Easily Re-caulk your Bathtub!

Whether you are selling your home, or renovating it yourself to increase its value, or just to beautify it for yourself, the bathroom is one of the most important rooms in the entire house when it comes to home equity. Nothing will destroy the looks of even the best bathroom like poorly applied or mildewed caulking.

One thing many homeowners doing their own renovations find frustrating is removing and replacing caulk in their bathtub and around fixtures. So much so, that I have had people offer to pay me just to do this for them.
Thanks to my wife, I have been labeled the 'caulk master' by friends and family.

Here's what you need: 1" or 2" plastic putty knife or razor scraper; clean cotton cloth; rubbing alcohol, small container of clean, cool water or a nearby tap.

First thing you should do when removing caulk from your bathtub is plug the drain. You don't want any of it getting down there and clogging it up. Next, you need to know if your tub is metal or acrylic. Most of us already know what our tub is made of, but if you don't, just tap on the side of it, and you can usually tell. If you are unsure, assume it is acrylic when following these instructions.

This is important, because if it is metal with an enamel finish, you can use a razor scraper fairly safely to scrape off the old caulk. If it's acrylic, you will want to use a plastic putty knife to avoid gouging or scratching the finish. It is also important to be aware of the wall finish surrounding the tub. A razor scraper is fine against tile, however, if you have an acrylic tub surround, again, you'll want to use a putty knife instead. Either of these items can be purchased at any hardware store quite inexpensively. (Usually a couple of bucks.)

Scrape off as much as you can without using too much pressure, and sweep or vacuum out the bits you have scraped off. You most likely won't get it all off, as there are often tight little spots or stubborn stuck on bits that will have you shamelessly cursing and sweating over needlessly. Don't worry, the next part helps immensely with this problem....

Once you've scraped and cleaned off as much as you think you can, take a clean, dry, cotton cloth, and wet a corner of it with rubbing alcohol. Emphasis on 'rubbing' as this will take a bit of work, but with just a little effort, rubbing those tough spots with the cloth and alcohol will clean it up very nicely and get rid of the residual caulk that is stubbornly clinging to your fixtures. If you are scraping around fixtures such as taps, again, you'll probably want to use the putty knife to avoid scratching them.

Once you have the entire area cleaned with the rubbing alcohol, dry it with a clean, dry cloth, and you should be ready to begin re-caulking.

I prefer white latex tub and tile caulk for the joints in my bathroom. However, there are now a whole host of colors to choose from if you prefer to use something that more closely matches the color of your tub or your tile. If you have a caulking gun, you can purchase tubes of caulk, however, it also comes in squeeze tubes much like toothpaste tubes, and for most jobs, one or two of these squeeze tubes will do just fine.

Cut the end of the tube open with a razor knife or scissors at a 45 degree angle just far enough down so that the opening is roughly one eighth to one quarter of an inch around or, a little less around than a pencil. Starting in a corner of the tub, hold the tube at the 45 degree angle and squeeze the tube until the caulk starts coming out. As it does, slide the end of the tube along the edge you're caulking at a pace so that you have a bead about one eighth of an inch bulging out of the crack. Once you've done this along the entire crack, wet your index or middle fingertip with water and lightly run it along the bead, smoothing it out. BE CAREFUL here to check for any sharp edges before doing this, or you could end up cutting your finger (and your nice white caulk will end up pink....). If there are sharp edges along the tub or tile, consider wearing a rubber glove for this part, or wrap your finger in a wet cloth. There are those who recommend using the end of a popsicle stick for this as well, but whenever possible, I find there's no better tool than what God gave me, and I use my finger.

The trick here is to keep wetting your finger! As soon as you feel it becoming dry, wet it again, or you will drag the caulk and get smears. Sometimes you will have to do this several times to get a nice, smooth, clean bead, but if you take your time and do this part correctly, it will look quite nice. You can wipe away any messy spots with a damp cloth, and repeat the smoothing process. You have a few minutes before the caulk starts to skin over to work with it, so take your time and you'll be glad you did.

The mistake most people make when doing this, is they use too much caulk. It spreads out on either side of their finger as they smooth it and this leaves an edge in the caulk for water to collect and get under the caulk, which loosens it, and allows mildew to grow in it. Use the caulking sparingly, and smooth it nicely, so you end up with a seamless seal and it will last a long time.