Which Selleys bathroom guide do you need?

Bathrooms are the hardest room in the house for adhesives and sealants, because they combine three things nowhere else does: constant water, daily temperature swing, and mould looking for a food source. That is why this is the largest section of the Selleys how-to library, and why so many of the guides come back to the same two skills — removing an old seal completely, and laying a new one that is bonded properly to both faces of the joint.

This page sorts the bathroom guides by what you are actually trying to do.

Sealing and resealing

The core group. If you have a leak, black spotting, or a bead that has lifted, this is where to start.

• How to replace old silicone — the complete job, start to finish, including choosing between acetic and neutral cure and the curing times before the shower can go back into service.
• How to remove old sealant — the removal method on its own, for tiles, glass shower screens and metal laundry tubs.
• How to remove silicone from tiles — the same process focused on a tiled surface.
• Leaking shower repair — what to do when the floor outside the recess ends up wetter than the recess.
• How to seal a sink — getting a clean, watertight bead around a basin or sink.

The one thing all of these have in common

Every one of them insists that the old bead comes out completely before the new one goes in. This is not fussiness. Selleys' technical position is that a well established mould colony can penetrate a new seal even where the new product contains mould inhibitors, and that a fresh bead applied over an existing one may not adhere well to the old silicone. Sealing over the top is the shortcut almost everyone considers and it does not work.

The corollary is that Selleys Sealant Remover is the quiet hero of this section. Its method: cut the old sealant back to a thin layer less than 5 mm deep, spread at least a 5 mm thick layer of remover evenly over it, leave it at least 10 minutes, then scrape the softened material off and clean residue and tools with mineral turpentine.

Mould

• Black mould removal — the four-step approach: improve light and ventilation, treat tiles and grout, replace the silicone, and paint ceilings and walls with a mould resistant paint.

The reason this guide starts with ventilation rather than with a product is that mould cannot grow in dry, brightly lit areas. Whatever you seal with, a bathroom that stays damp between uses will sustain a colony and one that dries out will not. Product choice buys you time; ventilation is the actual fix.

Tiling and grout

• How to tile your bathroom — mixing and spreading adhesive, laying and levelling, and the 24 hour rule before foot traffic.
• 6 steps to grouting tiles — mixing ratios, working the grout in, cleaning off, and the three-day wait before exposing grout to water in a shower.
• How to seal grout — two coats of sealer, the one hour penetration time, and re-sealing every 12 months.

These three are a sequence, not alternatives: adhesive, then grout, then sealer, with a waiting period at each stage. The waiting periods are the part people compress, and the result is mottled grout or a sealer haze on the tile face.

Fixing things to tiles without drilling

• How to install bathroom accessories — toilet roll holders, towel racks and towel rings, fixed with Selleys Hold Up.
• How to attach bathroom accessories to tiles — the same technique applied to a wall-mounted accessory with a flat back.

Two numbers govern both guides. Hold Up is adjustable for up to 15 minutes, which is your window to get a towel rail level, and it needs at least 48 hours to cure fully before any weight goes on it. Longer cure times are needed in cold or dry conditions, or where both surfaces are non-porous — which, on tile, they are. Its published load rating is up to 240 kg/m² from the tube and 360 kg/m² from the cartridge on vertical surfaces, and Selleys recommends additional supports such as clamps during cure for heavy objects, overhead applications and non-porous materials.

Fitting out and finishing

• How to install a bathroom vanity — locating studs, cutting pipe holes, levelling, and bedding the sink base on silicone. A licensed plumber connects the water.
• How to refresh a mirror — turning an old mirror into a framed piece.
• How to transform kitchen and bathroom surfaces — cleaning, mould treatment, silicone removal and chip repair before painting.
• Instant bathroom makeover — eight lower-effort improvements, from repairing tiles and grout to replacing de-silvered mirrors.

Before you start any of them

Work out whether your joint needs an acetic or a neutral cure silicone. Acetic cure products release acetic acid as they set and suit plain glazed tile, glass and porcelain. Neutral cure products do not, and are what Selleys specifies where the joint touches a mirror edge, natural or engineered stone, or another sensitive substrate.

Budget for the cure, not the application. Laying a bead takes twenty minutes. Selleys No Mould is waterproof and shower ready one hour after application but still needs at least 48 hours to cure fully, and must not be touched in the meantime. Wet Area Silicone cures in 72 hours.

Get the joint genuinely dry. Silicone will not bond reliably to a damp surface, and a shower corner holds moisture long after it looks dry.

Where to go if a guide does not cover it

• Ask an expert — sealants, for the specific joint you are looking at.
• Wet area silicone products.
• Mould removal products.
• Contact us — 1300 555 205, option 2 for product or technical advice.