How to Remove Old Silicone?

Sealing silicone between tiles and the shower tray or bathtub loses its adhesion over time, and as a result, its tightness as well. When the time comes to replace it, the question arises: "how to remove old silicone?" Despite being a highly moisture-resistant material, it wears out in every bathroom after some time and needs to be replaced with a new adhesive. We often wonder how and with what to remove silicone without damaging the surrounding surfaces and being able to protect the area against moisture again? In today's article, we suggest the best methods for removing silicone!

Regular Check-ups

It’s worth starting with the fact that the areas where sanitary silicone is used often have direct contact with water - heat and moisture are excellent breeding grounds for bacteria and fungi, so we should regularly (for example, when cleaning the bathroom) monitor the sealed areas. After some time, silicone deteriorates and loses its properties - it stops being as tight, cracks, and loses its adhesion. Moreover, it becomes simply unsightly: the material turns yellow and dark spots of mold appear on it, which cannot be removed with chemical agents. When we notice that the sanitary silicone in our bathroom starts to look bad - that’s the moment we should remove the old silicone and re-seal the area by applying a new layer. We suggest what to use to remove silicone without damaging the surrounding surfaces and how to prepare for applying a new layer of this material.

How to Remove Silicone: Basic Methods

There are many different methods to remove silicone, but they differ in one essential fact: whether we need to remove old and hardened silicone or freshly applied, soft silicone. In both cases, the methods of removal will be slightly different - soft silicone is definitely easier to remove. How to remove silicone using home methods?

How to Clean Silicone - Home Method

If you want to remove silicone that spilled on a smooth, hard surface, you won’t have to struggle too much. Removing soft silicone, which is freshly applied, is just a few simple steps:

• soaking it with a large amount of dishwashing liquid
• waiting a few minutes
• collecting the silicone with a sponge, cloth, or toilet paper

Done! We don’t have to put in too much effort to remove silicone that hasn’t set yet. The situation is a bit worse with old adhesive: how to clean silicone that has hardened long ago?

How to Remove Silicone - Mechanical Methods

Old silicone is harder to remove. First of all, we must remember not to damage the surface of the shower cabin, bathtub, or tiles. Often, sharp tools such as a knife or a small utility knife are used to remove hardened silicone. We gently and precisely remove the old silicone from the surface, keeping in mind that we unfortunately cannot get rid of all the silicone at once this way. We will remove the remaining silicone later, using appropriate chemical agents.

How to Remove Sanitary Silicone - Chemical Agents

After the preliminary removal of the old silicone with a knife, we move on to removing its remnants with appropriate chemical agents. We can use:

• traditional solvent
• silicone removal product
• agents for dissolving silicone

Of course, the first method is definitely faster - practically all of us have a solvent at home. Silicone removal products and specialized chemical agents, which will help you remove hardened silicone from ceramic tiles and more, can be found in any hardware store - when using them, make sure you are not allergic to any of their ingredients. The silicone removal agent softens it, thus weakening its adhesion to the surface - consequently, we can easily remove even silicone remnants.

Specialty products work within a few or several minutes: after this time, simply scrape everything off with a spatula and then wash the cleaned surface with warm water - if necessary, we can repeat the process. It's worth noting that the silicone removal agent can cause dulling of plastic surfaces - it's a good idea to protect it with painter's tape or a piece of foil. After removing the old silicone, we thoroughly dry the area to be able to apply a new layer.

Silicone Removal - Summary

As you can see, there are several methods to remove silicone - both old and freshly applied. You can use items that you definitely have at home: a small knife, solvent, and dishwashing liquid. However, if you are worried about damaging the cleaned surfaces, we definitely recommend choosing professional silicone removal products.

It’s important to remember to replace silicone when we notice that it is crumbling or peeling off - this way, we can avoid an unsightly appearance and potential leaks from unsealed areas. Although removing silicone is not overly difficult, it can be time-consuming.