Mandy PhillipsAlthough you may like yellow color, you probably won’t like yellow streaks or yellow mold on the walls and ceiling in your bathroom. In addition to being unsightly, yellow mold is dangerous and can even release airborne spores that trigger asthma.
So what causes yellow streaks on bathroom walls, and what can you do about it?
Learn why your bathroom walls are sweating yellow and how to maintain a mold-less and clean bathroom.
Why Do Bathroom Walls Turn Yellow?
Yellow drip stains on bathroom walls are caused by deposits and fungal growth that attack your walls and ceramic tiles, and it even shows up as yellow spots on the bathroom ceiling.
Let’s cover these two in detail.
Reason #1: Mineral Deposits
Unless you have a great water filter on your water mains, what comes out of your faucet is not just pure water. The water in most taps in the U.S. contains a range of chemicals that are there to clean the water and ensure good health. Your tap water is loaded with minerals like fluoride and calcium.
These minerals are heavier than the actual water, so when the water drains, the minerals are left behind as deposits that make shower doors murky and mucky. If you don’t have a good dehumidifier or exhaust fan in your bathroom to help you deal with damp issues, you may even find these deposits forming on your walls. Most often, you will see these streaky lines near the ceiling cornices and at the tile line if you don’t have floor to ceiling tiles.
Over time, this buildup begins to yellow. Considering that this deposit is also a nutrient-rich environment for other undesirable fungi, it quickly turns into an eyesore.
Common solution: hard water deposits cleaner
Reason #2: Fungal Growth
When mineral deposits accumulate on your bathroom walls, they start to form a tacky surface where fungal spores can easily settle in and grow. With repeated moisture and rich nutrients, these spores will thrive and soon grow a nasty crust of yellow mold colonies.
Most often, these colonies are seen as slimy yellow deposits that form at the corners of walls, at the joint between the walls and ceiling, and also where your walls join to bathtub edges and the joints with the shower door. The area where the bathroom vanity is adjacent to the wall will also be a magnet to these growths as it is an area that usually receives a lot of moisture.
With many different and sometimes highly dangerous yellow mold types in the U.S., it can be a real challenge and potentially life-threatening situation when your bathroom walls turn yellow.
If left unchecked, these moldy growths and mineral deposits will multiply, and soon, your bathroom walls will look like they are weeping yellow paint.
Common solution: liquid mold disinfectant or spray mold disinfectant
2 Ways to Clean Up Yellow Drips on Bathroom Walls
Cleaning up mold or mineral deposits will depend on the unique nature of the deposit or mold growth.
1. How to Remove Mineral Deposits
As soon as you see yellow streaks or areas form in your bathroom, you need to take action. At this stage, you are probably only dealing with mineral deposits known as scale. These are fairly easy to remove, and you should do so immediately.
Step One. Mix Cleaning Solution
Mix a third of a gallon of water with a cup of white vinegar and a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle.
Step Two. Apply the Cleaning Solution
Spray the vinegar solution onto the affected scale and deposit areas. Allow the solution to work for a few minutes, then wipe down with a damp cloth.
Step Three. Reapply When Needed
Scale and other forms of mineral deposits can be quite tenacious, and if you don’t enforce a routine to help prevent the buildup from returning, you will have to apply cleaning solutions often. Keeping a premixed solution of water and vinegar on hand to spray weekly is a great way to keep the scale from forming again.
Step Four. Industrial Cleaners
It may be necessary to use a professional mineral cleaner to get through the tough buildup that has been left to accumulate in your bathroom corners and on your bathroom ceilings for a lengthy period of time. In these cases, where the mineral deposits are extensive, you need extra help.
2. How to Remove Yellow Fungal Growth
Unfortunately, most of the yellowing you will find on bathroom walls and ceiling is from fungal growth. Removing these can be somewhat tricky. For starters, you will require personal protective equipment and a much more comprehensive approach.
Step One. Prepare the Space and Yourself
Use drop cloths, face masks, rubber gloves, and coveralls to protect yourself from inhaled mold spores and to stop the spores from being carried into the rest of your home (which will spread the problem). When you leave your bathroom, remove your shoes or spray with a disinfectant that kills mold.
Shut off the AC or HVAC for the bathroom to prevent mold spores from getting caught in your climate control system. Spores will be dislodged during scrubbing and cleaning processes, so be prepared.
Step Two. Scrape off Excess Mold
If you have a serious mold problem and there are large bulging yellow deposits or fluffy yellow bits that hide in the corners of your bathroom walls and near the bathroom fittings, then you can start by scraping these off with a builders’ trowel or putty knife.
Carefully place the scrapings in a plastic bag or container as you don’t want to walk these into the rest of your house should you step in them.
Step Three. Spray Cleaning Solution
It’s not necessary to attack the yellow mold problem with pool acid. Start with a moderate approach. Mix the above vinegar and water solution, spray onto the mold, wait a few minutes, scrub, rinse, and inspect.
If the mold patches are clean, you are good and can dry the areas and clean them weekly to prevent mold recurrence. However, if you see more lingering yellow streaks and patches that simply won’t scrub away, then you need a stronger solution.
Apply baking soda to the same mixture as above, letting it soak into the moldy patches. After a few minutes, you can scrub, rinse, and assess.
Is there still mold? Time for the bleach. Using ammonia and plain water, you can apply this solution with a sponge, wait a few minutes, then rinse. Check the mold again. If the problem has persisted, you can step up and use the commercial-grade mold disinfectant.
Note: do not use enzyme-based cleaners at the same time as disinfectants (bleach or commercial grade mold disinfectants), as disinfectants will kill live organisms of the enzymes and render the solution useless.
While this approach will clean away all traces of mold (unless the mold has already damaged the plaster or caused ceramic tiles to loosen and fall off), you will notice a new problem: the walls around the patches you cleaned will be a different tone now!
No worries.
Just mix enough of the solution, apply it with a spray bottle to the walls, wait a few minutes, then wipe down with a squeegee mop and your walls will be the same tone again.
Preventing Bathroom Walls from Sweating Yellow
When your bathroom walls are forming yellow mold or have yellow mineral deposits on, it can look like they are weeping or sweating. This is not only a side effect, but it can also be the root cause of the yellowing.
A dry bathroom is a healthy bathroom. When you shower, condensation forms on your walls, and if you leave this, mold will form and your bathroom walls will start to go yellow. To avoid this, keep the bathroom dry.
Dry out your bathroom by opening a window to let air circulate, install a dehumidifier to reduce condensation, and be sure to fix all leaking pipes and taps. If you reduce the amount of moisture in the air, your walls will stay drier and yellowing will not happen.
Practice good bathroom hygiene, such as picking up wet towels and rugs and opening doors or windows when you shower, and ensure your bathroom has natural airflow to dry off the walls. If you combine regular bathroom hygiene with the habit of cleaning as soon as you notice mineral deposits forming, your bathroom walls will remain in pristine condition.
