Shower rubber seals...

londonbairn

londonbairn

londonbairn

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As I live in London, limescale is prevalent, and is a pain to clean every so often (though Viakil etc make it easier to do!).

One of the issues is the need to replace my rubber seal on my shower door (the seal is for between the door and bath, ie horizontal), as it ends up with build up of limescale, grime etc. I can remove much of this, but it still does not look 100%, and I want to replace it.

The issue is that they tend to be open ended - e.g. if you look here for an example, they are open on the end, and though you can stuff it full of silicone etc, it will still allow mould etc to ingress. The other issue is on the side of the hinge, sometimes a very small gap can be created between the seal and the hinge, which allows a very small amount of water through.

Are there any better solutions out there, or will I have to resign myself to the fact that I will have to replace it every so often, and be militant with mould etc remover?

I am half tempted to install a water softener (proper one, not those £10 coils you wrap around the pipe), but worried if that has an impact on reducing water flow...
 
I did have a cap on the end of mine but it didn't stop water getting in. I just remove it and clean it whenever I'm cleaning the rest of the bathroom.
 
Once a year I remove the rubber seal and soak it in the bath with neat bleach - does the job.

Do you know where the shower came from? i.e. B&Q etc? Could you not order as replacement part?
 
seriously buy some "method daily shower spray" from Sainsburys and spray the shower when you're done in there. It stops all that stuff from building up and reduces the cleaning effort needed. I've not had to de-scale the shower head on our shower for well over a year now as a quick spray stops the water from staying in the head.
 
The part is generic and not specific to the ensuite, but I think the issue may be is the one which was ordered when I renovated is slightly too large width wise, which is causing too much to get in.

Sounds sensible what you are proposing, I may order a couple of new ones though based on the measuring guides on ebay, try a few of the styles to see which is more effective.

Is yours sealed with silicone, or do you have a snap on one? I saw a website which sells ones which do not require silicon etc to stick it on which sound great to be able to just take it off and clean

LOAM said:
seriously buy some "method daily shower spray" from Sainsburys and spray the shower when you're done in there. It stops all that stuff from building up and reduces the cleaning effort needed. I've not had to de-scale the shower head on our shower for well over a year now as a quick spray stops the water from staying in the head.
Click to expand...

I will try this thanks
 
its a couple of quid a bottle matey, smells nice and last about 4 - 5 weeks. All it does it break the surface tension of the water so that it cant stick to surfaces and dry out. The upshot is that the surfaces actually dry clear.

As above, Viakal will remove anything that has built up so far.
 
Yes I use viakal and a dettol mould remover which work, but prevention would be better as you suggest.

Ordered a few types of the seal to see what is best, and will pick up some of that stuff, thanks!
 
I have the same problem and just try to keep it clean as much as possible but i have accepted it won't ever be 100% perfect. I use mr muscle and hot water and a cloth that gets between the gaps, i don't clean it often enough and it leads to build up that gets disgusting and then it makes it more difficult to clean. But i don't think you can avoid it unless you clean it like my mom used to, every second day or something.

I thought there was something wrong with my plumbing and i spoke to my mom about it and she said the grime build up was perfectly normal but she used to wash it so often (without me realizing) that it never got the grime build up. So spent first 25 years of life thinking that bathrooms never realy got that dirty...
 
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Yeah it is pretty normal, but want it all to look as sparkly as possible. I did manage to remove any residual grime across the bathroom (thanks to that Dettol Mould remover and an old toothbrush), it's just the rubber seal strip that I couldn't get 100% as it seeps into the silicone and becomes impossible to remove unless I rip it off and put a new one on.

From above and judging from online reviews this Method stuff sounds the way to go, and lol at the funny comments above about rubber seals!
 
yes it's nothing, I think the art will be finding the better style. We have the one which is middle top row of the listing picture, but I'd like to try one which has a single piece like a wiper blade. Might just buy loads of different types and trial and error :P

ideally want one where I don't need to seal it in...
 
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