Best practices for cleaning a poorly edged shower?

November 10, 2022 7:43 AM

My new apartment is awesome, but the bathroom is on the older side, and whoever grouted and siliconed the tile and the edges of the tub did it sloppily, so there aren't clean lines on silicone and the grout around the shower tile is flaked off in some places (like glass block window areas - these seem more discolored where there isn't grout). Other sections are intact and can be scrubbed but it's darn hard when so uneven. Any ideas for consistently cleaning these different surfaces? (Apologies if my terminology of silicone sealant and grout aren't the right ones).
posted by tiny frying pan to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Response by poster: (I want to be clear that nothing is leaking or seeping into the wall - I recently escaped an apartment where the wall rotted behind the tile and I am well aware of when that is happening - this was maybe layer on layer so some areas have good grout and others...it's lacking, but intact.)
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:51 AM on November 10, 2022

The silicone can be very easily replaced as a DIY. Search YouTube for tips and definitely get the proper tools. There's a cool inexpensive tool that helps you strip out the old silicone and then make a very nice bead with the silicone. A nice bead = stays clean/is easier to clean. Not sure about the grout, I bet there's a way to rescue it without doing something totally invasive. Even if you're renting, the silicone is worth it. The grout...may not be. But do a search - maybe there's some filler you can use as an interim fix.
posted by amanda at 8:37 AM on November 10, 2022 [3 favorites]

Do yourself a favor and buy a bottle of caulk remover to jump start your project. The caulk is the flexible stuff at the corners and seams. The grout is the hard stuff between the tiles. Caulk remover will turn the caulk into a butter-like consistency to make it easy to remove. Do two rounds. If the old caulk was silicone based, make sure the new caulk is also silicone, or the silicone residue on the surfaces will cause the non-silicone caulk to not adhere. Watch a few YouTube video about caulking so you have an idea of the technique; using just enough is better than putting on too much and making a mess trying to tidy up the bead. Do NOT touch the wet caulk with your fingertip unless you have just wet your finger and it is dripping wet.
As for the grout, it's easy to buy new grout and press it into the missing spots and wipe away the excess. The hard part is finding grout that matches the color of the existing grout. Without a good match, the patches will be obvious. You can buy grout in small tubes, so you don't have to learn how to mix it.
Both the caulk and the grout should be left to dry, without getting wet from a shower, for as long as possible. The directions will say 24 hours, so consider timing it so you are about to be away for the workday or overnight.
posted by juggler at 9:33 AM on November 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I will not being doing any DIY at this time.
posted by tiny frying pan at 10:57 AM on November 10, 2022

Response by poster: Wow, expected at least one suggestion. The answer cannot be to let things get incrementally dirty until a better grout can be recreated...some day.
posted by tiny frying pan at 5:04 AM on November 11, 2022

Our bathroom is old and was sloppily maintained before we bought the house. My suggestion is to clean the thing but don't expect it to look clean. I spray it with bath cleaner and wash/hose it off, just like the rest of the bathroom. Don't do it too often, don't use cleaners that are too aggressive, leave it to dry completely afterwards.
posted by gakiko at 12:31 PM on November 11, 2022

Best answer: You can use a razor scraper and/or utility knife to cut the silicone back so that the lines are straighter and/or more flush, which should make things somewhat easier to clean. If you look at your local bog box hardware store there is probably a variety of handles that can hold the blades in different orientation. As for cleaning, I recommend a brush that fits into a lightweight power drill, the spinning motion saves you from needing to scrub with pure elbow grease and the bristles do an alright job of getting into weird nooks and crannies.
posted by Summers at 7:53 PM on November 20, 2022 [1 favorite]