Try Some Elbow Grease

Dear FlyLady,

First, THANK YOU for what you do! I started two months ago and was so excited even if all I accomplished was having my sink and dishwasher empty when I woke up, no matter what the rest of the house looked like. My Postpardum Depression has been pretty bad and hanging around 20 months now, leaving me feeling overwhelmed every day. You put a stop to that by giving me simple goals and having permission to not do it all!

MY question is about Wednesday's mission! My house had been empty for a year or more when we bought it, and the shower shows it. The mold/mildew takes a LOT of time and elbow grease (about three hours) to get rid of...and doesn't take long to come back. How do I reconcile this with a one day 15 minute mission?

One-Winged FlyBaby Julie

PS my personal mission yesterday: to climb inside my cabinets with kitchen and bath paint to make a sanitary space to store my rarely used appliances ;)

Dear Julie,

I am very proud of you for getting things done and letting go of the perfectionism that causes you to be overwhelmed! As for your bathroom; there is a problem if it takes three hours to clean.

Every bathroom needs a vent fan. If you don't have one in this bathroom, then get one installed. If you do have one then take the cover off of it and check to see if it is dirty. You can use a can of spray air to clean it out. You will need to wear some safety glasses because dust is going to fly. Make sure that when people take a shower that they run the fan. This will vent the moisture out of the bathroom.

I love to take hot baths, but when I don't run my vent fan, my smoke alarm goes off. It is in the hallway outside the bathroom.

Keep in mind that the chemicals that need to be used to clean mold and mildew are not good for you, neither is the mold. You need to wear a mask and rubber gloves.

Many years ago I learned an important lesson from a camp nurse where I worked. We had no air conditioning at the music camp. The mustiness, mold, and mildew was everywhere except for the Nursing Cabin. The nurse explained why her cabin did not have mold and mildew. She said that she keeps fans moving the air and that mold can not grow in moving air.

So here is what we do at our house.

1. We run the exhaust fan
2. We open up the shower door to allow the shower to dry.
3. I open up my shower curtain to let my tub dry.
4. Then I close it after it dries for the curtain to dry.
5. I keep a Silver Rag in my shower to clean the walls while in shower.

It is important to stop the mold from growing in the first place. Try getting a fan to blow air into your bathroom to keep the air moving. A small 12 inch fan. Do not but it close to the tub. I have set mine outside the bathroom door when our ceiling vent fan was not working.

I don't like the idea of you spending 3 hours to clean a bathroom. That is not good! The mold and chemicals could be making you feel bad. Since it looks like you enjoy painting, I have another idea for you.

Put together a spray bottle of a 25% solution of bleach water. This will help to kill the mold. Once the mold is gone and the walls are dry, you can paint the walls with a mold and mildew resistant paint. Here is everything you could ever wanted to know about removing mold and mildew from a bathroom.

This week we are in the main bathrooms of our home. I want to keep you from having to marathon clean your bathroom. We came up with some great tools to help you keep your bathroom clean and shiny.

Christmas will be here before we know it! Think about giving clutter-free gifts! My favorite consumable gift is our FlyLady Calendar!

Do We Have a Surprise for You! Feather Dusters are Back in Stock

Have you gotten your calendar ordered? Get it today! Our calendar has large squares that are big enough to hold your busy family's schedule and milestones.

Put your home on Auto-Pilot by getting our Daily Flight Plan! Join us 6 days a week for our LIVE SHOW at 11:00 am ET.

Please subscribe to our Youtube Channel and Click the Bell for Notifications.

Check out our new FlyShop! Order your 2027 calendars for Shipping NOW.

Get our Free Holiday Control Journal and join us for a little laughter and learning how to Finally Love Yourself. Send an email to [email protected] with FREE HOLIDAY COJ in the subject line.