Is Caulk or Grout Better for a Tub?
- Caulk fills gaps in the bathroomwc image by silonos from Fotolia.com
Caulk is a substance used to fill gaps and to seal gaps and joints. Caulk can be made of silicone, acrylic or latex, with or without added sand for filler. - Grout is primarily used with tileceramic tile image by Karin Lau from Fotolia.com
Grout is a thin mortar made of cement, water and, in some cases, sand. It is used primarily as a filler between tiles or bricks. - Caulk is used in the 90-degree angles of the bathtubpoubelle de salle de bain image by Christophe Fouquin from Fotolia.com
Caulk should be used in the bathroom wherever two surfaces meet at a 90-degree angle: where the walls of the shower meet the tub, where the tub meets the floor, and in the corners of the shower walls. - Grout is used between tiles in the bathroomshaving mirror image by Edsweb from Fotolia.com
Grout is used wherever there is tile in the bathroom to fill the spaces between the tiles and form a waterproof, inflexible seal. - Use caulk around the tub to ensure its long usegirl in bath image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com
Use caulk around a bathtub instead of grout because caulk has some flex that accommodates normal house settling, notes the Anchor Bay Tile website. This flex helps prevent cracking and breaking of the caulk seal over time. Caulk is made to be a flexible filler, whereas grout is not, so caulk will not crack and break out of the joint if the tub moves, slightly, away from the wall.
