How to Replace Caulk on a Kitchen Tile Backsplash - How To Caulk Kitchen Countertop

hi guys my name is Stephanie and I am back  with another DIY project today we're going   to be replacing the caulk behind my kitchen  sink with new caulking over the last year the   caulking behind my kitchen sink has started to  fall apart and mildew has been building up in   that Gap there tends to be a lot of water behind  kitchen sinks so the caulking can wear out a lot   faster in those areas than it does in a dry area  for this quick project I'll be using a utility   knife painters tape a caulking gun and my favorite  caulk which is this GE Advanced silicone caul so   it's 100% silicone it's going to last a lot longer  it's non-paintable so you can't use it on any of   your wood surfaces it's made for bathrooms and  kitchens I've tried a few other silicone caulks   in the past and I tell you what this one actually  looks a lot better than they normally do too so I   really like this one I started by removing the  old caulking that was left behind a lot of it   has already fallen out and I've picked it free  over the last year but there is still a lot that   needs to be removed so I used the utility knife  to remove that old in just be careful around your   tile work woodwork or any countertops that could  be scratched up by that knife you want to just   keep it in the caulking area in that Gap nowhere  else when I'm removing old caulking I like to run   that knife along the bottom edge of that Gap and  then along the top edge of that Gap that's going   to help free that caulking completely from The  Gap so you can clean it out and I'm only removing   the damaged caulking but you could go and replace  all of the caulking this job actually doesn't take   that long I think this probably took me about 10  minutes to do this kitchen area that you see here   if you did the whole countertop it would probably  be 15 20 minutes I've sped up this video in this   section but as you can see it can take a lot of  passes going back and forth trying to get all of   that loose caulking out of the Gap you want to  remove it all before you put the new caulking   in for one thing it's going to help you get out  any moisture that might be trapped in there but   also if there's any mildew built up you're going  to get that out when you remove the old caulking   and you also want to make sure you don't have  little bits of the old caulk in your new caulking   or it's going to make that nice pretty smooth  line look bumpy so once I've cleared out the   majority of the caulking with that utility knife  I grab an old toothbrush and I start scrubbing   that Gap to clean out any little bits that are  Left Behind still after scrubbing most of those   little bits out I grabbed some rubbing alcohol so  this is normal rubbing alcohol from your Pharmacy   or grocery store and I use that to clean out the  Gap so again I'm getting rid of the mildew that I   know was behind the sink area but I'm also using  that rubbing alcohol to clean the area free of   grease and oils that might have built up over  the years you want that area to be really clean   when you're putting the new caulking in so that  the caulking can really stick to your countertop   or tile rubbing alcohol is also great for this  job because it evaporates pretty quickly water   if you were going to use water to clean that Gap  you might be introducing more water into the Gap   that would take a lot longer to dry out so the  rubbing alcohol evaporates nice and quick it   doesn't leave any residue behind and it removes  that grease and oil so definitely use that don't   go for soaps or or water or anything to do this  job after cleaning that area really well with that   rubbing alcohol I moved on to using my blow dryer  using a blow dryer is probably the fastest way to   dry out that opening using a little heat and that  high wind from a blow dryer dries out that area   so well I had um to do this job in my bathroom  recently and I was blowing out little bits of   water there was so much water built up in the  Gap behind my bathroom sink so it's worth doing   the blow dryer if you don't have a blow dryer use  a little fan or wait a couple days to make sure   that the area is completely dry before you apply  your new caul of course you have to keep that   opening dry for that couple of days before you  move on after drying out that area I move on to   applying painters tape to that opening that I'm  going to be applying new caulk to the pros might   not need to use painters tape but I find that  when you're only doing caulking jobs like this   once every 2 or 3 years it really helps you to get  nice crisp clean lines and there's a lot less mess   to clean up it's going to all be on that painter  tape and then you just peel it away to have nice   thin caulk lines that look professional you want  to make sure that you're basically leaving only   the Gap open for the caulking to go into I'll show  you a closeup of it here's a closer look at my   finished tape lines as you can see there is not  much to that that opening it's just the opening   and a tiny bit of the backsplash and a tiny bit  of the countertop that's ready for me to apply the   caulk I use my finger when I'm smoothing caulking  so I always use a wet rag so that I can keep   cleaning my finger and keep it moist with that  wet rag I apply a 1 to 2 foot long line of the   caulking and then I use my finger a wet fingertip  to smooth that caulking and push it into the Gap   as I'm smoothing it out using a wet finger helps  your finger Glide across that caulking without   too much of that caulking sticking to your finger  wipe off the excess caulking onto the rag as you   go to make sure it doesn't get left behind and  get really messy so I went over this caulking   a few times and each time I was pushing that  caulking into the Gap and smoothing it out as I   went so I wanted to make sure I had the perfect  amount of caulking left behind in that Gap not   too much not too little once you finish applying  the caulking you can remove the tape so you want   to remove the tape before it has a chance to  dry don't forget your caulking is going to dry   within 30 minutes your painter's tape will have a  lot of caulking residue left behind on it so you   want to make sure that you carefully lift that  painters tape away without letting it touch your   backsplash or your countertop or will leave some  of that silicone behind you'll have to clean off   later after I remove that painters tape I grab  my wet rag one more time get my finger wet and   smooth out that caulk line one last time that'll  smooth out any edges left behind by that painters   tape and give it a nice professional look okay  now here's a closer look at that finished caulk   line as you can see it's really hard to see  that white caulking here so if you're using   white countertops you want to use white caulking  any other color you're going to go with a clear   caulking even with having to move a camera around  the whole time I think this job took me about 15   minutes so it's super easy don't be intimidated  by this you can do this work yourself and save   yourself a lot of money as always if you have  any questions put them in the comments below I   do try to answer them whenever I get a chance  and that's it guys good luck with your project

Channel: Abbotts At Home - DIY & Home

Views: 719

Keywords: how to caulk, caulking tips, how to caulk a kitchen counter, how to caulk a kitchen backsplash, how to caulk kitchen countertop, how to caulk a backsplash

Id: 3i_IDNl4Ngc

Length: 6min 0sec (360 seconds)

Published: Mon May 13 2024