I finally quit caulking with my bare finger after 15 years of doing it wrong

For the longest time I used to just run a bead of silicone and smooth it with my wet finger like my dad taught me. About 6 months ago I bought a $3 set of those little plastic caulk tools from Home Depot on a whim and honestly the difference is insane. No more messy cleanup and the lines come out way cleaner especially around my bathtub where I used to have to redo it every few months. Has anyone else switched from the finger method to a tool or am I the last one to figure this out?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas2751mo ago

The tools definitely help, but honestly I still use my finger for tight corners and weird angles where the plastic thing won't fit. Also found out the hard way that those cheap tools wear down fast - had one snap in half halfway through a shower recaulk job.

michaelf511mo ago

That tool snapping mid job is a rite of passage, I swear. You're standing there with half a plastic stick in your hand and a half finished bead of silicone staring back at you like it knows you messed up. Finger method is the real OG technique though, nothing beats the old "smooth it out and hope nobody looks too close" approach.

jennifer96517d ago

Ha honestly I gotta disagree a little bit about the tools snapping being a rite of passage haha. You're supposed to use them at more of an angle, not straight on like a putty knife, and then they usually hold up fine. But yeah the finger method is totally classic, my grandpa still does it that way and his tub looks fine from three feet away lol. I tried the tool once and went back to finger for corners too, those little plastic things just can't get in there right.