When heating bills begin to rise without any particular reason it may be time to consider caulking your home. Often there are gaps around windows, doors or other areas of the home where heat can escape. Filling these gaps with one of many caulking products may be the solution. Additionally, caulking can also prevent unwanted bugs from wondering into your home that add to maintenance costs and pest control bills.

Caulking generally comes in two types - a squeeze tube, or a cylinder. The cylinder of caulking is applied with an inexpensive caulking gun, while the squeeze tube can be applied directly from the original container.

Caulking is available for a variety of surfaces, from bath, tub and tile caulk to caulking that is made especially for mortars and cements. Furthermore, caulking can be opaque white, translucent or a gray mortar color. Homeowners should read caulking labels carefully prior to purchasing a caulking product to ensure that you end up with the product that will suit your needs.

While some caulking products are paintable, others may not be. For example, silicone caulking is quite bondable to most surfaces, but is cannot be painted. Paintable caulking products are usually made of acrylics or latex.

When selecting a caulking product made sure that you have enough to complete the job. A good rule to follow in relation to caulking is that there should be no more and a ¼ inch gap to be filled. If the gap that you are attempting to caulk exceeds this width, then the location will require another type of filler other than caulk .

Caulking can also be applied to interior seams around bathtubs, toilets, sinks or tiles. This will ensure that these locations cannot be damaged by water use, or other elements that can affect the area because caulking serves as a sealant for many surfaces.