Hi,

I have a MAXX fiberglass shower stall that has always leaked. I've recaulked three times, once by the installer and twice myself. The only way I've stopped the leak was to tape the seams with duct tape so I know it can be made water tight. Do you have any suggestions as to how to make the caulking more effective? Can the seams be glued or otherwise sealed and then covered with caulking? This is driving me nuts.

Thanks,

Jim Phillips

Hi Jim...

This happens more than you might think... ;)

Best bet here will be to remove all the old caulking in its entirety if possible. Use various tools and finish off with a utility knife/blade to clean right down to the fiberglass wall/pan. Then you want to dry everything and when I say that I mean dry eveything, then use a hair dryer (careful not to burn the fiberglass) and dry the area even more. Finally, that evening take some isopropyl alcohol and wet the area between the wall and the pan completely. Wipe it down good and clean. The alcohol will increase the ability of the caulking to adhere to the walls and the pan as well as help to disinfect and clean away any mold/mildew that may be hidden. Alcohol will eveaporate at a pretty quick rate so any remaining in the PM will be gone by the AM.

Then the hard part... go away from it for a couple days... that means no using that shower in any way. After a couple days take a piece of toilet paper and put it between the wall and the pan... walk it all around the edges. If any moisture appears then you want to use that hair dryer and dry the area some more, etc...

The whole idea here is to get the moisture out. If any moisture and I mean ANY moisture remains before caulking then you are doomed to failure much like has occurred to date. USE THE TISSUE PAPER AS A FINAL GAUGE ON MOISTURE.

Finally, I would recommend that you use a 1 HOUR shower caulking (available at home depot or lowes), but let it dry overnight at a minimum.

That should get you up and running once and for all... ;)

Let us know if you want to discuss more...

MARK

Mark is absolutely correct in his advice. I would just like to add that even though all seem to be dry - there may be large amount of water sitting under the frame. That's why it is important to use the hair dryer and toilet paper test. Do as Mark said and you will succeed. Let us know how you did. Milo