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Vent: That cheap caulk I bought at Jerry's Hardware ruined my whole bathroom project
Last month I grabbed a $4 tube of caulk from Jerry's Hardware on 34th because I was in a rush. Put it around my tub on a Tuesday, by Friday it was cracking and peeling off in chunks. I had to scrape it all out with a razor blade and start over, took me 4 hours more than the first time. My neighbor who flips houses said they only use the 10-year silicone stuff from Ace Hardware now. Has anyone else had bad luck with those bargain brand caulks?
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annajenkins9d ago
Hold on, you're telling me that caulk started cracking in just three days? That's insane, I've never seen a caulk go bad that fast before lol. Seriously, that's a major bummer for a bathroom project, especially with all the scraping you had to do. Your neighbor is totally right, spending a few extra bucks on the good silicone stuff saves you from having to redo everything a week later.
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the_piper9d ago
That three-day timeline is bonkers, @annajenkins, I would've been furious too. But honestly, I think those bargain caulks have like zero flexibility in them. They're probably meant for like a picture frame or something, not a wet bathroom where the tub shifts a little when you step in. I learned the hard way too, grabbed a cheap tube from a grocery store once and it turned yellow and grew black mold spots in like a month. Now I just buy the GE Silicone 2 stuff at Home Depot, it's like $8 a tube but my last caulk job held up for three years without a single crack.
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the_max9d ago
The 34th street Jerry's always seems to have the worst stuff on the shelf, I avoid it now for anything important. @annajenkins that three day fail is wild but I believe it, those cheap tubes are mostly filler and they shrink up as soon as the water hits them. My rule is if the tube costs less than a coffee, expect to redo your work in a week. A friend of mine used that bargain stuff around his kitchen sink and it grew mold inside the cracks within two months. Have you switched over to the GE Silicone 2 yet or are you still testing other brands?
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