How to Clean Silicone Caulk from Hands or Work Surface

Silicone caulk is a wonderful sealing material, but how do you get if off your hands?

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cleaning rag
• Rubbing alcohol

1. 
    
   GE Tub and Tile Caulk

   Pure silicone caulk is the best sealant for ceramic, metal and glass surfaces. A commonly used formulation is called Tub and Tile Caulk.
   
   Now that I have caulked the crack between my tub and wall tile, how do I get the stuff off my hands? How do I get it off areas where I didn't want it?

2. Here's how to keep everything clean.
   
   Keep a bottle of ordinary rubbing alcohol and a rag handy while you work. Periodically clean your hands and silicone smears with the rag which is soaked with rubbing alcohol. The rubbing alcohol will dissolve the Silicone and it will come right off.
   
   This will work only if the silicone has not yet set. No product will remove silicone that has begun to harden, so keep things clean.
   
   Don't get too much rubbing alcohol into the area you are sealing. The alcohol will dissolve some of the caulk out of the joint and spoil the job. If this does happen, clean out the caulk, let the alcohol evaporate and then caulk again.

3. This procedure is for pure unpaintable silicone caulk, such as the tub and tile caulk made by GE.
   
   If you are using a paintable caulk, such as Siliconized Latex Caulk, just clean it with water before it hardens. Don't use paintable caulk around bathtubs; it is made for use by painters.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean the silicone with alcohol before it begins to set.
• Do not use water to clean the silicone. Water will only cause pure silicone caulk to harden faster.

[mikes197131]

on 8/1/2009 Thanks for the good ideas on how to clean up caulk.

[jsncooley]

on 4/24/2009 Great article on cleaning caulk, 5* =D