Oops: while cleaning my shower...

What do you know about shower construction? That pvc strip inside the joins of walls etc? Ours, on one corner, got mouldy at the bottom where it's really hard to clean, got bubbly as it aged then came right off just now while I cleaned... Obviously meant to keep water inside the shower cabinet. Is it necessary? Do we need a tradie to fix it? Is it the end of the world if it's not there?

Thanks!

joanne said:
What do you know about shower construction? That pvc strip inside the joins of walls etc? Ours, on one corner, got mouldy at the bottom where it's really hard to clean, got bubbly as it aged then came right off just now while I cleaned... Obviously meant to keep water inside the shower cabinet. Is it necessary? Do we need a tradie to fix it? Is it the end of the world if it's not there?
Thanks!

Can you post a pic?

I'll try. Faulty camera on the iPad, might take a while.

The first pic shows an internal corner join, with the white waterproof strip. I imagine it's applied with a glue-gun thingy.

The second pic shows the internal corner join that lost its waterproofing this morning. It's recessed to the left of the door.

Bizarre: it won't embed vertically for me. The White tiles are on your right as you face the glass wall; you can just see the thin strip of white waterproofing.

In the second pic, the wider groove should go on your left. The white strip came off the the narrow groove.

Aha! It's silicon!

If you were in the U.S. I'd say go to any hardware store and buy a tube of silicone caulk, then make sure all surfaces are dry, and apply it as tightly into the groove as you can. Might take a few tries to get it right.

I'm not sure what's available near you, though. Here, you can buy it in tubes with a pointy tip so you don't need the gun thingy.

Ta! That's what I figured, and a handy-minded friend (J, who we got Robin Wright's lipstick for) confirmed it. Calls for a trip to the local Bunnings.