Mould on silicone sealant

[FangsForTheMemory]

Anyone managed to get this off without using a gallon of bleach?

@MacbookHoHoHo

Bully for you. I’ve tried replacing it before and failed. Additionally this sealant is in a tight space behind the taps. So if you don’t mind I’ll stick with the very helpful suggestions that other people have made.

😳

You didn’t attempt to answer my question, you blew your own trumpet. You’ve gone on to put your own spin on how I live my life without knowing anything about me, which is entirely in line with your first response. Not everything is about you.

😳 😳 😳

OP, are you ok? How much mould-removal spray have you accidentally inhaled?!

🤣🤣🤣

Ooh, I'm getting out of my depth now

I have a feeling that for a good finish you'd need to replace the whole length of the shower tray or bath, so that you don't end up with an obvious join in it. Although I'm sure someone who is very competent and does it all the time could maybe manage it? Ideally you want one long line of sealant and then you wet your finger and run your finger along it and it smoothes it all out, but even if you have a couple of blobs in it, running your finger along it removes them. But I think that would only work if it is all wet sealant, not trying to join wet sealant to some that is already dry.

The one other tip that I have is that if you are doing the sealant on a bath, fill it to the top with water, or fill it full of hardback books or something (without water obviously!). Because if you do it when it is empty, then as soon as you run a bath and/or step into it, the weight will cause a bit of movement and cause it to crack away from the wall.

I think that is probably the extent of my DIY knowledge!

[quote WonkyCactus]@wellthatsunusual
I appreciated the advice too! Can you just cut out and replace the bit with the mould on it, do you think? Is it easy to blend it back in with the rest of the sealant? I've only got a small mouldy bit under my shower so I don't want to have to replace the whole lot if I can help it.[/quote]
There are some really good YouTube videos on this. I’ll se if I can link one

You can buy sealant tool that help remove the old and then smooth the new. Like this:

UniBond Sealant Remover and Smoother Tool, Easy-to-Use Sealant Finishing Tool, 2-in-1 Plastic Sealant Tool for Smoothing and Removing Silicone Sealant, Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001DZVUV4/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_024JFQGZ5AG0A7ZTR4PE

If it’s in the shower or the sink you need to dry the tiles / sealant each time it gets wet and leave the window open or getting an extractor fan fitted
Drying the tiles / sealant stops the mould from growing - if you leave it wet after cleaning it just grows so you need to make sure it’s dry

Or you could cut it out and reseal the mould
We generally do this once a year anyway - well my husband will - 😂 I find it to fiddly

I also use this musthaveideas.co.uk/pages/mould-magic-web
which is brilliant stuff for getting rid of mould stains

I tried to replace the sealant and it was a monumental jeffing disaster.

I’m only on this thread for the cleaning tips.

I don’t want to hear about replacing the sealant. The OP doesn’t want to hear about replacing the sealant. Why is everyone talking about replacing the sealant???

Could nobody dare mention replacing the sealant! That sealant needs to stay there forever, don't you know!

This made me laugh!

I used mould remover and it dissolved the sealant slightly and the shower started to leak. The person who fixed it told me not use it on sealant.

Thank you for all the sealant replacement tips and links! And apologies for derailing the sealant cleaning thread!

I don’t want to hear about replacing the sealant. The OP doesn’t want to hear about replacing the sealant. Why is everyone talking about replacing the sealant???

😂 I’m in BITS at this thread! Who’d have guessed mouldy sealant would be such an incendiary topic? 😂

I was going to ask for tips on removing mould from underneath my shower screen, but I don’t dare.

I'm quite keen on both strands of advice, to be honest. I've got some charcoal silicone grout stuff I may use, so any future mould marks are less obvious!

This is fucking hilarious.

I also would highly recommend Mould Magic.

musthaveideas.co.uk/pages/mould-magic-web

I had really bad black mould stains on the grey rim of the washing machine and this was amazing. I'd tried everything else and had almost given up.

[quote FangsForTheMemory]@ChwaraetegI don’t mind a bit of bleach, it’s just that there’s a chap on YouTube suggesting you soak cotton wool in bleach and squash it on the sealant, which I’m not keen on because my cat sticks his nose in everything.[/quote]
Close the door

"Bully for you"

Wtaf?

I absolutely cannot stand to see a speck of mould on sealant so believe me I have used every cleaner out there and every trick or tip on You Tube.

The only answer is to replace the sealant. You might be able to get mould off tiles, grout, or paint but it doesnot shift off sealant once it has gone black.

The YouTube idea of soaking tissue in bleach and leaving it resting on the sealant does work. At the least it lightens it. But it doesn't stop it from coming back and can make holes in the sealant so I wouldn't reccomend it. As others have said the only thing I've found is to replace the sealant completely and then really make sure you stay on top of it. So drying it off after showers and airing out the room a lot.