Keep Your Caulks with Proper Tile Care

For homeowners, worn, old and mold growth along the edges of the tiles surrounding your bathtubs, sinks and showers are enough reason to remove silicone sealants. Although it’s easier to fill caulk cracks using a sealant gun, mold growth on worn and old sealants is unsightly and poses some serious health risks making the task of removing them an important thing to do. 

The thing is, removing sealants is not an easy task. It’ll require some time and might need an expert hand to be successfully removed. Since silicone sealants are usually applied on your tile walls and floors found in the bathroom as well as kitchen countertops, regular upkeep and proper maintenance involving your tiles will help you ward off those molds from growing and your caulks from prematurely wearing out.

Tile Care Do's

• Regularly remove dust or any kind of debris on your tile walls or floor by either sweeping or vacuuming them.
• Always rinse your tile walls and floor with clean water to make sure that no dirt is left and that it’s mopped clean and dry. Keeping your tiles wet and exposed makes it a better place for mold growth. That’s why it’s very important that you avoid this by keeping your tiles clean and dry.
• Damaged or broken tiles can be easily penetrated with water and coupled with humidity might result to mold growth. Avoid this from happening by replacing the tiles. If it can still be sealed using grout joints, do it. Or else you’d have to resort to applying a fresh silicone sealant to it.

Tile Care Don’ts

• Avoid using tile cleaners with bleach or acid especially for routine maintenance. Acid and bleach might wear off your silicone caulks faster so make sure that you choose only the right cleaning aids.
• Keep out harsh cleaning materials as well like metal scouring or steel wool pads. These materials will likely scrape the glaze out of your tiles and damage your sealants too in the long run.
• While it’s fine to use coloured cleaning agents for your tiles, avoid using it if you don’t want to stain your unglazed tiles.

Overall, taking proper care of your tiles makes it easier for you to avoid mold growth and delay the all too immediate need for caulk replacement. Not that you won’t need to replace your silicone sealants but follow these few simple dos and don’ts to take care of your tiles and you’ll have years to spare before you will need to replace your caulks anew.