Get A Professional-Looking Caulking Job With This Handy Straw Hack

If a certain spot in your home needs to be caulked and you're determined to do the job yourself, then you may want to grab a drinking straw. While that might sound a little odd, a straw can seriously come in handy when you're trying to smooth caulk. Using a straw to smooth your caulk can leave you with a tight seal and even surface that will make it look like a professional job.

Apply the caulk as you normally would. However, when it's time to smooth the caulk, grab your straw. Simply start at one end and press the straw into the caulk. Be sure to use enough pressure to achieve even, steady movement without pressing too hard — you don't want to accidentally scrape the caulk off. Move from one end to the other without lifting the straw. You should be left with an impressively smooth line of caulk. When you're done, you can throw the caulk-covered straw away.

Although using a straw to smooth your caulk is a handy trick, you can put that straw to use in another way even before you smooth. You can also use the straw to make the tip of your caulking gun quite a bit longer. All you need to do is attach the straw to the end of the tip by sliding the tip slightly inside the straw. Be sure to then secure the straw with duct tape, electrical tape, or something just as strong which will create a tight seal so the caulk won't leak.

This might be something you want to try if you need to get to places beyond your reach or in tight or potentially awkward spots. If you need to get around corners, you could try using a plastic bendy straw to guide the caulk into place when you squeeze the gun. You just want to make sure that the straw is flexible enough to reach the spots where you need to get the caulk while being strong enough not to split and leak, making an unwanted mess. Once you're done, take the straw off your caulking gun, and you have a smoothing tool ready to go.