Caulk-a-doodle-doo

Now, you know EVERYONE has this problem. The caulk around the bathtub isn't always as bright white as it should be. In fact, it may be some shade ranging from light pink to black. That's mildew folks, and sometimes you can't get away from it, no matter how much Tilex is used or how much scrubbing you do. This was the frustration I had with the master bathroom tub. I inhaled a lot of Tilex and Comet dust before deciding to strip the old caulk!

Part of the problem with this tub is the grout line joint where the tub meets the tile surround. On the back end (not where the faucet part is), there's a huge gap between the tub edge and the tile. And under the spigot, a couple tiles aren't aligned properly. Water tends to pool in both these spots, leading to the mildewage. John thinks the folks who put this bathroom together must have done it after lunch when they weren't so alert, as the green bathroom doesn't have this problem.

I used a caulk remover product and got most of the old caulk off. Some scraping removed a little more than I had expected (oops!) and I had to do a little patch of the grout. On the parts where I wanted to remove some of the grout, I couldn't hack into it (didn't want to scratch the tub or break any tiles), so I decided to move onto the next step. After a cleaning of the naked grout line and a lesson on how to use the caulk gun, I was ready.

Yikes! The first squeeze of the gun had caulk shooting out into a big pool in the corner. Good thing I had paper towels and a trash bag handy! After a gloppy line was laid, I used the handy dandy Dap Cap caulk finishing tool to scrap off the excess and create a smooth trim. Unfortunately, it scraped off a little too much, since my first caulk line was on the one with the big gap and the tool was made for a smaller sized joint. Another go with the caulk gun and using my finger to smooth it out worked a little better, even though the edges of the caulk line were a little uneven.

At this point, John came home and gave me a "hmmm" kind of look, but I pressed on. When I was done, it didn't look so bad. New caulk makes all the difference in the world! No more mildew (for now). We'll see how "mildew resistent" this caulk really is. I pulled out the old shower curtain from the green bathroom (which now has shower doors) and put it up along with a new liner. A quick makeover and brighter, revitalized shower area!


Newly caulked tub

The Chumados had a two make-up games last night. The first one was against the Franklins, who they've beaten before. They won that game. The second game began after 8:00 pm and was the continuation of last week's game where they got rained out in the 4th inning. I don't know what inning it was, but as soon as the Mighty Dux pulled ahead of the Chumados, the Ump (?) called the game. A tough loss, as if there had been more light, I'm sure we would have won. Even with this loss, the Chumados are in the playoffs for the first time in recent years. Congrats Chumados!!!

Tonight, the gang is going to Camden Yards for Orioles floppy hat night. I'm so sad to be missing out on getting a free floppy hat! John and I will be heading up to Wilmington to attend a little party for the folks at CTM, as today is their last day. The company is closing up the Wilmington office and condensing its operations in Dallas, TX. It's amazing the number of former employees attending this gathering, some traveling a from a number of states away. It's not because we care about the company, but more about the people we worked with for years. As Bill put it in his blog, we became a family, although quite dysfunctional, but a family none the less.

So, HAPPY FRIDAY, people... and if you go to the O's game tonight, pick up an extra floppy hat for me!!!!