Ugh, silicone nightmares are too real. Last weekend I thought I'd quickly reseal the base of our toilet—big mistake.
Wish I'd read this earlier... now I'm scraping and redoing everything. Does mineral spirits really help that much?"Don't rush the drying time when applying new silicone"
Been there myself, silicone can really test your patience. Honestly, mineral spirits can help a bit, especially when you're dealing with stubborn bits of silicone residue. It softens it up enough to make scraping less of a nightmare. Just dampen a rag with it and rub gently—give it a few minutes to soak in, but don't expect miracles. You'll still need some elbow grease, unfortunately.
One thing I learned the hard way: don't go overboard with the mineral spirits. Too much can make the whole area greasy and harder for new silicone to stick properly. After cleaning up, give it a good wipe-down with some rubbing alcohol or mild detergent to remove any oily residue left behind.
Also, not sure if you've tried this yet, but using a plastic scraper or even an old credit card can be a lifesaver for getting under the silicone without scratching your tiles or porcelain. Metal tools can be tempting but they're risky—learned that one the hard way.
And hey, we've all rushed drying times at some point... it's practically a DIY rite of passage. Don't beat yourself up too much. Once you get it resealed properly, you'll forget about this frustrating episode pretty quickly. Hang in there, you got this.
"Metal tools can be tempting but they're risky—learned that one the hard way."
Yeah, I almost made that mistake myself... caught myself just in time. Quick question though, does anyone know if mineral spirits are safe to use around plastic plumbing parts or seals? I'm always paranoid about accidentally damaging something else while trying to fix one problem. Would hate to create a bigger mess than I started with.
Mineral spirits are usually okay around plastic plumbing parts, but I'd still be careful around rubber seals—those can get iffy. Honestly, you're smart to double-check first... better safe than sorry when plumbing's involved. Good luck getting it sorted!
Mineral spirits might seem harmless around plastic plumbing, but honestly, I'd steer clear altogether. Had a similar situation a couple years back—thought I was safe using them to clean up some stubborn residue around a toilet flange. Everything seemed fine at first, but a few weeks later, started noticing this weird drip under the tank. Turned out the rubber gasket had swollen and warped just enough to leak slowly. Took me forever to pinpoint the problem because it wasn't obvious right away.
Since then, I've switched to using rubbing alcohol or even just plain dish soap and warm water for cleanup around plumbing parts. Might take a bit more elbow grease, but at least there's no risk of damaging seals or fittings. Plumbing's finicky enough without accidentally making things worse.
Not saying mineral spirits are guaranteed trouble—plenty of folks use them without issue—but from personal experience, it's just not worth the gamble. Better to spend an extra 10 minutes scrubbing than an entire weekend troubleshooting leaks and replacing seals.
