Buildings Insurance and shower sealant

iamcornholio

Mould can feed on the ingredients of sealant. There is what is termed a primary attack (surface mould) and a secondary attack (mould below the surface)

Normally it will be just surface mould and can be wiped. If it is not removed by a wipe and a bit of cleaning product, then it will be a secondary attack and in this case the silicone could be said to be defective as a sealant, and require replacement

However, for insurance purposes it would take some pretty precise analysis for them to prove that the sealant had experienced a secondary attack and that it was in fact defective. The person at the call centre could not make that decision from a script

Even with a secondary attack with some mould below the surface I cant see how the insures could prove that the whole sealant had become defective.

IMO, if you refuted their assertions and invited them to investigate and/or get an expert involved, then there is no way they could deny the claim as the evidence would not be there.

But it seems things have moved on from there, so you'll need to check their response with the policy terms

For cleaning, its best to use an alkali or neutral ph product, as mould tends to like acidity and it this can make it grow back sooner

iamcornholio

keystone wrote: »

Actually you can. Boric acid and sodium hypochlorite applied separately

That's borax and bleach for the non-scientists among us

joinaman

Why not use "Staywhite" ? ( or similiar) silicone

It's a lot more expensive, around £6 - 7 a tube, but lasts for years
Have done all my bathrooms with it and not had to replace any seals in over 4 years so far, and still as white as when it went on.
Use masking tape along the bath/shower edge and also along the wall before applying silicone, smooth off and then remove tape, leaving a nice clean straight ege to the the sealant
Using cheap silicone, which most plumbers do, is false economy when it just goes mouldy within a few months

phill99

[QUOTE=keystone;53150663 Boric acid and sodium hypochlorite applied separately and 24 hours apart will get it out.

Cheers[/QUOTE]

but in fairness, how many people have these 2 chemicals in their cleaning arsenal?

And additionally, the mould will break the silicone seal, so even if you do clean it off, the silicon will not be adhering properly thus allowing water ingress.

I think the OP should challenge the insurance company.

I deal with loads of insurance claims where there has been ingress of water from damaged bath seals, shower seals and the insurers have also paid out.

If the insurance company applied their logic, those leaks from a perished washer on a washing machine hose that drip for months before their is evidence of a leak would not be covered. Their logic is flawed.

SallyG

Thanks to everyone for listening and helping .