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.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Replacing the silicone sealant regularly
- 2Thoroughly cleaning the drain weekly or twice a week
- 3Using mold-specific chemical sprays like Wet and Forget
- 4Running the bathroom fan for 15 minutes
- 5Placing a piece of copper or zinc in the area
- 6Covering the window with clear plastic
- 7Hanging a shower curtain via a tension rod on the window side of the shower
- 8Cracking the window open during showers
- 9Submitting a maintenance order to the landlord or owner
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“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 ↗
“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 ↗
“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 ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 9How to get rid of severe black mold on bathroom grout
- 4How to get rid of mold around shower pipes permanently