Caulk Leaking From The Tube? This Clever Trick Will Save The Day
If you're taking on a caulking job only to find a mess in your wake, you may be wondering how exactly you can prevent these pesky leaks. Rather than spending even more precious time wiping it up, your best bet is to nip it in the bud. But how can you do so? Well, as it turns out, one easy strategy is to add a few miniature slices on the opposite end of the bottle, which should help to resolve the issue. As a result, you should find it much easier to get your DIY jobs around your home done without creating any extra work for yourself.
Likewise, you'll be getting better value for money, as you won't waste any product and make it run out faster — in other words, you won't have to buy a whole new bottle as quickly. It can also save you from doing a botched job, whether you're caulking your bathroom or sealing gaps around your home, and prevent it from taking longer. After all, you don't want to keep repeating the same task. However, this may not work for everyone, and there are some caveats to keep in mind when trying this.
You'll need a sharp knife
You'll need your leaky caulking gun and a sharp knife to complete this trick. Now, all you need to do is push the knife into the opposite end of the product once or twice, and then you should be able to use it as normal. Just ensure you don't make the slices too big, or more could fall out. If you don't have a knife on hand, you could always very carefully try using one sharp end of some scissors or another sharp object.
Now, you should be able to easily use your caulking gun and complete the job you were struggling with. While this may temporarily do the trick, one thing to keep in mind is the quality of the product if you want to continue using it. For example, the excess oxygen may encourage it to dry up, so you may want to consider trying to seal the slices you made using some scotch tape.
This trick has a questionable success rate
Although this trick may work well for some, online discourse from users who tried the method suggests that it may not work for everyone. In one YouTube video by @LowesJoinery, although there were comments saying it worked, others felt the opposite. Commenters claimed that it was ineffective or that the product drips through the slices they created. Taking this into consideration, this trick's varying success rate means that it may be best to try this when you don't have much caulk product left, as you don't want to end up having to purchase new bottles.
To increase your chances of success, make sure you only make thin slices into the material, rather than larger holes or gaps. Alternatively, some users on Reddit have adapted to the situation by inserting a nail or cap into the opening while working with the caulk, which you could always use as a last resort. Now, you just need to try it out and see if it works for you, whether you're prepping before caulking your window, or anywhere else around your home.