Adam wrote:
Just a few months ago, I installed the tile in my bathroom. I took lots
of care to make sure the grout filled all the spaces between the tiles,
sealed the grout, and used caulk where walls met and where the tile met
the tub.
Now, as you can see in the linked pics below, this grey mildew is
appearing only on the caulk. It only appears in this area, where the
tiles meet the tub, and where water is prone to collect after a shower.
I have been diligent about drying it recently, but regardless, I can't
seem to scrub the mildew off.
My questions:
1) Is this mildew coming from any source that I should be concerned
about, aside from the water that collects there?
2) What can I do to prevent mildew from growing in the caulk?
3) How can I clean this stuff? Or do I need to pull the caulk out and
re-caulk?

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/8413/12rn.jpg
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/5535/25fz1.jpg
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/5495/33go.jpg

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
Adam


You need to remove the caulk completely, clean the line with straight
bleach, let dry, wipe with denatured alcohol. When completely dry,
recaulk. Have to have a smoothe caulk bead so it doesn't collect soap
scum and other shower detritus.

We just redid the grout in our shower. In spite of having scrubbed the
tile a lot, I discovered the lower part, around soap dish, had thick
soap scum. Got out the razor blade and scraped gobs of soap scum from
the tile. After regrout and seal, we installed a timer on our exhaust
fan so we can leave it on a while to dry out the room better. I also
wipe the tile every few showers. With less soap scum, there should be
less mold but your caulk looks like it had mildew under it when the
caulk was applied. The room needs ventillation, as well.