How to silicone a shower cabin

A person can do without many things in everyday life, be content with little and eat modest food, but he certainly cannot live without washing. Baths were always installed in villages, and bathtubs were installed in city apartments. However, showers are increasingly replacing the usual bathtubs. Manufacturers delight customers with a huge selection of models.

A wide variety of shapes and sizes, design and functionality. Expensive options have hydromassage, and there are even models with a built-in telephone and radio. Many interpret the refusal of a bath in favor of a shower stall in different ways. Some people want more space, while others want to save water. Be that as it may, cabins and boxes are gaining popularity. But they are not without drawbacks - they need to be sealed.

Why do you need to silicone a shower cabin?

Even in a modest-sized room, after a shower stall is installed, there will be enough space to place furniture, a washing machine and something else. Sealing the device is an essential procedure to protect the room from dampness, which certainly appears from excess moisture. The issue is quite acute, since the shower stall is a prefabricated structure. There are gaps between its elements, which open the way for moisture.

Dampness in the bathroom is a favorable environment for the growth of mold and various fungi and microorganisms. They settle in a room, and then spread throughout the rest of the apartment. By releasing their spores into the air, they become the cause of various allergic diseases.

Moreover, dampness is a bait for rats, mice, cockroaches and other unpleasant neighbors that can carry various infections. That is why it is necessary to make sure that the shower stall is sealed.

Attention! Sealing must be carried out already at the installation stage, and not after the entire structure has been assembled.

One of the problem areas of any cabin is the joint area. Even the cabin, due to its design, can cause a leak. Many commercially available models are equipped with thresholds that are too small in height. Water simply flows through them.

Poor quality of the drain mechanism or its connections is an additional cause of dampness. Because of this, water can accumulate under the bottom of the cabin. This can be corrected by tightening the fasteners or simply installing a new drain system. Cracks in the pan can also cause leakage.

Types of sealants

Processing of joints is carried out with special compounds called sealants.

Reference! Sealant is a paste-like, thick substance. Consists of a polymer with an adhesive base. It fills voids and, when dry, reliably glues surfaces together.

There are two types of sealants on sale:

• with silicone base;
• with acrylic base.

Acrylic-based sealants are completely unsuitable for rooms with high moisture content. The fact is that acrylic decomposes when exposed to water, and when it dries, it begins to crack and slowly deteriorate.Manufacturers try to introduce substances that are resistant to moisture, but this does little to save the situation.

Silicone sealants are considered the best option for working in conditions of high humidity. They are not afraid of water and seal holes efficiently. It is precisely because of these properties that sealants are preferred by specialists. True, you also need to be able to choose a quality product.

The main task of the sealant is to reliably protect against leaks. Therefore, do not try to somehow make a profit when buying it - you can buy an inexpensive sealant, but not of any quality. It will soon lose all its useful properties and work will have to start from the very beginning.

To determine a quality product, you must carefully study the information on the label. A good sealant should contain forty-five percent hydrophobic substance and exactly the same amount of silicone rubber. The composition must also contain a plasticizer. When choosing, preference should be given to products from manufacturers that have proven themselves for a long time.

How to seal a shower stall

In order to seal the cabin yourself and with high quality, it is better to use a special device. The device is shaped like a gun and sealant is inserted into it. The gun will make the process of squeezing out the mass much easier. The sealant will lay down evenly and continuously.

Before you start applying silicone, the surfaces must be treated with a degreasing compound, and dust and possible dirt must be removed. It also wouldn’t hurt to treat it with a mold-protective compound.

Usually the sealant dries within a day, but this can be affected by various factors:

• thickness of the applied composition;
• room temperature;
• humidity in the room.

Based on the last two points, it would be better to refrain from visiting the bathroom for a while, so as not to inadvertently increase the moisture content in it and raise the temperature. After treatment, it is better not to use the booth for a certain period of time. As already mentioned, silicone type of sealant is the best option for such work. And the affordability of its price contributes to choosing it.

When starting work on sealing joints, the treatment must be done directly at the connection, or immediately after installation. Carefully apply the compound to areas with sealing cords and gaskets. The joints are processed so that the places with fastenings remain outside the sealant strip.

During work, you should adhere to the recommendations given in the manufacturer's instructions. At each stage of assembly, all joints and connections are necessarily treated with sealant.

Particular attention should be paid to the processing of seams. Make sure that the composition does not get on the inside of surfaces. It is enough to apply a small amount of the substance. If you are not sure that it will be possible to carry out the treatment carefully, then you can apply masking tape to some areas.

Once the work is completed, the tape can be removed. Excess sealant should be removed with a piece of cloth. The main thing is not to wait for it to dry out.

After processing all the joints and final assembly of the cabin, a thorough external inspection should be carried out. Excess sealant must be removed.

After completing the work, you must wait until the sealant has completely dried. After this, you should check how well the work was done. Simply turn off the drain and fill the shower tray with water and flush it. During this procedure it will be easy to determine if there are leaks.

If a leak is detected, the sealant in this area should be completely replaced. There is no point in applying a new layer of substance on top of the existing one. It will not adhere well, and in any case the leak will form again.

If there is no tray in the cabin, then for complete sealing it is necessary to treat the seams between the tiles with a special grout. The grout will allow the seams to repel water, just like tile does.