How long should sealant around bath on new bathroom last?

rach_k

We had our (tiny) bathroom redone in March 2013 - new bath, loo and sink and the whole room tiled. Over the last month I have noticed that the sealant around the bath is starting to pull away from the tiles around the bath and sink. It looks like it was only covering the bottom of the tiles on the wall by a millimetre or so and now it's pulling away, I can see black mould/mildew at the bottom of the tiles. There's one particularly obvious spot where the sealant crosses a vertical grout line between the tiles but it's like that for a couple of inches here and there at a few different spots down the side of the bath, across one whole end of the bath and also behind the sink.

I'm not sure if this is to be expected or not in a bathroom done around 19 months ago or whether the sealant should have lasted longer. I'm not exactly a clean freak but I do keep the bathroom decent (I tend to clean as necessary e.g toilet every other day, sink when it's grubby, bath is rinsed out after use, we use a leave on shower spray and I clean it properly once a week or so depending how much it's been used). I don't use harsh chemicals - Method and Ecover stuff usually. The bathroom is tiny so it does get pretty humid although we always open the window after using it.

Is it worth contacting the plumber who did the bathroom for us? He's a good guy so I won't if it's unreasonable of me. He didn't do the tiling/sealing himself but he did check it once it had been done. Should I ask him to take a look/redo it/give me a fair price to redo it? I suppose I could have a go myself but the bathroom is nice and I'd rather not mess it up! We will be asking the same plumber for a new boiler fairly soon so maybe I could ask him at the same time to sweeten the deal for him?

suisidevw

No. I think that's unreasonable to get the plumber back unless it's to get a price for him to do it. Seriously though, this is such a simple DIY job. Remove sealant (you can get materials to do this more easily) and thoroughly clean up the area, re-seal..... plenty of vids on youtube etc. Good luck

DTDfanBoy

Make sure you fill the bath with water before sealing around it, your existing problem around the bath may have occurred because this wasn't done.

rach_k

Fair enough, thanks. I think the problem for me is that it still feels like a brand new bathroom after years of living with manky old ones (though the sealant was fine on the old ones!)!

I think you're right DTDfanBoy, the guy who tiled and sealed it didn't fill the bath, which I did think was funny at the time but I didn't question it as I assumed he knew best.

sk240

Process for repairing it:-
Remove all of the existing silicone, clean the area and allow to dry fully.
Fill the bath at least half full so that the bath is at its lowest point.
Now with a high quality, low modulus (stretchy), mould resistant silicone + silicone gun, put a bead all around the bath, then with a wet finger run along it (take care to remove the excess from your finger as you go along),
You can top up any missing bits straight away, then leave to dry.
All easily doable for £10, even if you need to buy a gun.

bridgedino

Our bath rarely gets used so it's been perfect in the 3 yrs it's been on, on the other hand our shower cubical is used 6 times a day and needs re doing every year.

Better to replace before a leak starts.

huckster

19 months is not bad for it to last. If you using it most days, you will get some flex and gaps starting to appear. It is a reasonably simply DIY job that would only take you a couple of hours at the most.

andyhop

If its going grubby its down to cleanliness or lack of ventilation? Do you have a extractor??

If its peeling is down to poor workmanship or using cheap materials. Dow Corning 785 or Mapei Mapesil is £6 a tube and is by far the best on the market. Ensure the bath edges are fixed and free from movement before redoing silicone

We have installs out there over 10yrs old with the origional silicone on , clean and mould free

rach_k

It's not grubby, the sealant itself is still as white as the day it was done. There is mould/mildew behind it though where it has peeled away and I assume water has gone down behind it. I only noticed it very recently because I could see a black line along the top of the sealant, but I suppose it might have been like that for a while for the mould to have grown. The bathroom doesn't have an extractor but I don't think that's the problem - nowhere else is mouldy/mildewed, just the bits where water has gone where it shouldn't and gotten stuck.

I did really expect it to last longer. If I'd done the original sealant myself, I would probably not bat an eyelid at redoing it now, but it does feel quite soon for it all to need redoing. Oh well, I won't get the same guy to do any more tiling for us! It seems like most people would be happy with it so I won't complain.

Southend1

I normally do mine once a year

andyhop

rach_k wrote: »

It's not grubby, the sealant itself is still as white as the day it was done. There is mould/mildew behind it though where it has peeled away and I assume water has gone down behind it. I only noticed it very recently because I could see a black line along the top of the sealant, but I suppose it might have been like that for a while for the mould to have grown. The bathroom doesn't have an extractor but I don't think that's the problem - nowhere else is mouldy/mildewed, just the bits where water has gone where it shouldn't and gotten stuck.

I did really expect it to last longer. If I'd done the original sealant myself, I would probably not bat an eyelid at redoing it now, but it does feel quite soon for it all to need redoing. Oh well, I won't get the same guy to do any more tiling for us! It seems like most people would be happy with it so I won't complain.

Silicone will fail in a few years if there is excessive movement or it has been poorly applied. Ensure bath is free from movement, put your weight on bath corners and see if there is flex, if its all fine then I was probably just applied to a dirty surface