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I'm as surprised as you are that they photographed it like that.... but mildew in shower corners isn't necessarily a sign of anything but mildew in the shower corners. It could be fixed without even touching it, with a spray bottle full of bleach solution.
No idea why they didn't do that!
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 04-21-2021 at 09:33 AM..
I'm as surprised as you are that they photographed it like that.... but mildew in shower corners isn't necessarily a sign of anything but mildew in the shower corners. It could be fixed without even touching it, with a spray bottle full of bleach solution.
Agreed. It's not a guarantee of water damage. Sometimes a shower floor is not pitched appropriately and doesn't drain well enough to prevent these things. The water lingers there just long enough to get mildew but it's not penetrating through the tile/grout.
Really surprising that this would not have been addressed prior to photographing/listing the property. At a minimum, it's unsightly and as we can see here it gives people the impression that there might be an issue with the house.
The mildew in the photo follows the typical caulk lines--so my guess is this: Over time, the caulk bead loses elasticity and bond, allowing water to penetrate and remain trapped under the caulk = mildew. This caulk bead can be a stubborn thing to remove, and simply spraying it and scrubbing it does not reach the mildew living under the bead.
Tile showers need the caulk lines replaced every couple of years--less or longer depending on the quality of the job. This looks like the homeowner just neglected to redo the caulk. BTW, I've spent many hours caulking tile wet areas, and rarely encounter an issue deeper than surface mildew. But do your due diligence before taking my word for it as it is just one pic
This is the poster child example of why any property you're going to market should be cleaned by a professional prior to photos/listing. Last house I sold it cost me about $300 and a day for a professional cleaner to clean it to the point where it was near surgically clean. Money well spent, expense allocated to cost of preparing house for market.
Yeah, I know how to clean a shower with bleach or whatever it takes to remove surface gank, but since the photo shows more than just a little bit of mildew in the corners, for instance, I'd be wary of what's below the surface. Seems the seller let it go (and grow ) much too long.
Good point, @MortonR (can't rep you again yet) about hiring professional cleaners. That is exactly what I will want to do when we get ready to list our home. Was it difficult to find a service that did such a good job? The few times I've tried out a general cleaning service, I've always been disappointed in the lack of thoroughness (at least after the initial cleaning).
That shower is just ugly in general, the mildew would be the least of my worries. Also that is what home inspections are for if you are considering buying the house.
It's like having poo stains in the toilet bowl lol. Gross but not really a problem.
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) much too long.
