I used a plastic bag and duct tape to cover some silicon caulking in the bathtub. I was afraid the tiles would come of because th ebag stuck, but instead (three days later) I see it never dried. I'm thinking of gradually removing the bag from below hoping it would dry. Any othe rideas?
It's not clear to me why you used duct tape or plastic bags.
Is there something else wrong, other than needing caulk?
PS: It might help if you spent some time proof reading your typing or using something to post that does a spell check. I had a little trouble following your post because of the typos.
Silicone caulk often goes bad if the tube sits around for too many years. Instead of hardening inside the tube, like regular caulk, it changes somehow, so that when it's used, it will never harden.
I've had this happen several times. One time I bought some "expired" silicone from a local hardware store, (at a reduced price). None of the
5 tubes hardened. There is an expiration date on the tubes for a reason. I no longer buy outdated caulk, and dont buy more than I can use in a reasonable amount of time, just because it's on sale.
Removing the "bad" silicone that will not harden is a major hassle. If I find a tube that is outdated, or appears to be old, I will open the tube, and apply a small amount on some scrap wood or on newspaper to see if it hardens normally, BEFORE using it.
I know that I once applied some of this "bad" caulk on my barn, and since it was not in a critical place, I just left it. After an entire summer of heat beating against it, it did get somewhat firm, but it still was not rubber-like, as it should have gotten.
If this is your problem, around the tub, you may have a big chore removing it, and I never found an easy way. You just scrape it away and wipe it on a rag or paper towel, and keep wiping till it's gone.
Why you covered it with tape and plastic makes no sense either. It needs air to cure properly.
If you have the tube, look for an expiration date. It's not always written as an actual date, so you may have to call the manufacturer and tell them the numbers stamped on the tube. (usually inside the open end, on the "plunger" piece, where the stuff is pushed by the gun.
I had some caulk that cured in the tube. Just for fun, I peeled the cardboard off and exposed a rubbery cylinder of clear (cloudy) caulk.
The weirdest thing was the odor. You could barely smell the caulk while holding it in your hand, but if you took a whiff from within an inch of the substance, it made your nose sting and your eyes water.
It was as if the caulk was holding the odor close. There were a few people hanging around so it wasn't just me. At first the others thought I was joking until they each tried it and recoiled at close up stench. Nobody believed anyone else until they put it up to their own nose and took a whiff. It was really strange.
GE caulk features a "Use By" date on the bottom of the cartridge. This shou ld tell you if the caulk is still fresh and able to be used. If you cannot read the use by date or want to test the caulk prior to starting a project, there is also a simple test that only takes 10 to 15 minutes. Run a small bead on a piece of cardboard. If after about 15 minutes, the product doesn' t form a "skin," the product is probably too old and won't ever fully cure (dry completely).
Have you even opened those tubes up to see it they have actually fully hardened?
I have had tubes feel that they have hardened only to find that if I squeeze hard enough the stuff comes shooting back at me from around the plunger end.
This is even after I've pierced the dispenser end and gotten wet caulk on the object that I did the piercing with. Something is still jammed up on the inside preventing the plunger from moving...until it does. That's when the mess occurs.
I've done his before (ca 15yrs ago), but not with it touching the bag, and over a smaller area. I've had latex caulk stay wet under duct tape on the floor, but if I waited (much) long(er) enough, it dried. Generally the problem results from quantity.
I'm thinking to put push pins under the plastic.
Basically I think I gotta get it to dry bit by bit.
Spozably the basic drying takes two hours, but it completely drie din 48 hrs.
A few weeks ago I did something with butyl flashing and it said it takes 2 days for each millimeter to dry.
Interesting. i've never had this "liquid, and fails to harden" happen, ever. In the decades I've been using caulk. Has anyone on this list had caulk fail to harden?
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