Bathroom sealant - which, where, cheapest?

Arfa__

That time again, the sealant round the bath has started to come loose and has grown black with mould. I normally just go down B&Q and get some Unibond. But is there anywhere cheaper, or other brands just as good? Never had much luck with B&Q own brand - crap, just doesn't last. Do you bother paying more for the 'anti-mould' variety, does it really help much? It all seems to go mouldy eventually regardless...

wallbash

all seems to go mouldy eventually regardless...

But is there anywhere cheaper, or other brands just as good?

Why not for a change buy the most expensive you can find ? then post back with your results.


Ps in a well ventilated bathroom , my sealant looks good after at least eight years
Cant tell you the brand , as I only moved in eight years ago.

How often are you replacing?

Arfa__

The last lot I laid down was Unibond, about 2 years ago. Before that B&W own brand, crap lasted less than year. Also tried those sticky strips you get and fold into an L shape - pain in butt to get to stick and didn't stay stuck for long. Probably will just get Unibond again, £10 a tube at B&Q - not seen anywhere better, but maybe someone can point me somewhere?

To be fair, I ripped out the old extractor fan the other week, it was a cheap'n'crappy one, plus the grille was pretty blocked too. So it probably hadn't been doing much all this time. Got a decent Xpelair DX100T, which I'll be putting in window this weekend, that should help matters a lot.

Bathroom is tiny (2m^2), with shower, bath. Does get used a lot though - 2-4 showers/baths a day.

wallbash

Also tried those sticky strips you get and fold into an L shape

Yes i used them ..... once !
To be honest , think you are already doing the right thing, increase ventilation and going for a 'named' brand.


Ps I am not a fan of using a finger and spit!!! to smooth the bead.
I use my finger...... and a strong mixture of washing up liquid and water.Seems to stay wetter longer and glides over the bead.Just a thought.

TimBuckTeeth

B&Q are expensive for silicone sealants, can get good quality sealants elsewhere for less than £5.

Improving ventilation in the room and careful preparation of the surfaces helps reduce mould growth.
Cut out all the old sealant and use sealant dissolving liquid if necessary. Then spray the surfaces with bleach, leave for a 30 mins then rinse and wipe off. Use a hairdryer or fan to dry the gap thoroughly and finally wipe the surfaces with meths to degrease.

Finishing the sealant with a flat sloped surface rather than a convex shape allows water to run off and not sit on the surface for long periods which can encourage mould growth.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/47187/Sealants-Adhesives/Sealants/Sanitary-Sealants/No-Nonsense-Sanitary-Silicone-White-310ml

http://cpc.farnell.com/everbuild/foreverwe/sealant-forever-white-c3/dp/SA01981

A.Penny.Saved

£2.20 a tube at Toolstation, if you have a branch near you or order something useful with it and get free delivery for a £10 order.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Adhesives+Sealants/Sealants/Bath+Sanitary+Sealant+310+ml+White/d180/sd2350/p15455

You could probably find some at poundland but cheap means it probably won't be much good.

As suggested drying the place out will help and when necessary, if any mould starts to develop a wipe with a rag with some bleech on it. Or a strong bleech spray for a few hours and then wipe off.

Penny_Farthing_2

I have tried lots of different brands and some did last longer than others. I was having a moan to a houseproud friend and she said hers never goes moldy because every week, when she cleans the shower, she dips a washing up brush in a little bleach, runs it over the sealer and rinses it off after a few minutes. I tried it and it works. It's a little more fuss when cleaning but it saves the huge fuss and inconvenience of having to keep stripping off the old stuff and re-sealing.

latecomer

dont take this the wrong way but how often do you clean the sealant? We've never had a problem before but since our building work started the cleaning of the bath has been somewhat neglected and its started to get mould in a couple of places. The sealant has only been there for 18 months and I'm certain its related to the lack of cleaning.

mchale

Dow Corning, best on the market, not the cheapest though.

prosaver

why dont you get grey sealent then you cant see the mould....I seen in some toilets that they use coloured grout.
screwfits the best they sell unibond selant for abot 3 quid (they got a web site)

Arfa__

Bathroom is cleaned roughly fortnightly ish.
The Evo Stick brand get right terrible reviews on that Screwfix site. Their No Nonsense one gets good review, but does appear far too cheap! The Dow Corning also gets good reviews on Screwfix, and still half price of Unibond... Might give that a go.

There's a Screwfix store new me, are their in store prices the same as web?