best caulk for bathroom?

[luv2liv]

all the bathroom caulk i see are advertised as mildew/stain resistant.
i bought the cheapest caulk and it is turning brownish.
i bought the most expensive and it has mildew? (not sure what the light to dark grey stuff is). using bleach is not working
anywho, is there a caulk that will stay white for at least 5 years?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

From my experience they all say mold & mildew resistant but in reality none of them are, you have to re-caulk every few years.
Coincidentally I am re-caulking my tub today and when I picked up the caulk I read the terms of "lifetime", it needs to be smooth without indents and it needs to be free of soap or mineral stains. So if you can abide by those rules you are entitled to cut a 1 inch piece off that has mold and mail it to them with your original sales receipt and original tube, wait 3-5 weeks for processing and you'll get a replacement mailed to you.

No thank you.

 

[pmark]

So brand doesn't matter? I need to recaulk too...

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[Fanatical Meat]

I've always used the high end stuff because the cost difference is insignificant for a single job, I've tried a few different brands I can't say one has worked better than another.

 

[pmark]

I've always used the high end stuff because the cost difference is insignificant for a single job, I've tried a few different brands I can't say one has worked better than another.

I tried GE which was the higher cost stuff at home depot and it never stayed the color "clear".

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[Fanatical Meat]

I've only used white, except for an outside job on my shed, I'm sure its not clear any longer.

 

[echo4747]

I applied this 4 years ago in the tub/shower area. So far it is as good as advertised:
http://www.sashco.com/products/mildewfree/

 

[PottedMeat]

GE silicone II works well for me... as long as you get a batch that cures/hasn't expired. There seems to have been a big bad batch that doesn't cure. Also if you use it too far past the mfr date it doesn't cure - I did that once and had to clean up a few feet with acetone. When it does work it does better & longer than any other of the brands i've tried. Any sorts of grime/mineral deposits come off easy when the surface was put down smoothly.

 

[mindless1]

^ I second that. I just caulked something the other day with GE Silicone II that still hasn't set. Didn't realize how old it was. Grrrr. Don't use it if it no longer smells strongly of vinegar.

 

[MustISO]

I've tried multiple brands and they all seem to mildew after a few years. Weird part is the mildew is ONLY on the caulk, no where else. It's weird. Our builder used some clear sealant of some kind around the shower panels that has never mildewed. Not sure what it is but apparently that's the stuff to use.

 

[MongGrel]

I was going to mention clear silicon the other day myself, like what you would use for building fish tanks.

I used to even pick up busted fish tanks in the past and rebuild them, when I used to be heavily into aquariums.

Some of that holds up very well over time.

Have a tub of GE sitting here I still had not opened yet, from the past.