Plumbers Putty vs. White Bathroom Silicone

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Cityslacker06

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Just hatched new member, here. I have a 16 year old home that have the original one piece tub/shower combinations in the two bathrooms that we have. I need to replace the tub drains in both of them. I am not sure of the material they are made of, but I am thinking maybe acrylic, but probably fiberglass. Should I use plumbers putty to seal them or tub and tile rated white silicone. I just seen an episode of Reality Renovision where he was replacing a tub and said that using the white silicone was better than the putty, so now I am not sure which would be the right thing to use. I am always looking for good wisdom with everything I do, and this is no exception.


what are your ideas here? I am leaning towards silicone to be honest.
 
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Terry

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The seal is made between the tub and the drain shoe with the rubber washer.
For fiberglass they make a stainless putty for under the flange, or you can use clear Silicone. I don't know why you would use white. It's not going to match your tub.

tub-drain-leak-04.jpg


tub-drain-leak-06.jpg
 

Cityslacker06

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I guess I used the wrong terminology, but it is not the actual drain, I am talking about the part that goes inside the tub, the strainer thingy. My apologies for the confusion.
 

Jadnashua

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If you used a caulk made with acrylic or silicone and you decided you wanted to remove it to replace or do some service later on, you may not get it off without damaging things!

I'd use a plumber's putty that was listed as stainless...some contain an oil that can stain things like acrylic or fiberglass (but would work fine on a cast iron tub), but aren't a good idea on synthetics.
 

Cityslacker06

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So it appears that the new strainer flange has a rubber gasket on it so apparently there is no need for any sealant.
 

Tuttles Revenge

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I guess I used the wrong terminology, but it is not the actual drain, I am talking about the part that goes inside the tub, the strainer thingy. My apologies for the confusion.

So it appears that the new strainer flange has a rubber gasket on it so apparently there is no need for any sealant.

Is the part you're replacing or resealing the same as in the photo that Terry posted above? The bottom portion is the tub Shoe which is the drain. It seals water from leaking into your home with the provided rubber gasket. That gasket needs to be completely flat all around the drain hole in order for it to seal.

The strainer on the inside of the tub that you see while you're in the shower is sealed with putty or silicone and that seal prevents water from draining the water in the tub down the drain when you have the strainer or trip lever closed.

That is the basic anatomy of a tub drain.

phister-19-020-terrylove-01.jpg
 
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