Sanitary sealant for the bathroom: silicone, transparent, how much it dries

The bathroom differs in many respects from all other premises in the house. A special microclimate is maintained here, the main features of which are high humidity and temperature changes. Therefore, to repair the bathroom, special finishing and construction materials are used, designed for use in rooms with a high level of humidity and a changing temperature regime.

This applies to the sealing compounds, which can not be avoided in the process of repairing the bathroom and the bathroom. For the bathroom, you should choose a special sanitary sealant based on silicone. About what this tool is and how it should be used, we will tell you in detail in this article.

The main active component of sanitary sealant is silicone. In addition to it, an adhesion promoter, a vulcanizer, a plasticizer and various additives, including dyes and fungicides, are usually present in the sealing compound.

Silicone sanitary sealant has excellent performance characteristics, namely:

• resistance to ultraviolet radiation, which allows it to be used on surfaces exposed to sunlight;
• high degree of strength and at the same time good elasticity - these properties make the sanitary sealant a silicone related to silicone compounds;
• resistance to aggressive chemicals, which are often present in the composition of cleaning products for plumbing;
• resistance to the appearance of fungus, mold and insects - for this property of silicone sealant distinguish special fungicidal additives.

Qualitative sanitary sealant must consist of at least half of silicone rubber. In everyday life, one of two types of silicone sealants is used, neutral or acidic. Repair specialists advise choosing a neutral sealant for surface treatment in the bathroom. It costs more, but is harmless to humans and almost odorless. In addition, the neutral sealant perfectly interacts with all types of materials, even with delicate ones like marble. It is used not only for sealing, but also for gluing various elements.

Transparent silicone sealant is usually used to work with a separate group of materials - transparent and translucent glass and tiles. As glass sanitary ware( sinks, shower cabins, etc.) is very popular today, transparent sealing compounds are in great demand. In the bathroom, a transparent sealant can also be used to seal seams between fragments of glass mosaic.

In addition, this type of sealant is used for the arrangement of aquariums, when installing insulating glass units and transparent partitions.

• When purchasing a sanitary silicone sealant, carefully study its composition: about 90% should be a silicone rubber and a filler( both should be approximately equal).The remaining 10% are fungicidal additives, plasticizers, catalysts, etc.
• To produce high-quality silicone sealant, more expensive materials are used and, as a consequence, a higher price is assigned for it. Therefore, buy sanitary sealant is not cheaper than 150 rubles for standard packaging.
• If the "A" marking is on the sealant sealant, this means that it refers to acidic sealants. These sealants have a sharp smell of vinegar. When working with them, protect the skin and respiratory tract. In addition, acid sealants can not be used for all types of materials.

In the bathroom, silicone sealant is most often used to seal a seam between a wall and a font, process joints between parts of the shower enclosure, seal the bath curtains and other similar works. Apply sanitary sealant is simple enough, you only need to follow a certain sequence of actions.

• First we do the preparatory work: we clean, seal and dry the working surface.
• Then we arm ourselves with paint tape and pasted those places that need to be protected from getting a sealant. That the seam turned out equal and accurate, the painting tape should be glued as close as possible to the joint.
• The standard packaging for silicone sealant is a tube that is refilled in a special gun. After this, the tube should be cut off at a certain angle - that the diameter of the hole coincides with the width of the seam.
• Insert the tip of the tube as deep as possible into the gap and distribute the sealant evenly throughout the seam.
• If the seam is not very smooth, then, until the sealant has seized, it can be corrected with a rubber spatula or a soap-smeared finger.
• Then tear off the strips of paint tape and wait for the composition to dry.

Different manufacturers specify different drying times for sanitary silicone sealants.

According to experts, the drying speed of the sealing compound directly depends on the thickness of the seam. On average, it is 2 mm per day.

Remove the sanitary silicone sealant from various surfaces in two ways: mechanically or with the help of special cleaning agents.

The first method can be used in case you need to remove a fresh, not yet frozen silicone sealant. It can simply be picked up with a knife blade, and then collect by hand. With the help of a sharp knife, you can also scrape off a thick layer of old, long-seized sanitary sealant.

If the layer of silicone sealant is thin enough and does not lend itself to mechanical influence, solvents and washings for silicone will come to the aid. Suitable as usual acetone or white spirit, and specialized means that can soften the silicone without damaging the surface. These include, for example, Silicone Remover, Sili-Kill and Permaloid.