How To Clean Caulk Around Windows

The Dos and Don'ts of Caulking Windows

Get make clean, smooth results when you lot "run a dewdrop" of caulk effectually the windows of your habitation.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Caulking windows—to give them a finished look (inside and out) and seal out leaks and drafts—is a adequately common DIY task. But if washed incorrectly, information technology can lend a sloppy, amateurish look. Caulk is not a design element; it should blend in with the window and be unnoticeable. "Running a dewdrop," as the process of caulking is known, requires applying a long, narrow strip along the entire length of the seam—and it takes a degree of skill. Keep reading to acquire the techniques so yous can caulk similar a pro.

RELATED: 10 Bug You Can Solve with Caulk

DO choose the correct caulk.

You'll find dozens of types of caulk at your local home improvement shop, and each type is intended for a specific situation.

• Exterior windows: To stand to the elements, outside caulk should be impervious to harsh sun rays, water, and fluctuating temperatures. The tube of caulk should specify information technology's intended for exterior surfaces; nosotros like Sashco Large Stretch Caulk (available from Amazon).
• Interior windows: Caulk used on interior windows should not emit toxic fumes, and it should hold paint well. Loftier quality, paintable latex, such equally White Lightning's Painter'southward Preferred Acrylic Latex Caulk (available from Amazon), is a expert selection for interior windows.
• Humid rooms: Caulking windows in a room with high humidity, such as a bathroom, calls for interior caulk that's both waterproof and mold-resistant. Kwik Seal Ultra (from The Home Depot) works well in steamy situations.
• Masonry siding: When caulking seams between windows and masonry siding, including basement windows and windows on stucco or brick homes, yous'll need an exterior caulk that'due south uniform with both the window and the masonry surface. General Electric Max Flex Acrylic Urethane Caulk (available from Amazon) is a solid option for these types of uses.

DON'T caulk over former caulk.

If the existing caulk has hardened and is pulling away, running a bead over it is certain to be an exercise in futility. The old caulk will continue to pull away, taking the new caulk off with it—and earlier that happens you'll be faced with a thick, messy caulk line that detracts from the look of the window. Scrape off the sometime caulk with a steel putty knife, such as HYDE's 1-1/ii" Flexible Stainless Putty Knife (bachelor from Amazon).

DO use a caulking gun with a pollex release.

Inexpensive caulking guns come with a ratchet-style handle that must exist twisted loose to release the pressure on the caulk in the tube. With this type of gun, caulk will keep oozing out until you loosen the handle with your mitt, resulting in excess caulk on the window. A better pick is a caulking gun with a thumb release yous can press to instantly release the force per unit area on the caulk so information technology stops flowing when yous're done running a bead. We like Newborn's Superior Eastward-Z Thrust Shine Rod Caulking Gun (available from Amazon) for its convenient thumb release.

Photo: G Taylor

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DON'T cut too much off the end of the caulk tube tip.

The plastic tip on a caulk tube narrows to a point, and the more you cutting off, the larger the bead of caulk will be. Some tubes come with measured cut lines on the tip, allowing you to select the ane that most closely matches the width of the seam; others are unmarked. The best do is to cutting off just the end of the tip, and and so squeeze out some caulk to encounter the size of the bead. You can e'er cutting off more, but if you cut off besides much at first, your bead will exist besides thick for the seam.

Photo: istockphoto.com

DO use both hands to run a bead.

Information technology takes ii hands to control a caulking gun. Use your dominant hand to concord the gun and pull the trigger, and back up the barrel of the gun about the tip with your other hand. Too exist sure to go on your wrists direct, moving your elbows and torso when running a bead. For case, if caulking a vertical seam, kickoff at the top and as y'all progress downwardly, bend your elbows—or knees—to caulk lower while maintaining your wrist position. Bending your wrists would alter the bending of the caulking gun, changing the appearance of the bead.

DON'T run a continuous dewdrop from the top to the bottom or from i side to the other.

By the fourth dimension you reach the finish of the bead, you'll have to change your grip on the caulk gun, which will affect the uniformity of the bead. Rather, caulk from i end to the center of the seam and stop. Then, kickoff at the other end and caulk to meet the first bead. This will permit yous to maintain a steady hand position, which will effect in a uniform bead.

Exercise ride the smooth border when caulking a seam between a window and textured siding.

Siding is often textured, and if you slide the tip of the tube along the bumpy texture, the bead of caulk will also be bumpy. The solution is to allow the tip of the tube to slide, or "ride" as the pros say, only along the smooth window edge. Go on the tip from riding the textured siding as you lot're running the dewdrop. The caulk will still seal the seam and you'll have a better-looking bead.

Photograph: Thou Taylor

DON'T smooth the bead of caulk all the fashion from 1 end to the other.

Afterward running the dewdrop, you'll want to shine it, either with a wet finger or caulk applicator, such HYDE's Caulk-Rite Pro Application Tool (available from Amazon). The best mode to smooth the dewdrop is to start about half dozen inches from the lesser and polish that modest department showtime. Then, move up some other 6 inches and smooth that section side by side, pulling downward toward the section you just smoothed. Amateurs often endeavour to smooth the entire bead at one time, which causes excess caulk to build up and overflow on the sides of the seam. Smoothing merely a small-scale section at a fourth dimension will give you lot a professional expect and prevent a mess of excess caulk on the sides of the seam. It takes caulk a couple of hours to get-go drying, so you should have ample fourth dimension to smooth in this manner.

DO tape off your seams if you can't run a smooth dewdrop.

If your hands are shaky or you just can't seem to motion the caulking gun smoothly enough to run a uniform bead, you can yet obtain good results by taping off the seam with painter's tape. Simply attach strips of painter'due south tape forth both edges of the seam, approximately i/8" away from the seam itself. Then, run the bead of caulk and smooth it off as described above. Every bit before long as you've smoothen the bead, carefully pull off the painter's record and you lot'll take a perfect ane/4" caulk line.

DON'T use caulk equally a filler for poorly trimmed-out windows.

Caulk is intended for use on relatively narrow seams, typically 1/4" broad or tighter. If applied to large gaps, caulk can sag out of the gap and create an unattractive mess. If yous have gaps wider than 1/four″, the best practice is to fill them first with a foam backer rod, such equally this C.R. Laurence Closed Cell Backer Rod (available from Amazon) and then run your bead of caulk.

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Source: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/caulking-windows/

Posted by: alexanderhaverm.blogspot.com

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