Keep telling yourself until you believe it and let yourself off the hook: “I am NOT a bad housekeeper. I just need to be more vigilant in the future.”

With this simple mantra, you will have taken your first step toward banishing mold in your bathroom – for good.

Bathrooms Make Ideal Breeding Grounds for Mold

Discovering mold on shower walls, tiles, tubs and shower curtains is almost always a shocker because it's often black (resembling mud) rather than green (the color of mold usually grows on food in a refrigerator). Bathroom mold and mildew are different because they thrive in dark, damp places where humidity is high and ventilation is low.

You may not like the smell of white vinegar or bleach, but you'll need one of or both of these products to remove mold in your bathroom.

Remove a Light Mold Buildup

Fill a spray bottle with a 50-50 solution of white vinegar and water and spray the solution on the mold buildup. Let it sit for 10 minutes before wiping the area with a damp sponge and then drying the area thoroughly with an old rag. The acidity in the vinegar should kill the mold and stop it from growing back. And the solution is a natural deodorizer (and superb glass cleaner), too.

Remove a Heavier Mold Buildup With Vinegar or Bleach

Dispense with the water this time and spray undiluted white vinegar on the mold. Let it sit for 10 minutes before wiping the area with a wet sponge – or even an old, worn toothbrush if the mold resists. Dry the area thoroughly.

Alternatively, prepare to attack the mold with bleach. But first, open a window or turn on a fan. Then put on a pair of plastic gloves and pour ½ cup bleach into a gallon of water. Use the solution to scrub the mold. If you're a vigorous cleaner, wear protective goggles, too, so the solution doesn't splash into your eyes. (A warning: never mix bleach with any other cleaner, especially ammonia. The combination could create lethal fumes.)

Keep Mold at Bay

Once you've banished mold, you'll want to keep it out. Spraying surfaces weekly with a vinegar and water solution – whether they're dirty or not – is a good first step. Keep your bathroom as dry and as ventilated as possible by:

• Using a squeegee to wipe shower walls after all showers. With practice, this task shouldn't take anyone more than several minutes and it will eliminate a large amount of moisture.

• Running the exhaust fan during baths and showers and for 15 minutes afterward.

• Opening the window treatment to let sunlight in.

• Opening the window to improve air flow.

• Cleaning up puddles rather than letting them evaporate on their own.

• Waterproofing grout lines once a year with grout sealer.

• Checking the CFM (cubic feet per minute) volume on the label under the grill if you don't think your exhaust fan is pulling its weight. It may be too small for your bathroom and can be replaced with a larger one.
  
  You can find other helpful, money-saving tips like these in The Home Maintenance Checklist from First Quality Roofing & Insulation, Las Vegas's premier residential roofing and insulation company. Download the guide for free and learn how so many home maintenance tasks – like removing mold – begin with awareness and can be conquered with vigilance.