How to Keep Water From Leaking Between Sliding Shower Doors

Replacing Rubber Seal

• 1

  Locate the rubber seal at the bottom of your shower door. The rubber seal prevents water from leaking out of the shower. If the seal has rotted or worn out, it will no longer work properly and could result in leaks.

• 2

  Pull the end of the rubber seal out of the door casing with needle-nose pliers if it requires replacement. Grab the free end with your hand or the pliers and pull the remainder of the seal out of the door.

• 3

  Dampen a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol. Push one end of the cotton swab into the door casing. Run the cotton swab down the length of the casing, cleaning away any mildew that built up behind the old door seal. The rubbing alcohol also dissolves any adhesive the old seal left behind.

• 4

  Measure the length of each sliding shower door. Cut the new shower door seal to size.

• 5

  Apply a thin line of waterproof adhesive to the top of the seal. If you purchased self-adhesive rubber sealant, pull away and discard the seal's paper backing.

• 6

  Align a strip of shower door seal with the first shower door, sticky side up. Push the end of the rubber seal into the empty door casing. Hold the end of the seal in place with one hand. Run the other hand down the seal, pushing it into the casing as you go. Do this for both shower doors.

Caulking Shower Doors

• 7

  Slice the strip of caulking on the inside and outside of your shower door down the center with a utility knife. This loosens each caulk line. Pull away as much of the old caulking as you can with your hands.

• 8

  Scrape away the remaining caulk with a glass scraper, holding the scraper at a 45-degree angle. Doing so allows you to scrape away hardened caulk without damaging the shower surface. Continue scraping until the old caulk is gone.

• 9

  Saturate an abrasive scrub pad with mineral spirits. Scrub the area where the old caulk was located. Waterproof bathroom caulking is generally made of silicone, which leaves behind a residue that could prevent new caulk from sticking properly to your shower. The mineral spirits dissolve this residue.

• 10

  Wipe down the area with a dry cloth. If you caulk over a damp area, you trap moisture in beneath the caulk. This not only prevents the caulk from curing properly, but moisture behind the new caulk can result in mildew growth.

• 11

  Pull back the caulk gun's hammer. Load the caulk gun with a fresh tube of household silicone caulk. Snip the tip off the caulk tube with scissors.

• 12

  Hold the caulk gun at a 45-degree angle. Depress the trigger. Lay a bead of caulk inside the shower along the sliding door track. Lay a second bead of caulk outside the shower along the track's outside seam.

• 13

  Wet a kitchen sponge. Wipe the kitchen sponge down each bead of caulk. Known as "tooling," this creates a smoother, less noticeable caulk seam.