Question: The rubber seal in my shower has mold I can’t remove. The shower stall has marble sides that sit on the bottom tray of the shower with a rubber seal in between.
Answer: The way to removing mold is to use bleach and to soak the caulking for four to six hours. The secret is toilet paper. I use a bleach product called Tilex. Spray a thin coating of Tilex on the caulking you want to clean. Take a length of toilet paper about six feet long and double it over. Lay this on top of the caulk. The Tilex you sprayed on it should hold the toilet paper in place over the caulk. Continue adding toilet paper to the caulk until the area you want to clean is totally covered.
Spray additional Tilex on the toilet paper until it is totally saturated. Leave this in place for four to six hours. When you remove the wet toilet paper, the mold should be gone. Rinse the area well with clear water.
If this does not remove the mold it has gotten behind the caulk. The only way to clean this is to remove the caulk, clean the area well with Tilex, rinse it, dry well, and recaulk. For more details on how to do this go to mysundaynews.com and look up the Ask the Woodchucks column for July 5, 2012.
Any time you see a little a little mold developing on the caulk spray it with a bleach solution like Tilex to remove it because, if it gets behind the caulk, the fix is an order of magnitude greater.
Sun City Consumer Showcase:
I attended the Consumer Showcase last week and was able to talk to several very knowledgeable vendors who answered my questions about their products. I had some conflicting information on window seal failures and the manufacturer’s warranties. I have received a few emails lately about windows with moisture between the two panes of glass. This can’t be repaired; the window needs to be replaced.
When the windows are manufactured an inert gas is injected between the glass panes and the edges of the panes are sealed together. This gas improves the insulating property of the window. When this seal fails, moisture migrates in and the insulating property of the window is degraded.
I stopped to talk with TJ at the A Touch of Glass booth. I asked her about the manufacturer’s warranty on the two types of windows used in Sun City. The Del Webb houses have windows made by Weathershield. These are warranted against seal failures for 20 years. For the first 10 years, the windows will be replaced free of charge, however you must pay for the labor to remove the old window and install the new one. This can be arranged through any of their dealers.
For the second years 10-20 the warrantee will replace windows with a seal failure for half of the current list price. You will have to pay for the labor. TJ pointed out that many times it is actually cheaper to buy a new window from another manufacturer rather than go through the warranty. Check with a Weathershield dealer on this.
The Pulte houses have windows made by Simonton. These are warranted against seal failures for 10 years. For the first 10 years the windows will be replaced free of charge, however you must pay for the labor. This can be arranged through any of their dealers.
The written warranty, found at simonton.com, says nothing about the second 10 years. TJ said her experience is that Simonton has been extending this warranty to the second 10 years, with a few exceptions for some types of windows. This is an unwritten warranty that you should work with your Simonton dealer to see if it applies to you.
• If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com
