Periodically recaulking your bathtub will keep your bathtub and bathtub surround tiles looking clean and sanitary.
Bathtubs need to be periodically recaulked for many reasons. The caulk can start to look black and moldy due to cheap latex or siliconized caulk being installed. Latex or siliconized caulks from home improvement stores can quickly grow mold and mildew in them making them look black and disgusting. Many times caulk can crack, become gummy or peel away from the surfaces they were applied too. Cheap home improvement store type caulks or improper caulking techniques can cause these types of caulk failures.
To properly recaulk a bathtub you should only use professional grade 100% silicone caulk. Professional grade 100% silicone caulk like Laticrete Latasil will not allow mold or mildew to grow in them. Also Laticrete Latasil caulk will not crack, loose its shape or lose its adhesive properties when properly installed. Proper recaulking techniques must be followed to ensure that even professional grade caulk will look good and properly adhere to the surfaces they are applied to.
Ugly moldy, cracked bathtub caulk that is peeling away can make the entire bathroom look ugly and unsanitary. Many people do not know how to properly recaulk a bathtub and poor recaulking techniques can result in ugly, uneven crooked caulk joints. Caulk that is poorly installed can fail and can also look ugly and cause unsanitary conditions in the bathroom.
Before you begin to recaulk a bathtub you should first thoroughly clean the bathtub and bathtub surround walls. You want to ensure the bathtub and bathtub surround walls do not have any mold or mildew growing on them. Also soap scum and other dirt and debris can inhibit the adhesive characteristics of caulk. If you have a tile bathtub surround then you want to ensure that all of the mold and mildew is removed from the grout lines. You want the entire bathtub to look clean and sanitary after you recaulk the bathtub. You can click here for more information on how to clean a bathtub.
In order to properly recaulk a bathtub it is important to remove all of the old caulk. You should never just apply new caulk over old caulk. The first tool that you should use to remove the old caulk is a quality utility knife. The Lenox Gold utility knife is a professional grade utility knife with an ergonomic shape that will not cut into your hands when it is being used. The Lenox Gold utility knife also has a quick change button so it is quick and easy to change out the utility knife blades.
You should angle the utility knife at a 45 degree angle to the caulk to cut through the old caulk. Using a utility knife to cut through the old caulk will make it easier to remove the old caulk from the bathtub and the bathtub surround walls. Depending on the size and type of caulk that was used it may be necessary to make a few passes with the utility knife to ensure that you have gotten all the way through the old caulk. You want the utility knife to penetrate all the way into the corner where the bathtub meets the bathtub surround wall. This area will later be covered by caulk so you do not have to worry about scratching this area of the bathtub with the utility knife. You should maintain a steady grip on the utility knife to ensure you do not slip and scratch the bathtub or slip and cut yourself with the sharp utility knife blade.
After you cut through the old caulk with the utility knife then you should use a razor blade tool to remove the old caulk from the bathtub and bathtub surround walls. It is important to use the razor blade tool carefully to not scratch any fragile surfaces. Formica or plastic type tub surrounds can easily be scratches with a razor blade tool. Also many bathtubs have been refinished with an epoxy type of paint and it extremely important to not scratch the epoxy finish when removing the old caulk from a refinished bathtub. If the bathtub has been refinished then carefully scrape only the bathtub where the old caulk is installed. Use a steady hand and try not to scratch any area of paint on the refinished bathtub. If the bathtub has not been refinished and the bathtub surround is made of ceramic tile and grout then you can use the razor blade tool a lot more freely without worrying about scratching the bathtub or bathtub surround tiles.
Most bathtubs have a baked on porcelain finish that will not easily scratch but it is still best to try not to do anything to scratch the bathtub while you are recaulking it. Always use plastic and tarps where necessary to protect the bathtub. Try to never step in the bathtub with your shoes without a tarp and plastic first being taped in place. You can easily loosen a piece of grout or other type of debris that can get under your shoes. When you step in the bathtub you can grind the grout or debris into the bathtub and scratch the bathtubs finish. The last thing you want to do is to damage a perfectly new looking bathtub while doing a recaulking procedure.
You should use the utility knife and razor blade tool to remove the dirty old moldy caulk from around the bathtub faucets and fixtures. You should be extremely careful when scraping away caulk from bathtub faucets and fixtures so that you do not scratch them with the sharp razor blade tools. Use slow steady movements and take your time to remove the caulk from these fixtures to avoid scratching them.
Loose pieces of caulk can sometimes be difficult to remove with the razor blade tool so a grout brush works great to scrub out the small pieces of caulk that are difficult to remove.
After you have removed all of the old caulk then you should clean up all areas where the old caulk was with isopropyl alcohol. Thoroughly cleaning all the surfaces where new caulk will be applied will ensure that the new caulk will adhere properly to the bathtub and the bathtub surround walls as well.
The next step in the bathtub recaulking procedure is to tape off all areas that will be caulked. If you plan to recaulk the area between the bathtub and the bathtub floor then you should tape off this area as well. You should leave approximately 1/8 inch gaps between the edge of the tape and the adjoining bathtub surface. Do not allow more than a 1/8th inch gap or the caulk line will look too big and unprofessional. If there is a big gap between the bathtub and the bathtub surround then you will have to allow more than the standard 1/8th inch gap to ensure that the gap between the bathtub and bathtub surround is fully caulked.
The next step in the bathtub recaulking procedure is to apply the caulk. You should only use 100% silicone caulk. Laticrete Latasil is a 100% silicone caulk that will not allow mold or mildew to grow in it. Do not use any type of home improvement store type caulks as these caulks will quickly grow mold and mildew in them. Then you will be forced to recaulk the bathtub all over again within the next few months. Also many of these home improvement store type caulks are adhesive type caulks that can actually damage the finish of your bathtub or bathtub surround walls. Adhesive type caulks will quickly grow mold and mildew in them and they are extremely difficult to remove. Never use any type of caulk that is and adhesive caulk. Many latex or siliconized types of caulks advertise that they have microban or other anti microbial substances in them. These anti microbial substances do not work and the money you save with these home improvement store caulks will not be worth it when your bathtub needs to be recaulked again in a few short months.
Most standard bathtubs will only take one tube of the Laticrete Latasil caulk. In some larger bathtubs two tubes of the Latacrete Latasil caulk may be needed.
Some older bathtubs can be almond colored so in these almond type bathtubs you should use an almond colored caulk. If you have an older bathtub which is colored an odd color then you should pick a Latasil caulk color that best matches the color of your bathtub.
You should then smooth over the caulk while it is still in between the tape to ensure you will get a nice straight even bead of caulk
After you smooth over the bead of caulk with your finger then you should take off the top layer of tape and re smooth over the bead of caulk with your finger. This will ensure a ridge of caulk does not form on the bathtub surround wall where you have just removed the top layer of tape. After you have re smoothed the caulk joint then you should pull away the bottom portion of the tape that is attached to the bathtub itself.
After removing the bottom portion of tape that is attached to the bathtub then you should smooth over the bead of caulk one more time. Smoothing over the bead of caulk at this time will eliminate any ridge of caulk that was formed on the bathtub and ensure that a perfect caulk joint will be formed.
When recaulking the bathtub fixtures it is always a good idea to use clear caulk. Clear caulk should be used anywhere you are caulking metal bathtub faucets, handles, towel bars or any other type of metal object in a bathtub. Clear caulking bath fixtures will make the recaulk job look professionally done without white or other colored caulking making the bathtub fixtures look like they were caulked by an amateur. You do not want to caulk the very bottom of bathtub fixtures where there is typically a weep hole. This weep hole allows any trapped water in the bathtub fixture to easily drain out and not build up and flow into your walls.
After you are done recaulking your bathtub then you should wait at least 24 hours for the caulk to dry before using your newly recaulked bathtub. If you can wait 48 hours then it never hurts to let the caulk cure an extra day but 24 hours is typically enough time to let 100% silicone caulk cure.
If recaulking a bathtub seems like too much trouble to do yourself then you might want to hire a professional tile restoration contractor to do the work for you. Tile restoration contractors perform many bathtub recaulking procedures each year so they have the skills and experience to get the job done right.
You can read some more information on how to hire a tile restoration contractor at our contractor information page here. Tile restoration contractor.