Silicone Sealant for Shower Glass: Use what the professionals use

With plenty of brands and types of silicon, it’s no wonder why the question is asked so often. So, what is the best silicone to seal a shower screen?

Showerglass.co.uk works with experienced and professional installers every day of the week, this includes tilers, bathroom installers and glass installers.

We asked over 90 professionals of their preferred silicones when installing a shower screen and we have an overriding Poll result at the bottom of this page!

Contents

• 1 Why use a silicone sealant to fix a shower screen?
  • 1.1 Anti Mold Silicone
  • 1.2 Fast Cure Silicones
  • 1.3 Clear Silicones
• 2 Brands and types of silicone
• 3 The Silicone Sealant Poll

Why use a silicone sealant to fix a shower screen?

A shower screen needs to be properly secured and waterproof. This is done by both mechanically fixing the shower screen frame, U-channel or glass Clamps and then applying a silicone sealant to the areas that need waterproofing

Unfortunately, there are plenty of Brands offering silicones in a multitude of types and colours; the silicone sealants have different purposes of intended use so that’s the bit that can get a little confusing. Silicone sealants also come with various speeds of Curing once the silicone has been applied.

For shower screens and shower glass we only need to focus on a few types of silicone.

• Anti Mold silicones
• Fast Cure silicones
• Clear silicones

Anti Mold Silicone

An anti mold is an obvious property we need a silicone sealant to have. The silicone is intended to be used in a warm water/ wet area and the wet can linger around causing damp areas and spots. With the wrong silicone choice, you may see the silicone areas starting to turn a horrible black and yes can give of mold spores and start degrading the user’s health

Our suggested silicones protect against Bacteria growth, E-coli, and MRSA to name a few. This type of silicone can be used in medical centres, hospitals, and other germ sensitive areas (Bathroom)

Fast Cure Silicones

A fast cure silicone is exactly as it reads, once applied it cures at a rate higher than normal silicones. These are usually silicones that have a working time of around 5-10 minutes depending on room temperatures.

They are ideal if you must use a shower within 24 hours of application.

Clear Silicones

Clear silicones are uncoloured/ transparent by nature and are ideal to be used on a shower screen or any application where glass is used. Its discreet and easier to tool finish than coloured silicones.

Visually it’s best as it does not produce a visual line definitive line unlike coloured silicones as it’s transparent and also the easiest to apply, especially for DIY or non-professional.

Brands and types of silicone

In the UK, we have many brands including the one shower glass retails.
We have listed some of the Brands Below

• CR Laurence EU33SC
• Dowsil 785
• Bond It
• CT1 (TEC)
• Everbuild
• Screwfix (No Nonsense)
• Unibond
• Soudal
• Bal
• Isomat

The Silicone Sealant Poll

We enlisted the help of 93 installers and users of our products to determine what silicone was the best allrounder when siliconing a shower and the results were……..

1. Dowsil 785 – 61 installer, plumbers and users
2. Everbuild Clear Bathroom sealant – 11 installer, plumbers and users
3. UniBond antimold Sealant – 10 installer, plumbers and users

CT1 came in a close 4th position however, it’s a difficult product to tool and we have had feedback of it discoloring slightly after a few weeks of use… that being said, we have other users who swear by it so it’s a tough call.

If your bathroom is of a lighter / white palette, it might be a case of going with one of the top 3 in the poll, or use our own EU33SC which in my opinion is up there with the best but just not widely available in retail outlets such as Screwfix, Toolstation or tile shops.

The winner by a comfortable Margin is the Dow 785 Clear silicone with over 60% of all votes.

Where to buy Clear Silicone Sealants

Unfortunately, Showerglass does not retail Dow Silicones and products but we have left links below for all the silicones that we have mentioned.

Grab the best deals on amazon below.

Dowsil 785 click here

Everbuild Click here

Unibond click here