How do you clean the black gunk off the bottom of a bath mat?

Question

We use a bath mat to stop he children slipping in the bath. The top is as perfect as the day it was purchased. Teh bottom - where teh suction caps are - is an almost solid black. Every night it is always hung up to dry on the tiles. Every so often it is washed at 40 degrees in the washing machine - which has no effect whatsoever. Has anyone ever found a good mixture to clean this type of thing?. I don't want to keep chucking and buying new ones. The one we have is extra long so 3 kids can fit on it and as such is extra expensive. Any ideas?

Answer 1

I agree, use bleach and some elbow grease.  You may want to buy a new one, too, if the bleach does not work.

Answer 2

They make bathmats that are more mold- and bacteria- resistant these days, look for one and maybe you won't have to keep replacing it.

But be cautious about the bleach advice--it's been found that with some molds (I'm not sure which ones), bleach only worsens the mold problem in the long run.

Also--ever try putting some 20 MULE TEAM BORAX in the washing machine with it?  Baking soda, good soap and 'elbow grease' (ie., scrubbing by hand) might also make a big difference.  Try using DRY baking soda on it when the mat  itself is also  DRY.

Answer 3

Maybe you just need some bleach and "elbow grease"; some good scrubbing might do the trick.

Answer 4

try soaking it in vinegar overnight that should help get some of the stains out.

Answer 5

The black gung is probably black mold and is dangerous.

Try fliping the dark side up and testing a spot by pouring a cap full of straight clorox on it

The spot should change to brown then white soon. That means you killed the black mold in its track there.

Use the clorox to kill it all over then rinsed, wash with soap, and rinse and dry. Then each week repeat but with only a solution of water and a little clorox to keep it away. Because the clorox is a bit rough on the material the mat is made of.

Still its better to use up a mat now and then rather than expose your kids to black mold.

Answer 6

The black gunk is, of course, molds.  What you might want to get and keep around the house is a little heavy duty bleach.  Go to any sort of paint store - but one which sell to contractors is best.  Contractors are always asked to clean up the most horrible messes.

I once was asked to clean and paint a bathroom.  The bleach material I got from the paint store cleaned so well I didn't have to paint the room - and prior to my cleaning, the room was nearly black with molds.

The bleach stuff STINKS!  So you use it and then run away.  You don't want your lungs full of it.

Answer 7

Washing with a load of towels using bleach should wash it right out. If your hanging it to dry every night it shouldn't be happening. Also try washing in hot water like a 130 to a 140 degrees instead of 40 which must be cold.