The rule of thumb: replace bathroom silicone when it is splitting, pulling away, mouldy through the bead, leaking, or has already been patched over. If the failure is only in one small spot, a repair might be enough. If the bead has failed along the joint, full strip-out is usually the better call.
Signs the silicone is no longer doing its job
- Black or brown mould sitting through the bead, not just on the surface.
- Silicone lifting from tile, glass, bath, shower base, or vanity edges.
- Cracks, splits, gaps, or loose sections.
- Water tracking behind a shower screen or bath edge.
- New silicone smeared over old failed silicone.
First check: is it still bonded?
The first check is whether the old material is still bonded. If it has let go, the joint usually needs removal and cleaning before a new wet-area silicone will bond properly. The second check is whether the problem is isolated or spread across the whole shower, bath, vanity, or splashback.
The product depends on the surface
Most bathroom and kitchen wet-area joints need a suitable sanitary-grade silicone. Product choice can change with substrate. Tile, glass, acrylic, stone, laminate, and painted trim do not all behave the same way, so the joint and surface need to be checked before choosing the sealant.
Plan around dry time
Bathrooms need enough dry time before and after sealing. If the shower has been used just before the job, the joint may need time to dry. That matters in busy homes, rentals, and handover work where timing is tight.
Send photos of the failed bead, a wider photo of the shower or wet area, rough metres, suburb, and timing. Brandon can then say whether it looks like a repair or a proper strip-out and re-seal.