- Bathroom repairs

The ceramic tile area of the bath and shower can be an aggravation. Hers are some repair tips.

When replacing sealant around the tub and shower base clean the area before commencing. Take a sharp knife and cut away the majority of the old bath seal. Remove what you cannot scrape away with a silicone sealer remover. Rinse and then dry with a hair dryer. You can now reseal using a good quality silicone sealant. Before you fill the seam between the tub and ceramic tile fill the tub to the overflow level. This preloads the tub and opens the seam between the tub and tile. This is important as when you seal the joint you don't want any stress at this point when you are in the tub or showering.

Now place a piece of masking tape 3/8" out from the wall on the tub edge and another strip along the bottom edge of the ceramic tile. Apply a bead of silicone along the seam filling the crevice between the two strips of masking tape. Remove the masking tape at this time, do not leave it until the seal cures.

Leave the water in the tub for at least 12 hours allowing the silicone to cure. When the tub is drained it will return to its empty position and can then move during showers and baths without the seam being affected.

Cleaning and sealing the ceramic grout is often needed. This can be done with sprays that are easily available from super markets and hardware stores. After allowing the sprayed area to dry apply a grout sealer. Daily maintenance of ceramic tile is a simple but important task. Wipe or squeegee tiles dry after each shower or bath.

Article courtesy of: Shell Busey