Can you repair bath silicone beading?

[ChillyWill]

Hi, I had a new bathroom put in a couple of years back but some of the silicone sealant between the tiles and top of bath has come away - two places specifically of about 5-7cm - the rest seems clean/fine.

My question is - do I have to remove ALL sealant around the bath and replace from scratch... or is there any way to spot repair these bits?

Thanks in advance team.

Will

 

[ChillyWill]

(I would share pics but presume that I am not at the required post count yet as they won't upload)

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Hi and welcome.
You're best replacing it all. It's not expensive and if you don't, the new stuff will not match the original.
Screwfix sell a tool to help you remove the old and apply the new, if you've little experience in this.

 

[ChillyWill]

I thought as much! Thanks

 

[piglet11]

Not worth trying to repair it.

You can soften up the old stuff with a sealant remover, or white spirit will help as well.

It's really important to get the surfaces spotlessly clean before you try again. A good scrub with a detergent and a non-abrasive washing up pad will do, as will an evaporative solvent like surgical spirits.

Use a decent sanitary silicone and mask up both edges. Damp finger application or cutting a cartridge nozzle at an angle makes a cheap smoother.

 

[Smurof Yid]

Hi, I had a new bathroom put in a couple of years back but some of the silicone sealant between the tiles and top of bath has come away - two places specifically of about 5-7cm - the rest seems clean/fine.
My question is - do I have to remove ALL sealant

Hi. Only a couple of years back? So I would guess that the tiler just ran a bead of caulk and got out of there. Let me back up a second.
Yes! Do do it right remove the old silicone, there are plastic gizmos whhich help get behind it without gouging the tub, and as someone else already mentioned chemical which will soften it to make it a bit more pliable, but this is only two years. If you take care, take your time, a sharp Olfa and your fingers will get that off in no time, a few minutes. Now don't make the same mistake as the installer did. Before you caulk it, fill the tub with water. THEN caulk it. Let the caulk dry completely (overnight) before draining the water. This simulates a person and water in a half full tub. What happens when the tub is empty when caulked, is you add water, you get in. and the weight of all that pulls the caulk away from the tub in some places, or the tiles in other places. This way, you should be good for 10-15 years. IF you buy proper silicone of course. Hope this helps.

 

[piglet11]

Interesting idea from Smurof Yid.

My next door neighbour was a full time plumber and reckoned he was a silicone buff. I used to help him on jobs.

I never saw him with his wellies on sealing a bath and a well fixed bath shouldn't move. I would have thought that there was enough elasticity in silicone to take up small movements.

To be honest, when I saw fill the bath up, I thought this was some method to speed up the curing process.

But, true, he wasn't one to hang around and certainly didn't wait to test it either.

 

[Doghouse Riley]

A bit more information about the problem with mould in the bathroom.

Twelve years ago, we had our bath replaced with a walk-in shower in our small bathroom, due to my wife's increasing problems with her MS.

This year was the second time I've replaced the sealant that got discoloured over time.
Another problem is that you can get mould and discolouration in the gaps between the tiles and no amount of scrubbing can remove it in some places regardless of what chemicals you use. But my wife found this product, "Grout Cure" on a shopping channel. I wasn't impressed with the demo but I thought it was worth a try.
I got rid of the gaps between the tiles by masking them all up. Applying the stuff to make it flush with the tiles. The masking up is a bit of a pain but you can do it by doing it in full length strips rather than individual tiles. I only did the shower area. I used two and a half tubes.


So we went from this, after I'd replaced the silicone between the tiles and the shower tray.

To this in January this year.

It's got like a rubberised finish. It's stayed this white. So I'm impressed.

 

[sarah-78489]

Hi, I had a new bathroom put in a couple of years back but some of the silicone sealant between the tiles and top of bath has come away - two places specifically of about 5-7cm - the rest seems clean/fine.

My question is - do I have to remove ALL sealant around the bath and replace from scratch... or is there any way to spot repair these bits?

Thanks in advance team.

Hey dear, you do nott have to replace all the silicone sealant around the bath. To repair the specific damaged area clean the affected spots thoroughly remove loose silicone and then apply fresh silicone sealant. Make sure to use a bathroom-specific silicone sealant for the best results. Allow it to dry according to the manufacturer instructions and your spot repair should take care of the problem without the need to redo all the sealant around the bath.

 

[sarah-78489]

It's got like a rubberised finish. It's stayed this white. So I'm impressed.

You have been dealing with recurring bathroom maintenance issue like discolored sealant and stubborn mold between tiles. You tried "grout cure" by masking full-length strip and it is impressively provided a long-lasting rubberized finish in the shower area. This could be helpful information for others facing similar problems...

 

[argile_tile]

see johnbridges.com tile forum. the old geezer knows absolutely everything.

NEVER USE CAULK IN SHOWERS. IT MOLDS. AND IT RUINS GROUT. IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT NEEDED.

there's an invisible shower pan that brings water to a lower inlet of the drain. caulk is NEVER needed in a shower unless the shower was done illegally and incorrectly.

remove the caulk -- re-apply grout if needed