Shower – way to design/create a shower that is less prone to mold

moldshower

I think I've had it with traditional tiled showers…I can't stand the site of mold in between tiles, on the tiles! on shower curtains, on shower doors, etc.

I think I'm pretty clean, but I always will see little bits of mold.

How can I build a shower that would minimize mold growth?

What materials would help? What about concrete? Can I treat the surface with anything?

What kind of enclusure structures would work? Can I treat the shower curtain with anything? What if the door were stainless?

Do I build a dehumidifying unit into the bathroom?

I'm looking for the ultimate bathroom/shower design.

I know that what ever the solution, cleaning will still be required…

Best Answer

General construction advice for 'general' showers:

In/on the walls:

  • use RedGard as a vapor barrier over the cement board
  • use paperless or blueboard sheetrock
  • use mildew resistant pain
  • adequately vent the room with a proper exhaust fan

In the shower construction itself:

  • seal all caulk properly
  • make sure standing water can't puddle

Now, all that said, I pretty much agree. Showers as they are today aren't really designed as well as they should be IMHO.

For inexpensive solutions, I'm actually a fan of the more modern pre-moulded systems. You can get systems that look quite nice for under $1500 that come in 3 or 4 full-wall sections with gasket seems. I know folks tend to consider them 'cheaper' than a true tiled shower, but I actually find them much more intriguing from an engineering standpoint. They just make more sense to me in a modern home.

For more quirky/unique solutions, I've seen:

  • metal sheeting. Corrugated Galvanized sheets, for example. Copper as another.
  • all glass
  • sealed monolithic concrete (note that concrete is extremely porous so would have to be sealed with something like an epoxy coating)

And...most recently...we stayed at a new hotel a few weeks ago where the shower walls were made out of solid slabs of the same counter-top material as the vanity. It looked really nice actually, I'm guessing it was a Corian like product.

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