, homeowners find themselves repeatedly replacing silicone seals or scrubbing the same stubborn buildup.

Overview
People affected4 accounts across 2 forums
Workarounds found15 items attempted
Community agreement12 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

  • People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

15 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

  1. 1
    Replacing the silicone sealant regularly
    Did this help you?
  2. 2
    Thoroughly cleaning the drain weekly or twice a week
    Did this help you?
  3. 3
    Using mold-specific chemical sprays like Wet and Forget
    Did this help you?
  4. 4
    Running the bathroom fan for 15 minutes
    Did this help you?
  5. 5
    Placing a piece of copper or zinc in the area
    Did this help you?
  6. 6
    Covering the window with clear plastic
    Did this help you?
  7. 7
    Hanging a shower curtain via a tension rod on the window side of the shower
    Did this help you?
  8. 8
    Cracking the window open during showers
    Did this help you?
  9. 9
    Submitting a maintenance order to the landlord or owner
    Did this help you?
  10. 10
    Hiring a professional to redo the caulking
    Did this help you?
  11. 11
    Venting the bathroom using a window and fan
    Did this help you?
  12. 12
    Removing water from the corners after showering
    Did this help you?
  13. 13
    Switching to a mold-resistant PEVA/EVA vinyl curtain
    Did this help you?
  14. 14
    Improving bathroom ventilation by keeping the door open and running a fan
    Did this help you?
  15. 15
    Using a daily shower spray
    Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/HomeMaintenance2 people · September 2026

“I am so frustrated. I caulked the entire shower exactly a year ago. I spent three days removing the old moldy caulk, cleaning, waiting for it to try, and then recaulking and letting that dry.”source ↗

“My back, neck, and knees ached the entire time. On top of that I accidentally scraped parts of the tub glaze off with the metal caulk remover tool.”source ↗

“Well now I have another issue- mold/ mildew in both of the front corners of the tub.”source ↗

“I cannot fathom doing this project by myself again, so I’m going to hire somebody this time. But what am I doing wrong? Why is my caulk moldy and why am I scraping off parts of the tub during removal?”source ↗

shopstoomuch · r/HomeMaintenance · 5 upvotes

“We just moved into an older house and we have this window IN our shower. It will get wet and it looks like the paint is not weather, mold, or mildew proof (it also has some of the windows painted over so I can't open it all the way) but can I keep this from getting too wet and causing more rot?”source ↗

“We are not allowed to paint or modify the house AT ALL.”source ↗

No_Comparison_9477 · r/HomeMaintenance · 3 upvotes

“Do you think cracking the window open every time I shower with that water proof curtain would be enough to help with the steam for mold?”source ↗

No_Comparison_9477 · r/HomeMaintenance · 2 upvotes
r/CleaningTips2 people · September 2026 – November 2026

“Recently completed a renovation and added this long drain. Turns out it’s a massive mould magnet because of long stretches of pooling water.”source ↗

“I have replaced the silicon once already 6 months in and need a long term solution.”source ↗

“anyone find a way to live with these without drying off after every shower?”source ↗

BeginningIngenuity83 · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes

“we are in a constant battle of having to bleach clean the cloth curtain every 2-3 weeks. We shut the shower curtain after every use. What gives?”source ↗

DirtyOught · r/CleaningTips

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised