Black mould keeps coming back on my bathroom ceiling — how do I get rid of it for good?
Every couple of months black mould comes back on the bathroom ceiling. I wipe it, sometimes repaint over it, and within weeks it's back in the same spots. The bathroom doesn't have a window, just an extractor that I'm not sure even does much.
How do I actually kill this for good instead of playing whack-a-mole? Is it a paint problem or something worse?
3 answers
You're playing whack-a-mole because you're treating the stain, not the cause. Two things are working against you:
- Moisture + no ventilation. Hot showers dump steam, and with no window and a weak extractor it sits on the cold ceiling and condenses. Keep a surface damp for 2–3 days and mould colonises — our climate makes that easy.
- Gypsum board loves mould. The paper facing is basically food for it. Once mould has gone into the board, wiping the surface does nothing — the colony is inside, so it comes straight back.
How to actually stop it: - Fix the air first. Make sure the extractor genuinely vents outside, not just into the ceiling void — a lot of them don't. Run it during the shower and 20–30 minutes after. If it's feeble, replacing it is the single most effective thing you can do. A working AC that dehumidifies helps too. - Small, surface-only patches: treat with a proper mould remover (not just bleach-and-wipe, which fades the colour but leaves the roots), let it dry fully, then use a mould-resistant primer and paint. - If the board is soft, bulging, stained right through, or it keeps returning: that gypsum is colonised internally — it has to be cut out, replaced and re-skimmed. Surface cleaning cannot fix penetrated board.
For the cut-out-and-re-skim on a ceiling that's past cleaning, that's a gypsum and ceiling repair job — but honestly, sort the ventilation the same week or the new board goes the same way. If the trigger is a leak from above rather than shower steam, see our ceiling water-stain thread first.
The 'does the extractor actually vent outside' point is huge. I opened mine up expecting a duct and found it just blowing into the ceiling space — basically recycling the damp air. Connected it to the outside vent properly and the recurring mould in that bathroom stopped.
Ah. I've definitely just been repainting the roots back in. Going to check where the extractor actually goes this weekend and get a mould-resistant primer. If the board's gone soft I'll get it replaced. Thanks for the straight answer.
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