Defining the problems
I have two showers stalls with ceramic tile walls and floors and glass doors and both are in need of repair. The master bathroom gets the most use and is in the worst shape so I’ll start with that one.
The master bathroom shower had been “repaired” by the previous owners of the house and they had chosen to use white caulk along the seam where the walls and floor meet and about 12″ up 3 corners. This caulk is deteriorating and cracking. I want to completely remove the caulk and replace with white grout like the rest of the shower.
The previous owners had also used white caulk on the seams where the shower doors meet the ceramic shower wall and this is starting to crack so I want to completely remove it and reapply fresh caulk sealing the glass wall and doors to the stall.
Lastly, they had smeared caulk around the escutcheon plates for the hot and cold faucets so it looks terrible. I want to remove it and figure out what’s the proper thing to do with the plates. More on this later since I have to do some research.
Overall project steps:
- get organized
- remove deteriorated caulk and grout
- reapply grout
- reapply caulk
- shower clean up
Learning how to do it
Obviously the first step in this project is removing the old caulk. I started with research on the internet and found a great article at PopularMechanics.com that pretty much told me everything I needed to know about the removal. http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/interior/4213124
To summarize their steps:
- Apply caulk remover
- Cut through softened caulk
- Pull the caulk out of the joint
- Rake remaining caulk from the joint
- clean the surface of soap scum and apply bleach solution to kill mildew
- apply tub and tile caulk with fungicide
I strongly suggest you read their article for a little more detail.
Suggested List of Tools and Supplies
- caulk remover
- window scraper
- utility knife
- needle-nose pliers
- small screw driver (for digging tough stuff out)
- rags
- bucket for debris
- protective covering for hands (I’m really bad about doing this)
- cleaner to remove soap scum (not ammonia since you’ll follow up with bleach!)
- small spray bottle (for bleach solution)
- acrylic or silicone caulk
Finding the remover
Popular Mechanics recommended 3M Caulk Remover and I wanted to try it, so the first task was to track that down. Although I love the simplicity of ordering from Amazon and having the stuff show up on my doorstep, I wanted to start working on the project and didn’t want to wait a few days for shipping.
I tried the obvious places first — the big box home improvement stores — but neither listed it online so I ran by a store to see if they might carry it locally . No luck. I found it online at Ace Hardware so I called the nearest store and they had one bottle left on the shelf.
Working with the remover
A little warning about working with the 3M Caulk Remover. The remover needs to sit on the caulk for a minimum of 2-3 hours before you can start removing the caulk. If the caulk is older and really hardened or it there are several layers of caulk it would need to sit even longer. So plan in advance to apply this remover and go find something else to do while it works.
The bottle is only supposed to cover 24 linear feet of caulk and I was running close to that limit so I didn’t want to overuse the product. A lesson learned the hard way — if the remover doesn’t cover the caulk it doesn’t soften anything, so make sure you have complete coverage without smearing it all over. Just make sure you have a thin layer covering all the caulk.
The great thing about this remover is that it truly clings to vertical surfaces and doesn’t run down. I had a lot of vertical caulk to remove and there was no problem getting the remover to stay in place.
I came back a couple of hours later and started loosening the edges of the caulk with a simple window scraper like the one pictured here along the metal frame of the glass shower walls. I used a utility knife to clean out the seam between the ceramic walls and floor. I was afraid to use the utility knife on the metal frame since it might score the metal.
Once cut loose it’s a fairly easy process to pull the caulk away and as the Popular Mechanics article mentioned I did have to use a needle-nose plier at times to grab the caulk. It quickly became evident where I missed covering with the remover since that section wouldn’t let go and it took a lot more work with the razor blade to get it loose.
Be prepared – the process is a little messy because of the runny remover and then the somewhat melted state of the caulk itself. I kept a bucket next to me to put the gelatinous mess into as I removed it. The 3M Caulk Remover worked great and with only a couple of hours work I had the caulk completely removed.
As suggested in the article I washed the surfaces where the caulk had been. Popular Mechanics next suggested using a foam brush to work in a bleach solution into the crevices. Since it wouldn’t take a large amount of the solution I got a small spray bottle with water, added a little bleach and sprayed down the areas where the caulk had been removed. So the bleach would have ample time to kill mildew I re-sprayed a while later and let it all dry overnight.
Before working in the shower again I thoroughly wiped the floor down to remove any bleach residue. I didn’t want to accidentally track bleach out of the shower and damage something.
Product comparison
Okay — now I’m annoyed. I ran out of the 3M Caulk Remover and I needed to remove the caulk that was smeared all over the faucet escutcheons and the wall where they have been caulked. I was too lazy to go back and get another bottle of the 3M and bought what was available at the nearest big box home improvement store. It wasn’t exactly being lazy — I had bought the last bottle at Ace and was afraid they hadn’t had a chance to restock.
The employee who helped me at the big box recommended Motsenbocker’s Lift Off (it was all they carried) and a caulk remover tool. I asked her if the stuff works and she said customers had said it worked okay. I was skeptical but bought it anyway.
The bottle said you had to remove as much caulk as possible, but it said you only had to wait 2-3 minutes as opposed to 2-3 hours. So in my opinion it makes it a caulk residue remover instead of a true caulk remover. It suggested you check for colorfastness first, but that wouldn’t be an issue with ceramic tile and metal.
The results
The Motsenbocker’s is a gel that comes in a spray bottle. First thing — the caulk remover ran down the wall no matter what I did. Next the plastic caulk remover tool promptly melted and the edge became jagged when I scraped the old caulk off the shower wall. Great. And I noticed my hands were burning where ever the remover had come in contact with my skin. Then I went over to the counter to remove the caulk from the metal escutcheon plates and apparently the plates had a protective plastic coating that melted from the remover.
This is directly off Mostenbocker’s website:
Safe On:
Hands • Tools • Fiberglass • Hard Surface • Flooring • Fabrics • Carpet • Ceramic • Stone • Wood • Plastic • Metal • Vinyl • Foam Application Equipment & More!
Safe on hands, plastic, metal? I don’t think so. And the fumes in my bathroom were awful from the supposedly eco-friendly product. I was left in a quandary of where to wash up since I didn’t want the caulk remover to ruin any of my sinks.
Summary of my experience with caulk removers:
| Issue |
Motsenbacher’s |
3M Caulk Remover |
| safe for hands? |
burns skin |
no skin irritation |
| vertical surfaces |
product runs |
product stays put |
| fumes |
unpleasant & lingering |
none noticed |
| melts plastic? |
yes |
yes |
| product performance |
had to apply repeatedly |
one application worked |
| preparation |
had to remove caulk |
none – just apply |
What will I do in the future? In all fairness I think the 3M Caulk remover melts plastic too. I had a plastic handle utility knife and the color was coming off on my hand because of the remover. So be careful what tools you use and what you use the remover on.
Next time I’m going to prepare in advance and order the 3M or drive to a store where I can purchase it. The Motsenbocker’s and ruined caulk remover tool are going back for a refund tomorrow.
Okay — now on to re-grouting the shower.
Grouting steps:
- Mix the grout with water
- Let mixture rest for 5-10 minutes
- Push grout into gaps and smooth out
- Wait 10-20 minutes
- Remove excess grout
- Allow to dry 30-45 minutes
- Polish with soft cloth
- Wait 2-4 hours
- Lightly mist grout several times a day for 3 days
Tool list:
- Grout
- Plastic cup
- Stirrer (I used a plastic spoon)
- Nitrile gloves
- Rags
- Soft cloth
- Spray bottle with clean water
I didn’t have a lot of grouting to do, but the process is long whether it’s a small amount or an entire shower. There are multiple steps and the grout will need to cure for 3 days after it’s done. None of the steps are difficult, but each is important.
I had a 1 lb. box of white grout (the image at right is the grout I used) I had used before and kept stored in the garage. The box specifically said it was for gaps no larger the 1/8” and none of mine were that large. The box also said it contained Portland Cement and gloves and face protection should be used. I wore gloves, but for such a small amount didn’t think face protection was needed.
Note: If you aren’t using a new box/bag of grout you might want to run it through a sieve to get lumps out. My grout had apparently formed some clumps from moisture out in the garage and they didn’t break down when I mixed the grout. It was a pain to deal with and in retrospect I should have thrown it out and started again with sifted grout that didn’t contain the lumps.
I added water and mixed the grout until it was a stiff paste and wasn’t runny. The directions on the box say to let the grout rest (they used the word “slake”) 5-10 minutes. Since it was a small amount I went for 5 minutes.
I applied the grout using my finger (wearing nitrile gloves) since the grout was going in corner joints. I pushed as much grout into the joint as I could and then smoothed it out with my fingertip. The grout doesn’t need to be perfect at this point, but the gaps should be thoroughly filled with grout.
Wait 10-20 minutes for the grout to firm up.
I used a rag that that had been completely wrung out (a sponge also works) and wiped in circular motions to remove the excess grout. I rinsed out and wrung the rag regularly to keep it clean. When I was finished the grout was cleaned off the tile surfaces, and nicely filled in the gaps. This will be how the grout looks when dry, so I made sure it looked good before allowing it to set up.
The grout to needed dry for another 30-45 minutes before I could wipe the surfaces with a soft cloth to polish the last haze of grout from the tiles.
Curing process: The grout needs to cure for 3 days and should not be allowed to get completely dry. Several times a day I lightly misted the new grout with a spray bottle of plain, clean water to keep it slightly damp.
That’s it. At the end of three days the grout was dry and ready for normal use. My shower wasn’t ready yet since I still had to replace the caulk sealing the shower walls to the ceramic.
Tool list:
- Caulk
- Caulk gun
- Utility knife
- Nitrile gloves
- Rags or paper towels
What kind of caulk to use
When I went to the store to buy a new tube of caulk I was still undecided about using acrylic or silicone. There was some hard water damage to the metal frames of the glass shower walls that would be hidden by white acrylic so I was leaning in that direction. As the Popular Mechanics article had suggested, I wanted something that was anti-microbial and would discourage mildew growth.
I had a tube of white acrylic in my hand when I stopped to read the labels on the silicone caulk. It said things like 10 year mold free, permanently waterproof, flexible, shrink/crack proof. Hmm… When I had removed the caulk the previous owners had put in the shower I discovered they had caulked over the original clear silicone. That original silicone was still flexible and really stubborn about coming out of the seam. Since I wanted totally waterproof and really long-lasting I bought the GE Silicone II Supreme.
Applying the caulk
I have always been kind of frustrated because I totally suck at applying caulk. I get too much on, get it all over everything (me included), and it never looks like a professional job. I finally figured out what I always do wrong — I cut the opening on the tip of the caulk tube too big. This time I used the utility knife to cut maybe less than an 1/8″ angled opening. It was so small the piercing tool on my caulk gun barely fit in the hole to open the membrane sealing the silicone. What a difference a smaller opening made.
Note: the smart thing to do would be to wear gloves so you don’t make a mess of your hands.
I applied a thin line of caulk to where the shower walls met the ceramic tile, wiped it down with my fingertip to smooth it out and make sure it was in the gap, wiped my fingertip clean on a paper tool and before I knew it I was done. The lines of caulk looked perfect and for the first time I didn’t have caulk everywhere.
What to do with the escutcheon plates
The last thing I needed to do was reinstall the escutcheon plates for the faucet handles. After researching on the internet I decided to use the silicone caulk to seal them to the walls. The plate itself has a rubber seal around the center hole to prevent water from getting behind the plate and into the wall behind the shower. There were a lot of differing opinions about whether to seal them and what to use. Sealing them seems like a no-brainer to me — who wants moisture and mold developing behind the plates or allowing water to get behind the ceramic and into the wall?
The bottom line was the seal needed to be easily removable if a problem developed with the plumbing later and I knew the silicone could be quickly cut through for access to the wall. I applied a thin line of silicone all around the escutcheon plates and smoothed it out.
Note: Some people suggested packing the hole where the plumbing comes out through the ceramic and plumbers followed up with comments that it was a really bad idea. Others had used plumbers putty and another plumber noted there are only 3 uses for that putty: 1. seating a drain in a sink, 2. seating a sink on a counter, 3. seating the faucet on a sink.
Lesson learned
If you cut the hole on the caulk tube too big, you apply too much caulk, you have to wipe all the excess (and wasted) caulk off, and you get it everywhere. From now on I will start with a small opening and only make the it larger if needed.
The important thing is how the silicone holds up over time, but as far as application I would recommend GE Silicone II Supreme.
I’m down to the final clean up and the shower will be done.
The last step
I wanted to do a thorough soap scum and hard water residue removal to finish the shower. I had removed the plastic hot and cold water knobs and the shower head and soaked them in white vinegar to remove the hard water. The black plastic on the shower head had started out white and crusty with hard water and after soaking was perfectly clean. I replaced those after they were clean.
As mentioned previously I had purchased Barkeeper’s Friend on the recommendation of the Manly Housekeeper in his article on soap scum removal. So I got in the shower figuring I would have to kill myself scrubbing off soap scum, etc.
Guess what? There wasn’t hardly any there. The only thing that was stained a little was some the grout in the floor from me tromping in and out working on the grout and caulk. I still used Barkeeper’s Friend to scrub the ceramic and glass walls top to bottom and got a brush to scrub the floor. When I was done the floor looked as pristine as the walls.
So why no soap scum?
Because of the glass walls on 2 sides I had started using a shower spray a few years back. I hadn’t been particularly thrilled with its performance (I still had hard water and soap scum that had to be scoured off) and really didn’t like the cost. I figured there had to be a way to make a cheaper version at home so I started doing research. Feel free to research yourself, but after reading several ideas this is the concoction I’ve been using for the last 3 or 4 years and it has significantly cut down on shower cleaning.
Here’s a link to the shower spray recipe.
The finished shower
Not bad for the original shower in a 28-year-old house. Yes, I know I need a bathroom update, but I don’t want to spend the money on it right now, so I’ll keep maintaining what I’ve got. And what did it cost me to do this refurb? I used tools I already had and spent about $20 on Barkeeper’s Friend, 3M Caulk Remover, and GE Silicone II Supreme Caulk. Not bad at all.
