How to seal or reseal your bath, shower or sink

When sealing or resealing a bath, shower or sink within your home, there are various things to take into account and tips to make the process more straightforward.  Baths, showers and sinks will often need resealing if the silicone used to seal them has become mouldy.

Mould can cause serious issues in bathrooms not to mention other rooms around the home. Thriving in damp environments, they only need a little water and air to regenerate and reproduce, meaning the problem cannot get better until they are completely isolated from these elements; something which is near impossible to do.

Here, we explain a little more about the process and how to get it done right first time.

 

Prepare the area being sealed

It is important to adequately prepare the area you wish to seal or reseal prior to beginning the work on it to ensure that there is no old silicone in the area where the work will be carried out.
Do this using a utility knife, and cleanse the area with alcohol to ensure no grease or oil are present that could prevent the silicone from bonding.

Fill the silicone gun

Next, pop the silicone seal before loading the tube of silicone into the gun. Ensure that the gun is filled to ensure even application at a continual, steady rate. Following this, it is important to test the sealing, as silicone sealing can be tricky. Make sure that the full gun applies the silicone evenly and in a regulated fashion.

Apply the seal in the area required

Next you can begin to apply the seal to the area in which it is needed. To do this, hold the gun at a 45 degree angle to ensure even, accurate application. Ensure that you do not apply too  much of the silicone sealing as, once applied, it is difficult to remove the excess.

Once you have completed this, you can release the handle of the silicone gun, giving it a pull to ensure any silicone strings are eliminated.

Finish the seal using tools

Tooling, a process in which you use your index finger to create a seamless bond between the surface and the sealer, can now be used to ensure a neat finish with no gaps left between the materials.
To do this, some advise the use of gloves, but if you do not use gloves be sure to clean the silicone from your finger after completing this task.

Wait for the silicone to dry, and smooth the caulk down to create a flawless finish on your bath, shower or sink’s edge.

Here at Hitchcock and King, we are one of the UK’s leading building materials suppliers, building our business on four key principles: stock availability, quality products at competitive prices, fast delivery and great customer service. To find out more about our range of products and services and what we could do for you and your space, get in touch with our friendly team today – we’re happy to help with any enquiry, whatever the size of your project.