How To Omit Mistakes When Choosing the Silicon Sealant?

During repair work, the question often arises of what material should be used to cover the gaps between various surfaces, how to achieve tightness, or how to fill the holes. Especially often we are faced with such questions when repairing bathrooms and kitchens because it is in these rooms the percentage of humidity is the highest. The solution is the use of silicone sealant. This is the most reliable and modern method of filling the mating zones, even in high humidity conditions. More about this mean, read in the article made by our team.

Main functions of silicone sealant

The main functions of a silicone sealant are:

• Compensation for the movement of building materials.
• Waterproofing, sealing.
• Vibration compensation and absorption.
• Noise suppression.
• Sealing against drafts.
• Sealing against pests.

Silicone sealants can be used on wood, plastic, and ceramics, but are not suitable for metal surfaces. For most non-ferrous metals, this sealant causes accelerated corrosion rates.

Where to use the silicone sealant

The silicone sealant is suitable for indoor and outdoor use and is recommended for making butt joints in sanitary areas with high levels of humidity, such as bathrooms, showers, lavatories, kitchens, laundries, etc., as well as for sealing of butt joints of water-loaded elements of building structures, filling tile joints and using it as grout on surfaces that are not subject to significant mechanical abrasion, sealing of windows, doors, glass structures, sealing the seams of window and door structures at the points of interface with the materials of the openings, sealing of air ducts and pipes with cold and hot water.

How to choose the sealant?

In the manufacture of silicone sealants, the following substances are added: silicone polymer is the main component, silicone oil – is present as a plasticizer and makes the material elastic, vulcanizer – is responsible for further polymerization, silicon dioxide or titanium dioxide – a filler that imparts colour.

When there is more silicone polymer than silicone oil, it is 100% silicone sealant. These components are the most expensive in their entirety but provide the best product quality.

Understanding perfectly well that the price matters for buyers, to reduce the cost of the final product, manufacturers have adapted to use various fillers – mechanical and organic, which significantly affects the elasticity and shrinkage.

Determining the percentage of filler is quite simple – you just need to weigh the tube with the sealant. A standard 310 ml cartridge should weigh no more than 390 g – provided it contains pure silicone. The fillers are usually much heavier – the weight of the cartridge can be up to 500 g.

Another trick of unscrupulous manufacturers is replacing the main expensive components with mineral oils. It is also easy to identify such a “fake” – you need to apply the sealant on plain paper. The presence of a greasy trace will prove the replacement of the main components with cheaper raw materials, and this leads to a decrease in the elasticity of the material and an indicator of the possibility of deformation.

Feel free to use these pieces of advice when choosing the silicone sealant. One place you can be sure about is the B&Q website. You won’t have issues with the quality of sealants there.

WANT TO RECEIVE PERSONAL, STYLISH SUGGESTIONS TO YOUR EMAIL?

FILL OUT THE FOLLOWING FORM: