Bathroom renovation is a time consuming and demanding process. And the reason for this is the special microclimate of the room, because this room is characterized by frequent temperature changes (sometimes several times a day) and high humidity, which appears during washing or taking water procedures. These conditions are most beneficial for the development of mold and mildew.
Therefore, for the bathroom, a prerequisite is the use of moisture-resistant materials. Also an important condition for the long service life of finishing materials is the sealing of seams, especially in the places of fixing plumbing fixtures, joints of tiles, etc. Often, sealants are used for these purposes, which are easy to apply and have excellent moisture-repellent properties.
Today, there are a huge number of types of sealants on the construction market, but, unfortunately, not all of them are suitable for the special microclimate of the bathroom. Therefore, in this article we will tell you how to choose an acrylic, polyurethane or sanitary silicone sealant for the bathroom, how to apply or remove them from the surface.
Choosing the right sealant
Among all the variety provided on the construction market for sealants suitable for the bath, there are only a few varieties and these include:
- acrylic sealant;
- polyurethane.
- acrylic silicone;
- silicone;
For your information: All of the listed sealants have their advantages and disadvantages, but the most suitable for a bath is a silicone sealant, especially when it has the inscription "sanitary".
And why exactly he? Let's try to understand this question further, describing its qualities and characteristics:
- Complete neutrality. When choosing a sanitary sealant for a bathroom, you need to know that they are of two types: neutral and acidic. In terms of application, a neutral sealant is the most versatile, as it can be easily and safely applied to any surface. Acidic is undesirable to apply on metal surfaces, because this can lead to corrosion;
- Low shrinkage ratio, which is about 2%. What is its advantage? First of all, this property allows the use of a sealant for movable joints or linings for plumbing. Also, low subsidence ensures the durability of the applied seam;
- Sanitary silicone sealant for acrylic bathtubs is absolutely harmless, because it does not contain various impurities that worsen the quality of the material and destroy the surface;
- The additives present in the sealant improve the performance of the silicone. The most common additives are antifungal and antibacterial agents;
- According to its characteristics, sanitary sealant withstands significant temperature changes. Most often, the packaging indicates indicators in the range from -50 to +200 degrees Celsius.
Conclusion: All of the above qualities are basic, and silicone-based sealants also have many other properties, but from what has already been said it is clear that the best option for a bathroom. Therefore, sanitary sealant can be called specially formulated for the bathroom.
How to apply the sealant correctly?
Before siliconizing a bath, you need to understand that this process must be as careful as possible in order to achieve acceptable quality. If you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to seek the help of a specialist. But those who decide to do siliconizing on their own should study the small instructions and adhere to the rules specified in it:
- At the very beginning, the place of sealing should be cleaned of dust and moisture, and if mold is present, it is removed and treated with antifungal agents. If the joint between the bathroom and the wall is sealed, then the seam can be dried with a construction or ordinary hair dryer;
Important! Any sealant based on silicone will not stick to a wet surface, therefore, before sealing the seams in the bathroom, the place of sealing is wiped dry.
- An important step will be to protect the adjoining coatings to the joint from excess silicone. For this, masking tape is used, the surface is pasted over with it, and the smoother it lies, the more beautiful the seam will turn out. silicone without preliminary surface protection is prohibited, because even after carefully removing excess material from the coating, an imperceptible thin layer of sealant remains, which will eventually fall off with dust and flake off, which will ruin the entire appearance of the surface or the room as a whole. Therefore, masking tape will help you;
- We proceed to sealing the seam. All current household sealants, such as sanitary silicone for acrylic bathtubs, are made in special plastic syringes that are designed for special guns. With its help, the application process takes place easily and naturally. For a good sealing, it is enough to lay a neat strip of silicone, but remember that the amount of silicone depends on the width and depth of the joint. Since the nose of the syringe has a conical shape, it can be cut off in the right place, thereby achieving the required thickness of the squeezed out strip of silicone.
Important! The silicone should be embedded as deep as possible in the root of the joint to remove any voids.
- We level the seam and remove the excess. To perform this procedure, you will need a cotton cloth, which you need to moisten a little and wind it around your finger in one layer. Then just slide your finger along the seam, thereby it is leveled, gets the desired shape, and all excess is removed;
- We finish the work and remove the masking tape. After the silicone bath has already been finished, the tape should be removed from the surface before the sealant dries. This procedure must be carried out carefully so as not to damage the seam. If the joint needs to be corrected, you should use the same dampened cloth or wet finger.
This completes the sealing process, it only remains to wait at least 8 hours until the silicone is completely dry. Now you know how to seal the bath with silicone, the main thing is to adhere to the given sequence of actions.
We clean the surface from old or excess sealant
Although silicone sealant is a very flexible material, it is not easy to remove from the surface when properly applied. Sometimes, before removing the silicone from the tub, you have to completely cut or trim the seam using a very sharp knife blade. Therefore, in order to protect yourself from headaches in the future to remove the sealant from the bathtub or any other surface, you need to carefully lay the silicone, adhering to the above rules.
If you still need to replace the silicone seam in the bathroom, then you should know that the thick layer is much easier to remove than the thin one. A thick layer of silicone rises a lot and easily peels off, but with a little this will not work, especially when you need to remove only a separate part of the seam without breaking its tightness. If you need to trim away the fresh sealant, you can trim off the unnecessary part with a sharp knife or razor and roll the thin layer of silicone with your fingers. If the layer is old, then how to remove the silicone from the bath? For these purposes, special chemical fluids are sold for softening sealants.
There is a huge amount of liquids on the construction market for removing old silicone from the surface, but I would like to highlight a number of the most popular. These include:
- Silicone Remover;
- Dutch Sili-kill from DEN DRAVEN;
- Permaloid 7799 is designed for removing sealant from painted and metal coatings;
- Permaloid 7010 is designed for removing silicone from plastic and acrylic bathtubs.
These substances are the most famous on the market, but there are many others that are not inferior in quality to them, which are present in any hardware store.
Important! Before removing the silicone from the bath, carefully read the instructions for the preparation and adhere to the safety rules.
After applying the drug, the old silicone can be easily removed with a regular napkin, but with its help you can only remove the entire seam as a whole, and not a separate part of it.
Conclusion
Now you have learned how to properly siliconize the bath, but it should be reminded that the end result depends on the accuracy of the actions and high-quality surface protection. If after studying the article, you still have questions or ambiguities, you can watch a detailed video of the masters of their craft, which will surely give inspiration and determination to action.