Keep Your Showers Leak Free
Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009
by Tal Potishman
Heating Central
Many people are nowadays going for wetroom floors and non-enclosed shower closures. This has intrigued many industry experts who wander why trays and enclosures were even invented in the first place.
The advance of non-enclosed showers in homes has lead to a surge in shower leakages in homes. For some this has happened due to their failure to realise the importance of draining shower water and preventing leakage. These problems have been further escalated with the advancement in power showers and shower heads. Some homeowners prefer the style of a wetroom. Many experts recommend tanking to be installed to prevent water seeping through the floors to the ceilings below. The trays can then be inset to sit level with floor surfaces.
Why you should prevent leaking in your showers
Taking everything into consideration, it is essential that leakage be prevented. Otherwise the widespread destruction could be unstoppable. Your carpets could be ruined as well as your other dcor and furnishings. Furthermore you are likely to experience musty smells, and all sorts of other inconvenience such as replacement work.
Shower enclosures, as fashionable as they can be, do not completely prevent leaks. If you look carefully you will notice a small square at the bottom corner where a hinged edge meets the tray or floor. This is its most vulnerable point and liable to cause trouble for the homeowner.
One option is to use seals. However this option is not the most favourable for the homeowner as they have to usually be flexible so that the doors can move, and water collecting there can actually seem to be sucked out because of its own surface tension. You will also find the same problem with using bath screens. The combination of flexible seals and flat surfaces and the small gaps allow bits of water to get through.
Can silicon sealants be a good alternative ?
Silicon sealants have a number of negative attributes which can make them impractical to use. One of their problems is that they can be highly prone to mould growth and discolouration. Furthermore, they are also prone to being affected by the shifting weight of shower users, or by slight movements in the building itself, which can cause them to become detached from their anchorage.
Consider all your options properly
Although many homeowners prefer watertight shower enclosures and it is the fashionable trend for them to be quite spacious, for some, space-saving overbath solutions suit some installations better. Homeowners should be quite cautious when shopping around and should explore a number of different options before making their purchase. For instance, all the suppliers claim that their products are easy to install. However, it is well known that some screens and enclosures are much more user friendly than others. You would be better off going for a product where you will be guaranteed no leaks rather than taking a risk for fashion purposes.
Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles about boiler, central heating, London plumbers, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.
This Article has been viewed 107 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.