The trick behind caulk in a shower?

[Rodney R]

I'm about to pull out my hair. The other year I installed a shower surround and base. Naturally I had to caulk all of the panels once it was all on the walls and such. I have been having trouble getting the caulk to last more than a few months where the walls meet the base of the shower. Specifically, I can narrow it down to one wall. The water from the shower head does not hit it directly, but the water from the shower head sprays in that direction. Last time I caulked it was in June, and it has failed again, so i got 2.5 months out of it this time. Each time I have waited a few days for things to dry out (if any water had made it where it's not supposed to be), and the last time I cleaned the caulk area with nail polish remover and a carberator cleaner. I used the carb cleaner cause it would not harm plastic, and it was alchol based, and would make things clean. So apparently that was the wrong thing to use. I got a new tube from the store of a DAP 3.0 caulk today, which is the same stuff that I have used in other showers (with success)...... What am I doing wrong?

Rodney

 

[oldognewtrick]

Whats causing the failure? Is it mold or mildew or is the caulk pulling away from the shower walls? The other walls you have caulked before, are they the same material as the present wall?

 

[EZHangDoor]

Could be your getting moisture behind the panels causing the caulk to fail. I would try a pure silicone caulk. Again letting everything completely dry. Be sure to let the caulk fully cure also, that can cause pre-mature failure.

 

[Rodney R]

The caulk pulls away from the shower walls. Could be moisture behind the walls, maybe I did not let enough time between caulk jobs. I did let a few days for it to cure. I think the pure silicone might be a good idea.

Rodney