Has my caulk gone bad, or is it just drying really slowly?

Question

I caulked my upstairs bathroom sink last summer, then put the cap back on the tube and stored it in my basement. I re-opened it a couple days ago to caulk the sink in the half-bathroom in the basement. Of course, I had to puncture the caulk which had dried in the tip, but the rest of it went on smoothly. Now it's been a few days and it's still tacky.

Is it possible the caulk has gone bad, or could it just be drying slowly because the bathroom is cool and humid? It took longer for floor patch compound to dry in that bathroom, too.

Answer 1

Since the nozzle sealed up, I doubt the caulk went bad. I agree that it is probably the humidity. You may want to check the directions on the tube. Some state that you should knead the tube before using to make sure the caulk is not seperated. Not all types state this though.

Answer 2

If the caulk job remains tacky, remove it and use caulk that is made for kitchen and baths.  Put a small fan in the bathroom so the caulk will dry faster.  I am a tile man, i once open a new caulk that didn't dry properly.  It does happen at rare times that the caulk came from a bad batch.

Answer 3

I don't mean to be flip, but you answered your own question.  Both of your answers are right.

yes, it's possible that the caulk has gone bad - but I doubt it.  When the caulk dried in the nozzle last year it should have 'protected' the caulk in the tube; usually the tubes last years.  If your tube was itself very old (say more than 5 years), then I'd suspect the caulk.

yes, it's possible it's just a location where things dry slowly.

What to do now:   wait another couple days and see how it dries.  If it doesn't, you'll have to clean it out and apply from a new tube.   You might try warming up the room for that application with a portable heater (close the door, run the heater for 15 min every few hours).

TIP for the Tip:   I always put an appropriately sized nail into the top of my caulk tubes (a common nail with big flat head, not a finish nail).  The nail seals the tube tip avoiding the problem of the caulk drying up, and the big flat head makes it easy to pull out. Do this in the future on your new tubes of caulk.