Bathroom-Caulking
Tips and Techniques
Bathroom-caulking has always been one of those
maintenance items that never seems to get attention until it causes a
problem. Caulk is basically an elastic sealer that keeps water from
penetrating the cracks between bathroom tile and bathtubs or showers,
sinks and countertops, or the vanity countertop and the back-splash or
other areas that need protection against water entry.
Caulk will deteriorate over time causing
it to crack or separate and in the most severe cases it will be missing
all together. The best way to prevent a more serious problem from
occurring is to inspect the critical areas mentioned above and replace
it with new caulk.
Once a month, you should inspect the condition of
the caulk around sinks, showers, bathtubs, toilets and any other
fixture that are caulked. If your inspection detects missing, cracked
or separated caulk, remove "ALL" of the old caulk and replace it with
new caulk. Other areas of concern would be any place one surface
contacts another, such as wall tile, bathtub or the shower stall meets
the floor or wall.
Handyman Tip Don't
caulk over old caulk... you may mask the problem only to discover
months later that water has penetrated the seal and caused a more
serious problem. Also, another problem could occur if acrylic caulk is
used over silicone caulking or vice verse. They just don't bond
together properly to each other.
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