Water leaking down the back of my bath / taps

[mickyd67]

Hi all - any idea how I can sort this?

There is water leaking down the back of my bath - my shower is above the taps and the water is collecting behind my taps. Presumably there is a gap either in the silicone around the bath or the back of the taps.

Issue is the space behind the taps against the wall is very minimal - it's difficult to get back in to remove any sealant and re-seal.

Any suggestions as to what I can do? Wouldn't be easy to remove the taps either as the bath is sealed in, and boxed in.

Can you get sealant with a long / thin nozzle? Can you also get something that will smooth the silicone too, which will be pretty long?

I've only recently moved into this place - but I assume it's happened before because there is staining on the original flooring (i.e. the chipboard stuff) - however I think the last couple used the en-suite more often than the main bathroom so it might not have been that noticeable (also they had flooring down, which I have ripped up)

Thanks all.

 

[Burnerman]

It can be very difficult indeed to get a neat line of silicone behind the taps....its much easier if this is done before the taps are fitted to the bath but thats rare.
Remove as much of the old silicone as you can - using a flat blade such as a wood chisel or similar. Once this is done, and everything is completely dry, put a layer of masking tape about 6mm above the bath on the tile, and do the same on the bath itself, leaving the exposed corner bare.
Then, apply the new silicone sealer into the corner - it doesn't matter if you make a mess here as the tape takes care of this later. Push the silicone into the corner with your finger (plastic spatulas are available, and they do work if conditions are ideal), and use plenty of it.
Remove the masking tape now, and excess silicone will come away with it.
Finally, using a wet finger (or spatula) go over the silicone again, just to finish it off.
Takes a bit of practice, but this technique generally works for me!
John

 

[Steve]

Remove all the silicone you can, clean with a degreaser.
Fill the bath with water.
Place two strips of masking tape around the area you are sealing.
Apply a nice thick bead of sealant, enough to give a nice curve and to push some into any gaps.
Smooth the sealant with your finger, pushing it into gaps.
Remove the masking before the sealant skins.

The masking will give you a nice line, and the full bath will stop the sealant cracking when the bath is filled (weighed down with water) in future.

The key to getting a good seal is to make sure the area is DRY and CLEAN.

 

[gavinda]

to get a really good seal with the silicone, fill the bath to the brim before you fill the gap as the weight will open the gap far more than it would in mormal use, allowing you to get a great seal.

 

[mickyd67]

Thanks everyone - much appreciated.

I'll follow this and give it a go.

 

[Johnmelad]

Don't lick your finger to smooth the silicone. If you do, you are just introducing bacteria.