Orange stains in the shower are unpleasant, as nobody likes to have a dirty shower. The orange stains could appear on your shower curtain, shower walls, and other areas of your bathroom, so it’s crucial to react promptly and remove them.
Keep reading to learn more about the causes of orange stains in your shower and how to eliminate them.
Causes of Orange Stains In the Shower
There are a couple of different things that could make your shower turn orange. That’s why you need to know how to differentiate and clean them. Below are some of the most common reasons for orange stains in your shower.
Pink Mold
Pink mold is one of the most widespread reasons for orange stains in the shower. Although it’s called pink mold, pink mold is not mold but a bacteria that can cause a lot of issues if left untreated.
The bacteria behind pink mold is Serratia marcescens, which can build up in your shower wall, shower door, shower curtain, or any other part of your shower. It’s an airborne bacteria that cause various health problems.
Despite its name, pink mold has an orange color and will make an orange buildup that can look disgusting. Mold growth is a serious problem, so it’s crucial to treat pink mold stains promptly once they appear.
Iron In the Water
If you’ve noticed orange water stains in your bathroom, it’s likely your household water supply has high levels of mineral deposits, including iron. Once they combine with soap scum, they will form a rusty orange deposit in your bathroom.
Even when your home’s water supply has high mineral deposits, they’re not typically dangerous. However, when mixed with soap scum, these rusty orange deposits can be annoying and ruin the aesthetical appeal of your bathroom.
Hard water can leave iron traces on your plumbing fixtures, shower curtain, and washing machine, which can develop stains that resemble rust. Luckily, it’s uncomplicated to treat hard water stains when you know to get rid of them, which we’ll cover in the article.
Bacteria
Besides pink mold, other bacteria can also develop orange stains in your shower. Bathrooms tend to be moist, which makes the perfect environment for bacteria growing inside.
If there’s bacteria growth in your shower, treating and cleaning it in time is crucial, as bacteria can cause respiratory illnesses.
How To Get Rid of Orange Stains From Your Shower?
Now that you know the possible reasons behind the orange stain in your shower, you need to learn how to get rid of them.
If you want to know how to clean orange stains, check out some of the best removal methods below.
Water and Lemon Juice
You can make a DIY lemon and water solution in a spray bottle, which you can use on affected areas with orange stains. You’ll need 1 cup of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of water. This solution should entirely remove orange stains and make your shower clean and fresh.
All you need to do is spray the lemon juice solution on the affected area and allow it to sit for around 10 minutes.
Once the time passes, scrub the area and rinse it with warm water. If you can still notice an orange stain here and there, you can repeat the process.
White Vinegar and Baking Soda
If you’ve noticed rust stains in your shower that won’t go away, you can make your shower or bathtub white by making a baking soda and vinegar solution. To make the white vinegar and water solution, mix two parts of vinegar with one part of water.
You can either pour them into a spray bottle or make a baking soda paste that will dissolve the orange stain. Allow the solution to sit for 20 minutes, then scrub and rinse it. If you notice the stains are still there even after cleaning, you can sprinkle additional baking soda and white vinegar on the area.
This solution should clean orange stains from the shower efficiently. However, if there’s orange residue or tough stains on your shower curtain, you might need to wash it in the washing machine.
Bleach
Some stains might be harder to clean with lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda solution. If you have an issue with Serratia marcescens or other stubborn bacteria in your shower causing stains, you can use bleach to clean them.
As chlorine bleach is stronger than other solutions, it acts as a remover and can efficiently remove orange stains.
Rust Stain Remover
If you have iron stains in your shower, your tap water probably has a high level of mineral deposits. Because of the water, your shower can develop rusty stains that are hard to remove.
When that happens, you need to remove rusty stains from your shower, and a rust stain remover is perfect for that job.
You can find multiple of them online and choose one of your liking.
How To Prevent Orange Stains From Occurring In Your Shower?
Orange stains in showers are a much bigger problem than it seems at first glance. They can appear everywhere, from your fabric shower curtains, tiles, and fixtures. However, practicing prevention can lower the chances of orange stains appearing in your shower.
Here’s what you can do:
Get your water tested – Call a plumber to perform a water test. By inspecting your tap water, they will let you know if you have hard water or not.
Install a water softener system – If your water is high in iron, you can install a water softener to resolve the issue.
Conclusion
Orange stains can show up in your shower unannounced, even when you’re cleaning it regularly. They can get inside anything from shower tiles to fixtures and your shower curtain. Luckily, you can treat these stubborn stains easily and prevent them from happening in the future.