A couple of projects that I am working on:
Caulking a shower.
1) What is the best way to remove the existing caulk? 2) What is the best caulk to use? Silicone? Siliconized latex? I had a mold and mildew on the old caulk and want something more durable.Holes in the grout on the shower walls.
How do you go about fixing this? Is there filler you can buy to repair them or is it something on a larger scale?
Thanks!
"Caulk removers" are available. AIUI some are better than others. That's my next task. :-(
Mold and mildew aren't a function of caulk. You have water that's not evaporating. You'll have mildew until you get more ventilation. As for caulk, the general consensus is that Silicone is better, but it's a PITA to apply. Siliconeized latex is much easier (cleans up with water). The stuff the tile store here sells is siliconeized latex and comes in colors to match the grout.
Replace the grout.
It's a *MAJOR* PITA (I'm working on it today, AAMOF) but there are bits for Dremmel tools to cut the grout out of the tile. The Dremmel bits are *EXPENSIVE* and don't last long. I've gone through ten or eleven of them, at $10 each. I found (perhaps here) a company
...off to the HomeDespot, since I just burned up my Dremmel tool. :-(
With a paint scraper. You can use caulk remover if you want, but in my experience this stuff is only somewhat effective. It depends on the caulk you have now and how deep it is. My house's previous owners had used some really nasty stuff (no idea what it was) and had in some cases managed to get it about 4 inches deep in the crevasses; the remover had absolutely no effect on it below the surface.
Removing shower/bath caulk is not a job I ever want to do again. It is just nasty, annoying and frustrating. Or at least it was for me... before I did it, I kept reading about how once you get the caulk line started, it just pulls right up. So maybe you'll be lucky. For me, I spent about 4 days digging that stuff out centimeter by centimeter. And the caulk remover had partially dissolved the top surface, so it ended up spreading everywhere and getting stuck to all my bathroom surfaces. Cleanup was a bitch.
I used that GE Silicone II stuff. I don't know if it's the best or not, but there was some reason why I chose it, and I think part of it was the advertised mold resistance.
According to :
It depends entirely on the substrate. A few weeks ago I pulled a line off a shower joint. Relatively new, it was practically falling off. The shower wasn't properly cleaned first. Others are much nastier.
Oft times, if you simply manage to shave out the worst/thickest of a stubborn caulk line, recaulking over the remaining film is perfectly okay. If it's not coming up, it's not gonna leak there either.
"Bath and tile" caulk has stuff in it to kill mould. GE Silicone II comes both with and without the mildewcide. Check the label.
clipped
I did the Dremel thing on our walk-in shower, about 4' square with tile to ceiling. Used 3 or 4 bits. The tough part, for me, was crouching down to do the lower portions and smooshing in the new grout. I won't mention hubby putting sealer on grout before it was ready :o)
We have a lot of grout to grind out, as the tiles are about 1 1/4" x 4". There were a number of pin-holes, but fortunately no leaks. Neighbors with the same tile installation (very old) had walls that rotted out due to untended leaks.
As for removing old caulk, it is easy to get off porcellain with a razor blade scraper. Silicone in a bath is best, imo, and only after perfect cleaning and wiping with bleach, then denatured alcohol. Amazing how much soap scum can be present, that is difficult to see until you start scraping - blends perfectly with our tile :o) If it collects water, it collects soap scum, so that mold/mildew follows. I use masking tape, smoosh caulk in so it forms a "cove molding" tapered right to the edge of the tape and then take the tape off right away.
I seriously doubt you need to replace all the grout or tiles, as other have suggested (unless these "holes" are bigger than I imagine.) If the grout is white, just get some new grout and get it in there. If it's colored, that will be harder.
My problem is that some of the tiles are closer than 1/16", so I end up cutting tile with a bit that's not designed for it. When doing tile *NEVER* use the bumps as a guide. *ALWAYS* use the stars. Gawd, what a mess.
My tiles is on Hardibacker, at least looking at the Moen control valve cut-out it looks like it. Our problem was obvious cracked grout and a leak into the ceiling downstairs. The only thing I can figure is that the leak was caused by a grout or caulk failure. The plumbing seems sound.
Fiberglass? Even the grout removers warn about this.
I have tape covering the tub now and plastic and painters tarps inside the tub. That and a few 2x4s bridging it and plywood above. I don't want to grind any debris into the fiberglass. I'll likely pull it all out before I do the grout. Grout isn't a biggie for me. I put in tile floors a few weeks ago. *Lotsa* clean water and I'm fine with it. I haven't been brave enough to do the epoxy grout though.
If the grout needs to be replaced, it won't be "white". Like someone here said before I started my odyssey, the grout removal bits make an interesting stink; sorta like burning soap.
"jeffc" wrote in news:sDnLg.5163$ snipped-for-privacy@southeast.rr.com:
Various sources I've seen say to remove about 1/8" depth of grout to regrout. Gives the new grout something to hold securely to. I've done this depth and it worked out fine. But anything you hit that is loose, get it out. If you are using a tool like a Dremel you need to be sensitive to the width of the joints. The Dremel bits come in two diameters I think. If you try using the larger one where some joints happen to be narrow, the bit will hit the porcelean of the tiles. That will wear the bit faster and if that bit happens to wedge in a narrow joint, it'll break. The grout itself is soft compared to the porcelean layer on the tiles.
Regrout with "UNsanded" grout for walls.
Here's an article with some pics:
I remove old caulk with a single edge razor blade in a holder. Clean area with alcohol then replace the caulk with GE Silicone II. PITA to work with but have had the best results with that so far. I use a grout saw to open up the grout lines.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.