trader-of-some-jacks wrote:
Not even two years after I last caulked my showers and tubs, I'm faced
with doing it again, more for esthetic reasons than anything else - some
of the caulk has gotten pretty gross looking with mold or mildew,
despite the bathrooms being clean.

So I'm looking for a recommendation of an outstanding caulk for tubs and
showers. I guess my top criteria would be I don't want to be caulking
again in two more years, and I'd like it to be mildew-resistant (or able
to resist whatever the black gunk is that took it over).

Also, please give me some tips on applying the stuff so it looks good
and lasts long.

Pretty basic questions, sorry.

First time I recaulked a tub enclosure was a disaster. So I asked a
pro. Told me to clean the surface with straight bleach, which I did.
Used the usual white silicone. For laying down a nice even caulk line,
put some painters tape down along the border of what you want to cover
with caulk. Run the caulk by using even pressure and pushing the tip,
not pulling. Use a wet finger to smoothe it down to meet edges of the
tape and pull the tape off right away. Helps to practice. The surface
must be absolutely clean and dry, free of soap scum or mildew will grow
under the caulk (not the fault of the caulk). The more crud - dead
skin, soap scum, etc. - the more mildew will grow. Clean and dry will
keep it away. When you push the caulk down with your finger, you are
shaping a kind of "cove molding" so it doesn't hold water/soap and
mildew. For our last bath re-do, we installed a timer switch on the
exhaust fan so's it can run a while and help dry the bathroom that
doesn't otherwise have much air circ.