What's that pink stuff?

​In our last post, we explored ways to reduce or remove the black mold that lives in the darkest corners of your home, but what about that pink stuff hanging around in your bathrooms and sometimes in the kitchen? You know the stuff. It hangs out on the drains, showers, and even in your toilet.

That pink stuff is called Serratia marcencens or S. marcencens for short. This little rod-shaped bacterium is commonly found in our natural environment, however, when growing in mass in a home or hospital setting, it has been known to cause various respiratory infections as well as UTI's and other minor infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals. It is most recognized by its pink or orange color and slimy feel. Once settled into grout or the small cracks of your shower head, it can be fairly difficult to fully eradicate. 

But Fear Not! It can be done! 

The first steps to keeping these tenacious beasts from overgrowing the bathroom and kitchen is to make those areas an inhospitable place to live simply by:

• ​Drying off affected areas more often.
• Regular removal of the soap scum that feeds the bacterium. 
• Reduce your use of phosphorus-containing materials (protein rich foods and some cleaning chemicals). 
• Avoid using abrasive cleaning supplies/tools (cleaners and/or scrubbies) which leave miniature scratches on affected surfaces, creating the perfect stronghold for S. marcencens. 
• Using antibacterial solutions (follow directions to the letter!), bleach, or essential oil mixtures that target and kill bacteria specifically. 

For step by step instructions, keep reading:

​​For Bleach method:

1. Scrub the biofilm off the hard surfaces with a soft bristled brush and a paste made of 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 Tbsp liquid dish soap. 
2. Rinse off paste and flush the slime down the drain. 
3. Disinfect the same surfaces using diluted bleach (1/2 cup bleach to 1 gallon cold water) and let mixture stand for 10 minutes. 
4. Lightly scrub and rinse areas to wash the remaining bacteria down the drain.
5. Dry areas with a towel or squeegee.

If you are sensitive to bleach, try replacing the bleach mixture with straight vinegar:

1. Wet down your shower or sink.
2. Spray vinegar onto surfaces affected by the pink mold and let stand for 15-20min.
3. Scrub with a soft bristled brush.
4. Rinse everything down the drain.
5. Dry surface with a towel or squeegee.

If you want to get the pink off your shower curtain, simply throw your curtain into the washer. Use gentile cycle and warm water.

In summary, the best way to get ahead of S. marcencens is to be proactive by:

1. Scrubbing off the initial growth of pink/orange bacteria,
2. Wiping up or squeegeeing off lingering water in the affected areas, 
3. Keeping soap scum down to a minimum by wiping up after every use or deep cleaning areas once a week, 
4. Cleaning out protein-rich foods from your kitchen sinks after each use.