Our basement bathroom/shower was installed 10 years ago when our basement was finished. There are thin cracks along the bottom of the shower walls where they meet the shower floor tile. I now know that they should have used caulk instead of grout at that point and I plan to seal the crack with silicone caulk.
To prep, I left that shower alone for 48 hours to dry out. But when I checked today the cracks at the base of the wall were still moist. I pressed some tissue along the cracks to wick out the water and came back an hour later to find the tissues completely soaked. I repeated the process 7-8 times today and got less water each time until nothing more came out. I am surprised at how much water had been hiding in these cracks for 2 days. I don't think it was leaking anywhere. I know they used backer board because it is visible from the boiler room. But I don't want any moisture behind the new caulk. Any suggestions on how to make sure all the moisture back there is gone before I caulk?
I have thought about spraying some rubbing alcohol along the crack and letting that get absorbed and then evaporate. And, once it is dry, I might squirt some thin superglue into the crack and let that get absorbed into the space where the water has been going. I have some super glue that is the same consistency as water. But first the moisture needs to be gone.
To prep, I left that shower alone for 48 hours to dry out. But when I checked today the cracks at the base of the wall were still moist. I pressed some tissue along the cracks to wick out the water and came back an hour later to find the tissues completely soaked. I repeated the process 7-8 times today and got less water each time until nothing more came out. I am surprised at how much water had been hiding in these cracks for 2 days. I don't think it was leaking anywhere. I know they used backer board because it is visible from the boiler room. But I don't want any moisture behind the new caulk. Any suggestions on how to make sure all the moisture back there is gone before I caulk?
I have thought about spraying some rubbing alcohol along the crack and letting that get absorbed and then evaporate. And, once it is dry, I might squirt some thin superglue into the crack and let that get absorbed into the space where the water has been going. I have some super glue that is the same consistency as water. But first the moisture needs to be gone.
