Guest Author - Dale Yelich

In my last column, I covered basic maintenance for a tiled bathroom wall around the tub area. This week, we will cover bathtub inserts, which are just as effective as tile in keeping water out, but they are a little easier to maintain.

Truth be told, as much as I love tile, I would go with an insert in my tub. They are easy to install and easy to maintain, and if, by some horrible chance, water seeps behind it, you can just rip it out and replace it with a new one. Try that trick with tile!

There are 3 main problems with tub inserts. They weren’t installed right, the seams were badly sealed, or the top and bottom ends were not caulked correctly.

Now then, if it wasn't installed right, there will be air gaps behind the insert that you can feel by pushing on it. It should be solid against the wall with no ‘give’ in the plastic at all. If there is no flexing when you do that, chances are you are never going to have a problem. If it does flex, then you need to check both the seams where it was joined, and also the top and bottom caulk job.

No matter how good the silicone sealant was applied to the seams, if the insert flexes, eventually they will begin to separate and that means water leakage.

What I will do is, taking a razor blade, I will penetrate the silicone sealant on the seam, and pull up the insert slightly. Next, I will get special tub insert adhesive, which is available at any hardware store, and lay a heavy bead of this stuff right on the edge of the insert, and then press it right down against the wall. This glue job will stabilize the area, and after that sets in a couple of hours, I will re-caulk that seam with silicone. That should take care of it.

On the top where the insert meets the wall, and the bottom where it meets the tub, you want to look for any cracking of the old caulk. Now, you don’t have to remove anything, just make sure the area is good and dry, and pick up something called adhesive caulk at any hardware store once again. Make sure it says adhesive caulk on the tube; that’s very important.

Wherever you see the cracks, take a little dab of this adhesive caulk on your finger, and rub it into them. If the entire line is cracked, just work your way down and seal them all off. Do this on the top of the tub insert, and the lower part where it meets the tub. Just make sure the area is dry, and that you cover all the little cracks.

You are done! Wait about 24 hours for all of this to dry, inspect your handiwork to make sure you haven’t missed any cracks, then into the shower you go!