There is a €60 job that prevents a €2,000 problem, and most Maltese bathrooms are overdue for it. The silicone bead around your shower tray, bath and basin is the only thing between splash water and the inside of your walls and floors — and once it goes grey, cracked or moldy, it has already started letting water past.
Why silicone fails faster here
Hard-water scale stiffens and lifts the bead's edges; daily humidity keeps the mould fed; cleaning products aggressive enough to fight that mould attack the silicone itself; and buildings that move slightly with heat — Maltese roofs expand meaningfully in summer — flex joints that rigid old silicone can no longer follow. A bead's realistic life here is 3–7 years. Most are older.
Reading the bead
- Black speckling that returns days after cleaning — mould is inside the silicone, not on it. Cleaning is over; replacement is due.
- Cracks, gaps, or edges lifting — water is already getting past. Check the ceiling below (in flats, your neighbour may know before you do — the balcony-leak dynamic applies indoors too).
- A spongy feel or dark staining at the tray edge, movement in nearby tiles — water has been past for a while; budget for investigation, not just resealing.
Why the pro job outlasts the DIY tube
Anyone can squeeze silicone; the durability lives in steps the rushed version skips:
- Complete removal of the old bead — new silicone over old edges fails within months.
- Mould treatment and genuine drying of the joint — sealing moisture in is self-defeat, the small-scale version of the painting-over-damp mistake.
- The right product: sanitary-grade, mould-inhibiting, correct modulus for a joint that moves.
- A properly tooled bead at the right depth — looks better and sheds water instead of ponding it.
- Cure time respected: no shower for 24 hours. The classic self-sabotage is that evening's shower.
Professionally, a full shower or bath reseal runs €50 – €120; the whole bathroom's beads (tray, bath, basin, toilet base, kitchen sink while they're at it) batches beautifully into a small-jobs visit — pricing logic per the handyman rates guide.
The five-minute prevention
Squeegee or towel-flick the bead after showers in the worst-ventilated bathrooms, run the extractor, and clean with bathroom cleaner rather than raw bleach. That alone can double a bead's life. For holiday lets, put resealing on the annual calendar — guest bathrooms age in dog years, as any host's maintenance rhythm acknowledges.
Post close-up photos of the failed beads on Qabbad's handyman page and batch every joint in the flat into one visit.
Frequently asked questions
How much does resealing a shower cost in Malta?
€50 to €120 for a full professional reseal of a shower or bath — old bead stripped, joint treated and dried, sanitary silicone properly tooled. Batching all the flat's beads into one visit drops the per-joint cost sharply.
How often should bathroom silicone be replaced?
Every 3 to 7 years in Maltese conditions — sooner if mould speckling returns immediately after cleaning or the bead is cracked or lifting. Waiting costs more: failed beads let water into walls and the floor below.
Can I just put new silicone over the old bead?
No — it is the one shortcut that guarantees early failure. New silicone does not bond to old, and the trapped moisture and mould underneath resurface within months. Full removal first, always.