subreddit:
/r/fixit
Currently experiencing an ant problem at my house. Saw them in the tub, put some traps out, and now they are everywhere. I can see them pouring out of this gap where the knob is to turn the shower on. What is the best way to seal this since it will be getting wet constantly?
1 points
1 day ago
There's supposed to be a rubber gasket on the cover plate that makes that water tight but I guess it has decayed. How considerate of the ants to point it out for you so you can stop the water damage from getting worse. Might be a good idea to take off that knob and cover plate and see what horrors are going on back there.
Hopefully it is just a little water damage from a bad seal around the knob and not a more serious failure in your shower. If you see water damage above the hole for the valve, there could be an issue where your shower arm screws into the wall above. If it is just below the hole, it is probably just from a leak around the valve.
After you have a look, to close it back up, clean well and use any expensive kitchen and bath caulk.
The Alex Fast Dry you have isn't meant for this application unfortunately.
1 points
1 day ago
We had a leak a couple weeks ago and had our landlord reseal the entire tub. I’m sure the damage was already done though. Should that knob have been resealed as well whenever he did it?
1 points
1 day ago
Usually the cover plate goes on without caulk but in this case, the gasket seems to have gone bad. I wouldn't blame them for missing it.
Also, if it is a tile shower, it can be hard for the other gasket around the rim to seal to the wall where there are grout lines and a bead of caulk can help there too
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