[thechat] Mouldy Grouting
Luther, Ron
ron.luther at hp.com
Mon Mar 21 08:30:21 CST 2005
Chris March noted:
>>I have grouting between the tiles (on the wall) and the bath in my
>>bathroom that seems to be mouldy. The grouting has a rubbery or
>>plastic-like consistency. I've tried bleach,
Hi Chris,
David was exactly on target. That's the caulk between the tub and
the walls. Nope. It doesn't clean up.
[Grout is that hard stuff actually _between_ the tiles ... The tiles
on the wall, the tiles on the floor ... wherever it is you have tile
... the stuff between the tiles is the grout. You can buy grout in
different colors. You can buy sealants for grout. You can even buy
these odd crayon-like "bricks" for cleaning grout. (Don't ask me
where - the neighbor has them and says they work great - I just get
funny looks at the hardware store when I ask about them.) However,
re-grouting is, (for the less than mechanically inclined - like
myself), a *major* PITA!]
Dave's right again, (that guy must really know his bathtubs!), the
caulk can be removed with a utility knife. {Don't use one of your
gf/wife's good steak knives - she'll hurt you for that.}
You can buy a small tube of tub caulk very cheaply at any hardware
store.
Slice it open on an angle. Put in on nice and thick. Lick your finger
and smooth it out to make it look pretty. It still doesn't have to be
real neat at this point. You can let it 'set up' for half an hour or
so and then go back with the utility knife and trim away the extra
globby parts that look like they are dripping towards the tub. Don't
trim it too close - just neaten it up.
Now the important part ... recap the caulk and place the partially used
tube in your toolbox or on a shelf in your garage. The next time you
need
to do this - go out and buy a brand new tube, (they really are pretty
cheap). After you've done this in a few houses you will have an entire
toolbox drawer full of half used caulk tubes that you can proudly carry
with you every time you move!
[Apparently this is some kind of important 'guy thing'. No one knows
what the hell it is we are supposed to do with these old caulk tubes ...
but if you check your dad's or your father-in-law's toolbox - I'll bet
you find at least 3 or 4 or these! So they MUST be important, right?]
HTH,
RonL.
(Who's been procrastinating re-caulking a soap dish in the master shower
that will probably take less than 20 minutes to redo ... 20 minutes!!!
...
Man! ... Who's got that kind of time?!?!?)
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