Remove Silicone Caulk with an Environmentally Friendly Product

$10
1 Hour
Easy
Seeing rainwater dripping into your living room is a helpless feeling.
Maybe you can empathize if you've experienced this exact thing during a storm.
Plus, you can't fix the problem until all the rain has stopped which could take hours. A few weeks ago we had this exact thing happen to us. The next day I inspected the exterior trim of our living room window and found that the silicone caulk had cracked.
This small separation is what caused the rainwater to penetrate between the window and trim.
Since there was almost 6 linear feet of exterior caulk to remove I wanted to try a new removal solution that didn't involve hours of work.
Using chemicals always makes me a bit skiddish because of health concerns.
But I found a great liquid caulk remover called Lift Off that is environmentally friendly, biodegradeable, and water-based.
You'll only need a few supplies to completely remove old caulk with Lift Off:
+5-1 painter's tool or utility knife
+small paint brush
+small yogurt cup
+Lift Off caulk remover
+gloves
+sponge & water
Apply the Lift Off to the caulk, let it penetrate, then remove it with the painter's tool. After you're done you should rinse the surface with water then apply a new bead of caulk.
In case you're interested I share some additional tips over on my blog that make this go pretty quickly. And there's a goofy picture of me in my favorite T-Shirt that you don't want to miss as well as a new entertaining video-LOL. Here's the link http://www.homerepairtutor.com/how-to-remove-silicone-caulk-with-lift-off-caulk-foam-sealant-remover/
Use Lift Off, a 5-1 painter's tool and some tips to remove outdoor painter's caulk
This small crack in the caulk caused rain to enter our house
Apply Lift Off with a painter's brush after squirting some of it into a yogurt cup
Use the painter's tool to scrape loose the caulk
Lift Off can be bought in hardware stores and Lowe's
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 5 comments
  • Home Repair Tutor Home Repair Tutor on Apr 29, 2013
    Maggie, you can use Lift Off on indoor caulk, too. Sounds like we're in the same boat this time of year-rental repair :)
  • Susan B Susan B on Apr 30, 2013
    i use a hair dryer. comes right off. ans this was very old, cracked dry.
Next