Preparing the Shower

• 1). Open any windows in the bathroom and turn on the bathroom fan. Put on protective eyewear and latex gloves.
  
  
• 2). Spray the old caulk with a caulk softener. Let the softener sit on the caulk for the amount of time specified on the bottle -- typically two to three hours. Scrape away the softened caulk from the shower walls with a putty knife.
  
  
• 3). Examine the shower joint where the old caulk was for black spots of mildew. If you see mildew, spray the shower joint with one part bleach per three parts water. Let the bleach solution sit until the mildew dies and turns white. Wipe the mildew away with a washcloth or paper towels.
  
  
• 4). Dry the joint with a hair dryer. Wipe down the rest of the shower with a towel to ensure that moisture from previous showers does not interfere with taping and caulking the shower’s acrylic surface.
  
  
• 5). Apply painter’s tape on both sides of the shower joints. The empty space between each piece of tape is the caulk line. You can adjust the caulk line to be as wide or as narrow as you wish, but a standard shower caulking line measures 1/8 of an inch.
  
  

Caulking the Shower

• 1). Load your caulk gun with 100 percent silicone caulk.
  
  
• 2). Apply steady pressure to the caulk gun’s lever while moving the tip of the gun between the pieces of painter’s tape from one corner to the other. Continue caulking in this manner until you caulk all of the shower’s empty joints.
  
  
• 3). Smooth out the caulk in each joint with your finger by gently running the tip along the fresh caulk line.
  
  
• 4). Remove the painter’s tape.
  
  
• 5). Smooth each caulk line with your finger a second time. This prevents raised spots in the caulk where the painter’s tape was attached to the wall. Let the fresh caulk set for 24 hours before using the shower.