Here is how I removed old caulk from the tub and tile. I recently had the pleasure of working on my rental unit, and the tub had not been taken care of properly by the tenants, it was covered in black mold all in the silicone caulk. I could not wash it off, and the caulk was very dry in many places and really needed to be replaced. This took a really long time because it was so dry and hard in many places, but after seeing the results I had to do it on my own tub too! When I purchased my home it came with a pretty ratty tub and tile job, and it was a mix of several caulks, some white, some clear, and it also had black mold imbedded in the caulk. YUCK!!!!
The tool:
First, I purchased this razor blade kit from amazon, its two tools and 3 types of blades for different jobs. There are 2 heavy duty blades, which were great for the really dry and hard caulk, 20 standard razor blades, and 10 plastic blades for delicate jobs.
This process of removing old caulk, like I said, was very slow where the caulk was incredibly dry and hard. I broke or chipped the standard blades easily, but I could extend the life by flipping the blade in the tool, it was sharper on the other side. Sometimes I could get a good roll going parallel to the tile, other times I had to dig in perpendicular to the tile.
Also note that the tile is very resistant to scrapes and damage, where as the tub was easily scrapped and damaged. I made sure I used a fresh blade on the tub, and kept careful watch for when the blade was damaged enough to cause scrapes.
My home tub was much easier as the caulk was still flexible, and it only took me a hour to scrape and peel off. I also did not need to scrape the whole shower, just the tub/tile line. And wow what a difference! I’m embarrassed to show the before picture of my tub.
For now I used a caulk strip to cover the gap. This is what I bought from amazon, however I’m not too impressed with this brand. I will be posting how I apply the silicone caulk neatly in another post.
Thanks for checking out how to remove old caulk from my tub and tile. It is a slow process, but anyone can remove old caulk from their tub and tile with the right tools and some patience. And now check out the after photos!
The reveal:
