How to maintain bathroom sealant

By Benjamin Clarke | Published on 1st March 2022

While not the most exciting topic in the world, sealant plays an incredibly important role in ensuring that a bathroom functions safely and securely. Making sure your sealant is well-maintained can make the difference between a healthy bathroom and some very serious water damage. In this article, we'll look at what bathroom sealant is, how to apply it and how to keep it in optimum condition.

How to use bathroom sealant

Silicone sealant is especially important to use around baths, showers and basins, as these deal with a lot of water multiple times per day. All of these pieces of a bathroom suite are usually connected to at least one wall and using sealant stops water from dripping down the gap between the bath/shower/basin and the wall. Not having sealant would eventually lead to mould, rot and potentially expensive damage.

Silicone sealant will often come supplied in a caulking gun that has a pointed nozzle at one end. Before cutting it open, take some masking tape and mask up along the area you will be sealing. By putting masking tape on the basin, shower tray or bath tub and then more along the wall, you'll give yourself a nice straight line into which you can aim the nozzle and apply the sealant neatly.

Cut off the tip of the nozzle on the caulking gun to a 45° angle and get as close as you can to the area to be sealed. Slowly press the trigger of the caulking gun and squeeze out the sealant into the gap, working your way gently along the area.

Once you've filled in the gap, use a sealant applicator (or your finger) and press the sealant at an angle. This will help ensure that no moisture gets in behind it and will divert any water back into the bath, shower or sink.

Remove the masking tape and then leave the sealant to dry for 24 hours before using your bathroom.

How to replace bathroom sealant

Over time, sealant can get worn or discoloured due to mould and dirt. Often removing old sealant and replacing it with brand new, white sealant can make a huge transformation and really improve the look of your bathroom.

The easiest way to remove old bathroom sealant is by using a stanley knife and a flat head screwdriver. Use the knife to cut into the sealant and then use the screwdriver to scrap it out. You may find some strands of the old sealant are left behind but you should be able to remove these by rolling your fingers over then until they loosen. Alternative, you may wish to use some white spirit and a cloth to remove any sealant that's particularly stubborn.

If you've removed as much as you can, make sure the area is clean and then follow the steps above to apply the new sealant. Often just replacing the sealant will be enough to refresh your bathroom without having to do anything else!

How to clean bathroom sealant

Mouldy and dirty bathroom sealant is really unsightly and can make even the cleanest and stylish bathroom look tired and neglected. Fortunately, the horrible black staining can be removed and does not necessarily mean that you have to remove all the sealant and start again.

To clean your mouldy sealant you'll need some cotton balls, thick bleach, a jug/bowl/beaker and some rubber gloves.

First take a cotton ball, unravel it and roll it between your fingers into a thin, sausage shape.

Next, pour some of the bleach into the jug.

Put on your rubber gloves and completely submerge the cotton sausage in the bleach until it's completely saturated.

Take your cotton wool sausage and press it into the part of the sealant that has turned black. Make sure the full length of the sausage is in contact with the sealant. If you have a large area of stained sealant then you'll need to repeat the process and you'll probably have lots of cotton wool sausages lined up next to each other.

Leave the sausages in place for 24 hours - don't be tempted to pull them off and have a look to see what's happening. Remove the cotton wool after 24 hours and the black mould should have disappeared or at least faded. Repeat the process for particularly stubborn areas of mould.

Using bleach and cotton wool is a fantastic way of removing mould on sealant and can result in your bathroom getting a new lease of life.

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