Why Does My Bathroom Smell Like Butter?

The moldy offender...  Crocodile Mat from Ikea

I noticed the other day that my son's rubber bath mat has a few spots of mold growing on it.  Terribly frustrating since I have no mold remover in the house at the moment and the mat is not to be soaked in bleach.  So as I go to the computer to research a solution, I am told by my other half that he had heard just the other day that using simple Pam (as in the non-stick stuff from the kitchen) was a really great way to remove mold.

Now this makes me very happy...  It's non-toxic, I have it in the house, and I have my blog update about the wonder of Pam in the bathroom already written in my head.  The nagging questions (how is that possible?  Doesn't it make the tub slippery?) I quietly ignored, figuring that all would reveal itself as I used it.

Today, I spray the mat from top to bottom with the Pam.  My bathroom smells like popcorn, but I figure who cares if it works?  I take a wipe with my microfiber cloth and...  Still there.  So I try again, leaving it on for about 5 minutes.  Still nothing.  I finish my third application and pop open my phone to see what I can find about Pam as a mold killer.

As it turns out, my other half was half right...  I found plenty of websites that talk about how wonderful Pam is at releasing mold.  Unfortunately, the mold it's great as releasing are the variety that are to be painted and displayed, not the kind that the kind found on bathroom mats.

Even as we speak, the hot water shower is running in the bathroom to try and make it not like a Slip-N-Slide and I have learned a very important lesson about how just because you love somebody doesn't mean you don't fact check him first.

But for those who are curious who may make models as a hobby, apparently car wax also works wonders as a mold release, though I have not tried it on the bathroom mat to see how it works on that mold.  I do not suggest it.