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At some point in the life of your shower and shower tray, you will notice that it is not as lovely to look at as when it was first installed, or maybe you have moved into a house and inherited a shower enclosure that has seen better days.
The grouting looks tired, and the sealant or silicone, which is supposed to protect the shower tray from leaking, is dark, mottled, and mouldy.
It is now time to reseal your shower and shower tray, but it is not as difficult as you would imagine, so there is no need to call a plumber or building contractor. This is definitely one DIY job you can undertake yourself.
Why do I Need to Reseal the Shower?
Simply put the silicone sealant is there to prevent water from seeping out and potentially damaging any timber that may be part of the structure of your house.
It is not just the shower tray that has been sealed, but the shower screen or enclosure, as it is also known, and another area that most plumbers will also seal is the tiles where they join into the corners. If this has not been done, I would highly recommend applying new silicone sealant to this area too.
The sooner you deal with this problem, the easy and cheaper it will be to maintain; as with any ongoing issues in your house, the worse it gets, the longer it will take to fix.
Tools for the Job
- Sealant removal gel or liquid
- Sealant removing tool or sharp utility knife (Stanley or box cutter)
- Warm soapy water/white spirit
- Skeleton gun/ Silicone gun
- Waterproof and mould-proof sealant/ Also known as silicone sealant
- Sponge with scouring pad attached
- Gloves and goggles
- Sealant profiling tool (optional)
Step 1: Removal of Old Silicone Sealant
It is essential that all traces of the old silicone sealant are removed before applying any new sealant, and as with so many do-it-yourself projects, the preparation is just as important as every other stage. For me, the removal is extremely satisfying, so no cutting corners, or you will face problems further along the line.
Firstly you will need to apply a silicone sealant remover No Nonsense Sealant Remover 100ml | Silicone Remover | Screwfix.com to the silicone around the shower tray, shower screen and corners as this starts to break down the old sealants component parts that will make the scraping that little bit easier for you.
The manufacturers will have a recommended waiting time on the packaging, which may vary from product to product, but most would advise leaving this on for around three hours.
You can also use white spirit for this part as they have the same effect on silicone-based sealants, but please ensure the room is very well-ventilated if you choose this method.
Please be aware that these are solvent-based gels and fluids, so wearing gloves and goggles is necessary to protect you. The packaging will contain the health and safety guidelines that are in place at this moment.
Once you are happy with the timeframe, you can then get the scraping tools out and really start to remove that grubby sealant.
There are a number of tools which will be effective. Still, one that I have seen great results from is the sealant-removing tool and this one Vitrex All-in-One Sealant Remover & Profiler Kit 35mm | Tiling Accessories | Screwfix.com even comes with a profiler for the latter stages. Alternatively, a utility knife or Stanley knife will suffice.
It is literally a matter of cutting away at the old silicone sealant, where it joins the shower tray and the tiled wall.
To start, it is preferable to use the utility knife to gently lift an area and see if you can gently pull the silicone away, but please do not rely upon this happening as that does totally depend on the current state and quality of the silicone sealant.
Try to remove as much as possible from the shower tray, screen and shower enclosure walls, as this will make the next stage much more effortless.
For those very stubborn bits, you can use a replaceable window scraper like this one:
A window scraper has replaceable blades for continual use on other projects in your bathroom
Once you feel most of the old sealant has come away from the area, you can now wipe it down.
Firstly, take the sponge and use the soft side to wipe away any remaining residue, do not wet the sponge first, as any remaining sealant could be smeared along the shower tray, shower screen and wall and will have to be scraped again.
Once you are happy with that, you can wet the sponge and use the rough (scouring) side to clean away the last of the old silicone sealant.
You will notice no matter how much you have scraped and scrubbed a layer of what can best be described as grease on the surface of your shower tray, shower screen and walls, this has to be removed before any new sealant is applied.
The simplest and easiest way to do this is the trusty white spirit; you can use the soft part of the sponge and wipe it away until it is clean. I would then leave the surfaces to dry, as it will take an hour or so for the white spirit to evaporate fully for the best possible results.
Top Tip: As the white spirit is a chemical, you will need to wear gloves to protect your skin.
For this part of our do-it-yourself renovation, we will need a silicone gun which is sometimes referred to as a mastic or skeleton gun and a tube of waterproof and mould-resistant bathroom sealant.
Top Tip: Pay attention to the size of the sealant tube to ensure you have a skeleton gun of the right size, as they do have a number of various sizes available.
Once you have both of these ready, you will use your utility/Stanley knife in order to open the silicone tube and cut the nozzle to the appropriate size and shape. The nozzle will have a small round opening already in place from the manufacturer, but for this job, we need to just slightly change the angle of this.
We need to cut the end of the nozzle at a 45-degree angle with the knife (making sure you cut away from yourself), and this has to be free of any frayed edges, so you may need to tidy it up just a little bit before you start.
Please ensure that you get the tip of the nozzle right into the gap between the shower tray and wall, the screen and wall and, of course, the tiled corner or corners if you have a large shower enclosure.
The method you now need is slow and steady in order to adhere correctly, do not be tempted to rush this, as you will have to fill the void left by the old sealant to fully ensure that no water can escape.
Squeeze the trigger of the silicone gun firmly and gently pull it along the seam. If you have never used a silicone gun before, there is a knack to it. Still, fundamentally the trigger will release itself every 30 centimetres or so, and you just apply the same amount of gentle pressure each time to give a nice, even flow of sealant.
Do not worry if it gets a little messy, as you are going to smooth off any excess in the next step.
Step 3 Striking Off
This is the final stage of the repair to your now beautiful-looking shower enclosure. You can use either your finger or the sealant profiling tool for this, and it is once again a slow and steady action that you require to simply drag your finger or the profiling tool along the silicone to give it a fine smooth finish.
Top Tip: Spray the sealant with a weak soapy solution of washing up liquid and water first, as this will prevent any of the sealants from sticking to the bath or wall.
For the best results, it is advisable to leave the silicone sealant to dry for up to 24 hours, even if the manufacturer’s advice says it can take less time, as you do not want to spoil your handy work.
This method can be applied to both your bathroom sink and bath tub too.
