Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Best way to clean the caked up dust on silicone caulking

3,069 views
Skip to first unread message

Holy Crikey

unread,
Oct 19, 2006, 8:33:59 PM10/19/06
to
I tried cleaning the dust off the silicone caulking on top of my
baseboards in my bathrooms and the normal dust cleaning with Swiffer
mitten doesn't seem to work at all.

I noticed that the dust accumulated in the bathrooms seem caked up,
probably due to the humidity in the bathrooms, although we do leave
the bathroom fans on most of the time until we go to sleep. The dust
didn't get into the caulking before it cured though.

Has anyone found a good cleaning agent to effectively clean the caked
up dust found as mentioned above so as not to ruin the finish on the
baseboards and the paint on the wall, or an effective method?

Thanks for your time and courtesy.

Don Phillipson

unread,
Oct 19, 2006, 8:53:43 PM10/19/06
to
"Holy Crikey" <do...@thinks.so.com> wrote in message
news:c76gj29koula14vqb...@4ax.com...

> I tried cleaning the dust off the silicone caulking on top of my
> baseboards in my bathrooms and the normal dust cleaning with Swiffer

> mitten doesn't seem to work at all. . . .


> Has anyone found a good cleaning agent to effectively clean the caked
> up dust found as mentioned above so as not to ruin the finish on the
> baseboards and the paint on the wall, or an effective method?

Be advised that standard practice is to fasten baseboard
moulding to the wall by nails, not glue or caulk. That
way any dust can be removed from either wallpaper or
moulding by vacuum cleaning or a soft brush.

If for some unstated reason baseboard moulding had
to be fastened to the wall with some adhesive or filler
silicone caulk might be avoided as (a) unpaintable
and (b) likelier to attract dust than repel it.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)


George E. Cawthon

unread,
Oct 19, 2006, 9:15:04 PM10/19/06
to

Water and soap.

JoeSpareBedroom

unread,
Oct 20, 2006, 11:08:32 AM10/20/06
to
"Holy Crikey" <do...@thinks.so.com> wrote in message
news:c76gj29koula14vqb...@4ax.com...

You've discovered why silicone was the wrong stuff to use along the
baseboard. The best way to clean it is by wiping it down with lots of water,
which is a lousy idea around wood. Flush the dirt off, in other words. If
you ever get to the end of your project list (ha ha ha) and you're looking
for something to do, remove the silicone and replace with something which
dries hard and can be painted. Then, coat with polyurethane, but don't do
this until the paint has absolutely no smell. This always takes longer than
whatever curing time is indicated on the paint can.


Holy Crikey

unread,
Oct 20, 2006, 3:10:54 PM10/20/06
to

Thanks for the advice, but the baseboards were indeed nailed using
finishing nails and a pneumatic nail gun. The silicone caulking was
use purely for esthetic purposes to give a nice smooth finished look.

JoeSpareBedroom

unread,
Oct 20, 2006, 3:15:37 PM10/20/06
to
"Holy Crikey" <do...@thinks.so.com> wrote in message
news:tk7ij21lufbsn0dm9...@4ax.com...

As I mentioned before, the silicone should be removed and replaced with
putty that dries hard and can be painted with a glossy finish. The silicone
will be an endless pain in the ass.


Malcolm Hoar

unread,
Oct 20, 2006, 3:25:18 PM10/20/06
to

I'd try a damp cloth first. Maybe a cloth with a little
Windex or denatured alcohol for the more stubborn areas.

I have often been tempted to try silicone caulk to finish
the edge of the baseboard and prevent any hairline cracks.
So far, I've resisted that temptation. But now we have the
paintable silicone caulks and I wondered if anyone had
tried that and with what result?

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| ma...@malch.com Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holy Crikey

unread,
Oct 22, 2006, 4:16:16 PM10/22/06
to

Yep, you are correct about that. Thanks for your advice!

sylvan butler

unread,
Oct 22, 2006, 6:21:04 PM10/22/06
to
On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:08:32 GMT, JoeSpareBedroom <dishbo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> You've discovered why silicone was the wrong stuff to use along the
> baseboard. The best way to clean it is by wiping it down with lots of water,
> which is a lousy idea around wood. Flush the dirt off, in other words. If

Doesn't ever work around my exterior windows. The silicone used around
those stays dusty year round. Cannot get it clean without major
scrubbing, and then it is dusty again within a week.

Silicone caulk has a few good uses, but it is NOT a panacea.

sdb

--
Wanted: Omnibook 800 & accessories, cheap, working or not
sdbuse1 on mailhost bigfoot.com

sylvan butler

unread,
Oct 22, 2006, 6:19:24 PM10/22/06
to

For a 'painters caulk' I like working with 'Alex Plus'. It is
paintable, quite sticky, and cleans up with water. It doesn't dry out,
shrink and crack near as quick as plain 'Alex'.

JoeSpareBedroom

unread,
Oct 22, 2006, 9:36:23 PM10/22/06
to
"sylvan butler" <ZsdbUse1+...@Zbigfoot.Zcom.invalid> wrote in message
news:slrnejnrmg.bgm.Z...@sdba64.internal...

> On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:08:32 GMT, JoeSpareBedroom <dishbo...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>> You've discovered why silicone was the wrong stuff to use along the
>> baseboard. The best way to clean it is by wiping it down with lots of
>> water,
>> which is a lousy idea around wood. Flush the dirt off, in other words. If
>
> Doesn't ever work around my exterior windows. The silicone used around
> those stays dusty year round. Cannot get it clean without major
> scrubbing, and then it is dusty again within a week.
>
> Silicone caulk has a few good uses, but it is NOT a panacea.
>
> sdb

I wasn't clear. My meaning was that the only way to clean silicone caulk is
to flush it with water, and the only place you can usually get away with
that is in the bath/shower area.


John

unread,
Jan 7, 2017, 12:44:04 AM1/7/17
to
replying to JoeSpareBedroom, John wrote:
Lol, awesome

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/maintenance/best-way-to-clean-the-caked-up-dust-on-silicone-caulking-157826-.htm


ItsJoanNotJoann

unread,
Jan 7, 2017, 2:17:56 AM1/7/17
to
On Friday, January 6, 2017 at 11:44:04 PM UTC-6, John wrote:
>
> replying to JoeSpareBedroom, John wrote:
> Lol, awesome
>
Ten year old thread, Bozo.

Ed Pawlowski

unread,
Jan 7, 2017, 8:05:19 AM1/7/17
to
But I guess awesomeness goes on forever.

Lindsay

unread,
Mar 26, 2019, 8:14:06 AM3/26/19
to
replying to Holy Crikey, Lindsay wrote:
I'm having the same issue! The caulk lines at the floor in my new bathroom are
super sticky and all the dirt/dust is sticking to them. How do you clean
this???

--

Pamela

unread,
Jan 28, 2020, 9:14:04 PM1/28/20
to
replying to Holy Crikey, Pamela wrote:
Just did it easily after being in quite the mood looking at same dust and
grime build up on silicone caulk between window and sill in my kitchen. 70%
isopropyl alcohol on a clean, white cotton wash cloth. Boom. Nice and clean
once more! Now we’ll see how long it lasts.

Georgia

unread,
Feb 9, 2022, 6:15:13 PM2/9/22
to
Are you still using the 70% alcohol? I was looking for a solution for pet hair sticking to it, so was gonna try it. Saw this thread and wondered what became of your comment, we'll see how long it lasts...

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/maintenance/best-way-to-clean-the-caked-up-dust-on-silicone-caulking-157826-.htm

Kimberley

unread,
May 27, 2022, 1:02:01 AM5/27/22
to
I just found this thread and was wondering how the isopropyl alcohol worked for you? My poor nails and fingers are bloody stumps by the time I finish cleaning our skirts
0 new messages