this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2024
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My family's bathroom (bathtub shower) needs to be recaulked, the mold is bad and they've been recaulking incorrectly for years (possible water damage?). There is definitely mold behind the caulk.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do about it?

I wanted to pay a contractor to recaulk and do a minimum or temporary mold treatment, is there anything to look out for so I don't get scammed?

What experience did you have trying to recaulk or fix mold?

kitty-cri-texas

Is it expensive?

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Can you see evidence of water damage? If there's nothing visibly apparent in adjoining walls/floors/ceilings you're probably ok. I'm not sure how long mold resistant caulking has been around but even if it was done correctly and they used the appropriate kind it loses it's resistance over time, I think most of the silicone anti-mold caulks typically site like 7-10 years. I would cut/scrape the existing caulking away with a utility and putty knife and scrub everything down with a bleach solution and then reapply caulking that's specifically for bathroom use once everything is cleaned and dried. How is the ventilation in the bathroom? Do you have a ceiling fan in the bathroom or is there good ventilation? Usually want to leave a fan on for 10-15 minutes after use so that it clears most of the moisture out of the air.