Silicone

[SamanthaBooth]

I need to remove some silicone, quite a bit thats mouldy. Apart from a knife if there a product I can buy which removes it please

thanks

[Andy Hall]

Various places such as Screwfix, B&Q and others sell a silicone eater product - a gel which is laid onto the sealer.

However, try to remove as much as you can mechanically first because the stuff is relatively expensive and doesn't dissolve much per application.

Be careful if you use a knife on sanitaryware. There is a fair chance of marking it

[George]

You don't say where or what its adhered to?

The way I removed the silicone from around the bathroom sink back was to get a paint stripper heat gun and blunt scraper on the silicone and this removed the bulk of the silicone.

I then carefully removed the thin remains with a new stanley knife blade.

[SamanthaBooth]

Its round the bath, sinks, tiles, all over the windows which are DG UPVC windows, they are ALL mouldy.

[George]

Trying to clean it will not get rid of the mould so is a case of getting it off in the eaiest possible way. In respect to the stuff on the window frame its a case of careully using a stanley blade and if you cut into the silicone both sides it should peel off in long strips?

[Steve Firth]

Remove as much as possible by some mechanical means. Scrape carefully - a blunt knife works well. I find that if you pick one end free it's possible to pull at the silicone bead and it will peel off in one long strand. It takes patience and a long, consistent pull rather than trying to snatch at it. Pull too hard and it will break.

Once you have most of the bead off, then you can use a silicone eater product to get rid of the rest. Again it takes time to work, apply a layer over the silicone and then leave it for at least twice as long as it says on the packet. I tend to leave it all night.

Again scrape off the gel, a plastic scraper is good for this. The silicone should have changed to a slime and you can scrape that off easily. You can use white spirit to clean up and once softened the silicone dissolves fairly well in white spirit. In the past I discovered that diesel will remove silicone, but it's nasty stuff to use inside the house.

[The Medway Handyman]

One of these

and a packet of spare blades.

These are very, very sharp and will remove old silicone easily as long as the blade is kept flat against the surface.

Start by scraping downwards with the blade flat against the tile, then go in horizontally blade flat against the bath. Just use a little care.

Stripped & re sealed 3 baths this week using one of these.

[Steve Firth]

Calm down, no need to shout. Another Q is are you any good at applying silicone? Because it's going to be fun replacing it after you get the old stuff off. Choose a mould resistant replacement sealer.

[SamanthaBooth]

Thanks all your help is great. Life of grime isnt the word here. It took 3 men a week to empty this house and they filled 4 skips. There is poo on the walls, floor you name it. Every single bit of silicone is moundy, as are all the walls in kitchen and bathroom, Boy am I going to have strong arms after all this.

[SamanthaBooth]

I am calm.

I was going to use a fugenboy for the silicone.

[John Rumm]

Another vote for those from me! Easiest way to get under the edges in many cases and not risk damaging the bath etc.

[Doki]

20p says you have no extractor fan, or that you do but there's no delay timer on it for after the light goes out...

[Doki]

I've heard some tales from relatives in the building trade. It's amazing what course of action some people choose when their toilet stops working. I'll give you a clue - it's not ring a plumber or the landlord to get it fixed...

[Dave Liquorice]

I'd get in there with an industrial steam cleaner to start with, to clean off and kill most of the mould. The silicone might clean up though I doubt it to be honest at least along the edges. At least after steam cleaning the place will be a better enviroment in which to work.

Open the windows and possibly have some forced ventilation whilst using the steam cleaner otherwise you'll be spending another couple of weeks drying the place out...

[Lobster]

Don't know this model but there's also a lightweight type which I have (readily available from B&Q etc) which takes ordinary Stanley knife blades: also works very well for this job.

David

[John]

A wipe with genuine Domestos keeps a lot of mould away.

[dennis]

Before you start have you tried bleach on it?

[SamanthaBooth]

Yes, have tried that and it does come off to a point but leaves the silicone quite yellow.

[Appin]

The message from "SamanthaBooth" contains these words:

Dettol Mould and Mildew Remover was recommended in another thread on this general subject.

I took the advice and used it on mouldy silicone in the shower room. It took many applications but got rid of every last trace and it's stayed away.

Poetent stuff and the Sodium Hypochlorite didn't do the cover of the drain any good, but it did what it claimed to do. Dettol have many formulations --that one has a larger proportion of Sodium Hypochlorite. Very economical in use -- sprays on and stays well in situ, which is more than I could ever persuade even the thick bleaches to do.

[RW]

Wot he said up there ^^^^^^

Also Screwfix do a Silicon eater, as do many plumbing shops. Used some myself yesterday, smells like oranges (Strangely).

That was on a fibreglass spa bath I won on EBay for £63 (It was only 15 months old and £3k when the person got it) so I didn't want to damage anything. Worked extremely well.