How to Get a Mildew Stain Out of an Acrylic Shower Basin

You'll need to don rubber gloves to fight mildew in your shower.

At some point in time you may discover mildew stains in you shower basin. Though acrylic shower basins are typically more resistant to staining that tile and grout floors, they can still suffer the effects of mildew. When cleaning mildew stains, work up from the weakest cleaner to the strongest. You may not have to use everything at your disposal before you are successful in removing the stains.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber gloves
• Safety glasses
• Dust mask or respirator
• Long pants
• Long-sleeved shirt
• Scrub brush with stiff nylon or plastic bristles
• All-purpose bathroom cleaner
• Chlorine bleach
• Bucket
• White vinegar
• Paper towels

Instructions

1. Put on safety equipment. Wear a pair of safety glasses and a dust mask or respirator. It is also a good idea to wear long pants and long sleeves. If you can, open any windows in the bathroom to help ventilate the room.

2. Spray the mildew stains with an all-purpose shower cleaner. Allow the cleaner to soak the mildew for several minutes.

3. Scrub the mildew stains with a stiff bristled scrub brush. Work the bristles through the mildew, back and forth, pushing down to create pressure. Rinse the debris away with water. Wash out the scrub brush with water.

4. Combine 1 gallon of water with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of chlorine bleach. Stir the mixture with the scrub brush. Dip the brush into the water and drizzle the mildew with the bleach mixture. Allow to soak for one minute and scrub the mildew stains hard with the scrub brush.

5. Rinse the area thoroughly with water.

6. Fold a paper towel over itself twice so it has four layers. Saturate the paper towel with white vinegar. Place the paper towel over the mildews stains. Repeat for all remaining mildew stains in the shower basin. Allow the paper towels to soak the stains for one hour. Check the stains every hour until any remaining stains are dissolved by the acid in the vinegar.

7. Rinse out the shower basin completely with water.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: How to Remove Mold and Mildew
• Good Housekeeping: Get Rid of Mildew --- Fast!
• Ask the Builder: Removing Mildew from Grout: Tim Carter
• Reader's Digest: Mildew Cleaning Solutions