How should I prepare the shower walls for tiling to prevent mold and mildew?

Question

What is the proper way to prepare a bathroom wall before tiling for a shower area to prevent the growth of mold and mildew?

ChrisF · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-09 11:26:17Z

up vote 2 down vote accepted

The main things you need to do are in other areas:

Make sure that the shower area is properly ventilated. Install a fan if necessary.
Make sure that as much of the water can drain away as possible.

You can seal the tiles after installation which will inhibit the growth of mold, but make sure that the grout is completely dry before application.

You can also use anti fungal cement and grout to inhibit the growth, but this would only have a minor effect.

answered May 9 '12 at 11:26

ChrisF♦
14.4k12254

	I read somewhere on diy that a waterproof membrane could be userful. Do you know anything about that? – ipavlic May 9 '12 at 12:56
	@ipavlic - a water proof membrane might be needed to go between the wall and the tiles (depending on the structure of the wall and the type of tile) but it doesn't really help prevent mold. – ChrisF♦ May 9 '12 at 12:57
	I added that as a new question, so that I wouldn't spam the comment section: diy.stackexchange.com/questions/14213/… – ipavlic May 9 '12 at 13:10

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