How to Remove Mold and Mildew from your Bathroom

Over the winter, dreaded mold has accumulated on the deteriorating caulking around the perimeter of the tub.  

How do you remove mold and soap scum?  And how do you prevent it from returning in a bathroom that has no fan or ventilation other than a window?

Elbow grease, that's how.  

• First, battle the mold with cleaner.  If you can take the fumes in a bathroom with little ventilation, spray Tilex or bleach on the areas that need cleaning.  But using an abrasive cleaner really isn't necessary, and I don't recommend it.  I arm my sponge that has one abrasive, scrubby side with soap.  I have used body wash or antibacterial hand soap or multi-purpose cleaner.  It doesn't really matter what cleaner you use, the only way to really get rid of mold is when you:
• Scrub!  Elbow grease gets rid of mold in grout.  Use a scrubby sponge or a discarded toothbrush.  Sometimes the mold around the perimeter of the tub is so bad, the only way to have a clean look is to peel away the caulking.  There are plenty do-it-yourself tub perimeter sealants you can buy at your local hardware store.  (Just make sure your tub is dry and follow manufacturer instructions).  
• Repeat!  This is an ongoing process.  As the Flylady says, your house didn't get dirty in a day.  Under the sink, I keep a sponge tucked into a decorative basket that holds my other bathing items.  Scrub the tub after every use, and then:
• Dry.  Designate a separate bath towel for wiping the tub and shower walls dry after everyone is finished getting ready for the day.
• Ventilate!  I've found opening the window (even if just a crack on cold days) helps eliminate the moisture.  Turning on the wall heater (turn it off immediately when you're done in the bathroom!) dries the excessive moisture almost instantly.  Often, the mirror won't even fog when the heater is on when I'm showering or bathing.  In especially moist climates, use a box fan to dry up the moisture (this helps eliminate those tough-to-reach rust spots on the bathroom ceiling).  Just remember, be careful with electricity and water!

Recession? $178.73 for Groceries

In the month of April, "only" 20,000 jobs were eliminated nation-wide.  Does this mean we're less likely to face a recession?  I do not know.  Those employed by the State of California are biting their nails waiting for the presentation of the budget (hopefully) later this month with the 10% across-the-board cuts.

I wonder how California's layoffs will affect the rest of the country.

All I know is that I spent $178.73 on groceries that are supposed to last for two weeks.  The clerk at FoodMaxx circled $47.82 on my receipt to show me my amount of savings, so presumably I would have paid $226.55 on groceries.  The kids aren't here this weekend so the meat and rice and noodles and other staples will probably last us through the end of the month.  

Here are some of the things I bought and their prices:

$4.29 for cream cheese

$3.97 for mayo

$4.49 for unbleached flour

(If I wanted to be very exact with this, I'd go through the cabinets and type in the ounces on everything, but I'm not going to).

Mostly, I wanted to stock up.  Running out of ketchup is nothing short of catastrophic for children, and they don't care about inflation or gas prices.  I bought egg noodles and the largest package of spaghetti even though we already had noodles for a combined $4.41.  I bought both white and brown rice and barley for $7.97.  I bought dry lentils and black beans as well as Olav's favorite Bush's baked beans for a combined total of $7.36.

I got a few luxury items like dish soap and toilet paper and corn on the cob.  We always spend a lot on produce.  Not counting the $40 we splurged on the Chico Farmer's Market, I put down $20.64 on produce.

Recession (or not) be damned, we're going to eat in style, at least for 2-4 weeks.  I have some creative meals to produce.  So stay tuned . . . .