Replacing mouldy sealant

[BeBraveAndBeKind]

I need to replace the sealant around my shower tray as it's gone mouldy. When I've done it previously, I've replaced all of the sealant in the shower (it's a walk in with three tiled sides) but this time, the mould is only on the horizontal sections and the verticals are unaffected.

Is it possible to cut away all the horizontal sections around the tray, leaving the sealant in the vertical sections untouched or will the new not bond on the over lap with the old?

I really don't want to have to remove all of it when the rest is fine if I can avoid it.

[Lonelycrab]

Personally I would do the whole lot. Although you might get a good join, when you consider the price of silicone sealant (not much) and the effort involved (not much) I would just get rid of the old. I used sealant remover on a bath the other day, quickly gets the old stuff gone. Was about £8 from brewers. Masking taped to give a good line, was a really quick job.

[BeBraveAndBeKind]

I know you're right. It's not about the price of the sealant. I'm short and the tiles go all the way to the ceiling so last time I did it I had to keep bringing a chair in so I could reach so it took ages to remove it all, clean down, mask it off and then seal. My thighs hurt for days from all the stepping on and off the chair! 😂

[Lonelycrab]

Fair enough. I found the old sealant really simple to get off- as long as you use a good remover. Stanley what you can off, then paint the remover stuff on, leave for a bit, and the rest comes away no effort, I pretty much just wiped it with a cloth and off it came.

[HattonsMustard]

@BeBraveAndBeKind Stop!

Before you remove the sealant I can highly recommend HG mould remover, you will need to open a window because it smells of bleach understatement but if I wasn't so embarrassed to attach photos of before and after I would do it.

Completely worth it, we got ours on Amazon for £3.30. Mine wasn't just spotted mould but completely black on the windowsill and the shower

I left it on for 30 mins, cleaned it and rinsed it off. Gave it a quick dry and applied it again for another 30 mins. Honestly I could not believe how well it did.

Far better to do that than have to strip it out again.

[didireallysaythat]

Try the HG mould spray first (PP link - supermarkets, homebase etc sell it too). It's great

[PigletJohn]

The other thing I recommend is a more effective extractor fan, run for longer. What sort have you got now, and how is it turned on?

I will brag that I have no mould in any room of my house, nor any mould-removing sprays.

[smalalalalalala]

Will try this HG thing. We had it redone last year and the guy advise to use the black Cilit bang and the mold is already back despiste using the Cilit.

[Wingedharpy]

Depends how fussy you are really OP.
I've done some of my horizontal and left the verticals as they were sound.
It wasn't in a shower, but around UPVC windows - similar principle, really.
The old and new did overlap OK, but on some windows, depending on sealant age, there is a marked colour difference.
I'm learning not to be fussy as life is easier!

[Wingedharpy]

PS. DRY the shower after every use to stop it developing in the first place.

[BeBraveAndBeKind]

Thanks all. Some off the sealant had started to lift so had to come out before it started leaking but I'll remember the HG stuff next time. We've got an extractor fan that's humidity sensing and runs accordingly (the bloody thing never seems to stop and sucks all the heat out of the bathroom in winter) but I've also got teenage boys who shower for 25 minutes at a time and seem to be incapable of opening a window.

I've taken out the horizontal bits and given it all a good scrub so that's the time consuming bit done now anyway. I'm not bothered about a colour difference - I'll be able to get on with what I want to do rather than have to do quicker.

[Wingedharpy]

Tell your boys they have 10 mins max, then you'll be turning off the stopcock!😉

[BeBraveAndBeKind]

That's not a bad idea @Wingedharpy. It's all done and it's not the worst sealant job I've ever done so hopefully it won't need doing again anytime soon.