While plumbers putty is more traditional, silicone caulk is a great modern alternative. Either is acceptable for fixing a drain.
Teflon-bonded silicone is a new and improved alternative to Teflon tape. Teflon-bonded silicone seal bars can inserted and changed in a fraction of the time required for Teflon tape changeovers.
The key difference between the two is the material compound. Plumber's putty is soft sealing material and that means it won't harden over time, making it easy to disassemble or remove after several years. Silicone on the other hand, dries up and hardens over time, making it difficult to remove or work with again.
100% silicone caulk is recommend. There are many conditions where plumbers putty could cause product failure and finished product staining, please refer to category #4 FAQs for these applications.
Sealing around kitchen sinks or sealing a sink drain with silicone will keep your sink in good condition and prevent future problems. Using a high quality, waterproof sealant prevents water and debris from entering the gaps.
Since they are waterproof and offer durable elasticity and stability in both high and low temperatures, silicone sealants work particularly well as plumbing sealants. Plumbing silicone sealants are typically available in tubes and cartridges.
Most undermount sink manufacturers recommend that you use pure, 100-percent silicone sealant for undermount sink installation. Silicone sealants are designed for resilient flexibility and have good adhesive properties. If an ordinary caulk was used to seal the sink, it likely will fail quickly.
In case you find it challenging to reach the underside area of the tub drainage pipe, then your best option will be silicone caulking. Use the caulk to seal the exposed drain area. Silicone caulking forms a strong, tight seal that doesn't wash away easily.
If you have to stop or prevent leaks around your faucet, sink, or tub drains, plumber's putty is the product you need.
Silicone caulk is excellent at water sealing and flexibility so it has its place in construction. There are two main places it never should be installed, wood or any painted surface. If paint will ever be applied to an area, then silicone does not belong there, ever, in any way.
Hercules® Silicone Plumbers Caulk™ professional-grade sealant provides excellent adhesion to most porous and non-porous substrates, including wood, glass, porcelain, tile, concrete, grout, metals and most plastics.
1. Silicone Caulk. One of the primary factors that help ensure silicone caulk provides the best caulking for PVC trim is that it takes very little time to dry up completely and is resistant to several forces. Even when exposed to extremely high temperatures, water, or chemicals, silicone caulk does not wither away.
While plumbers putty is more traditional, silicone caulk is a great modern alternative. Either is acceptable for fixing a drain.
Plumber's tape is recommended for use with most threaded connections that don't have a built-in rubber seal. It also helps lubricate the connection, making the threading a bit smoother, and it helps to prevent pipes from sticking when you want to disassemble the joint.
Silicone is one of the most frequently used sealants to achieve a waterproof, protective joint seal. The flexible, rubbery plastic has high heat resistance and low toxicity, making an ideal sealant choice for plumbing pipes, aquariums, ships, and other metal fabrication projects that require a watertight seal.
Silicone sealant should be applied vertically on the inside and outside where the shower enclosure fixes to the tiled walls and, importantly, on the outside only where the frame of the shower enclosure sits onto the shower tray.
For a shower enclosure to be water tight and operate correctly the shower tray should be fully sealed with silicone sealant to the tiles or surrounding waterproof walls and the sealant should have cured fully prior to installing the shower door, screen or enclosure.
Using a good quality silicone will give the product a better finish and will also have increased life expectancy. I would recommend replacing the bathroom silicone between 7-12 years. This would also depend on appearance and daily usage. Silicone may still be water tight, but have black mould spores beginning to show.
Silicone sealant generally cures within 24 hours. If it has been over 24 hours, check the silicone sealant “Use By” date on the package.
Silicone coatings are moisture cured, meaning the more moisture in the atmosphere, the faster they cure. Rain doesn't wash the coating off, it actually cures it in place. Now, this doesn't mean you want to apply silicone in the rain. The rain will leave dimples in the coating that are harmless but are unsightly.
You will have to cough up a considerable sum in order to find a silicone sealant that is made from 100% silicone. However, if you want a strong silicone, a 100% silicone sealant will be strong enough. Your typical silicone will have a tensile strength of 0.5Mpa.