I re-caulked my shower on Saturday afternoon, using GE Silicone II Kitchen & Bath Caulk. I left it alone until Monday morning, when I showered in it. I assumed it had plenty of time to cure so did not check before using the shower. When I used a squeegee to clean water off the walls of the shower, I hit a corner and discovered the caulk was still as soft as when I had applied it over 36 hours earlier. I could wipe it away with my finger.
What would cause my caulk to not cure?
Some possibilities:
- Humidity is about 100% right now. I live close enough to Hurricane Harvey to get lots of rain.
- The silicone caulk tube says to use by 2014. Does this caulk really expire?
- I smoothed the caulk application using my finger dippped in warm water, based on a YouTube video I watched to give me confidence. Was this a bad idea?
Best Answer
Expired caulk
You bet it expires, and fast. That is because of the chemistry of this type of caulk. The stuff is nearly magic, but that comes at a price.
Extremes of temperature are not kind to it either. That's not a surprise, even latex paint has that problem.
I have had your experience myself, grabbing random caulk found around the shop and going "this must be OK", only to have to redo the project. Removing the old material completely is a huge chore, and the job will fail if you don't. Never again!