That 'quick' caulking trick that saved me 3 hours on a bathroom remodel

I was doing a full bathroom gut in a 1950s house in Portland last month and the tile backer board gaps were all over the place. I tried the usual method of running a bead and smoothing it with my finger, but it took forever and looked sloppy. Then I remembered a guy I worked with years ago who said to use a damp sponge instead of your finger. I dipped a regular kitchen sponge in water, squeezed it almost dry, and wiped the caulk line in one smooth pass. It cleaned off the excess and left a perfect concave finish without any of the mess or lint. I finished 3 windows, the tub surround, and the backsplash in under an hour and it looked like I used a fancy tool. Has anyone else tried this and had the same luck with the corner joints?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_ramirez3823d agoTop Commenter

Maybe it's just me but I've seen this trick floating around for years and it always seems to work better on newer caulk or in theory than in real life. Sponge can leave weird texture if you're not careful, especially on bigger gaps where the caulk sinks in too much. I tried it once on a tub surround and ended up with more smearing than I expected, had to go back with a tool anyway. And for corner joints, a sponge just doesn't get as clean as a proper tool or even a gloved finger, corners are too tight. Not saying it's fake or anything, but 3 windows plus tub plus backsplash in under an hour sounds like a stretch unless the gaps were already perfect. Idk, maybe I'm just too picky about my caulk lines.

cora81323d ago

Actually never thought about the sponge texture thing but that makes total sense now.

kai83922d ago

So kai_ramirez38 are you saying the sponge trick only really works if the caulk line is already almost perfect? Or have you found any specific brand or type of caulk where it actually works better?