Plumber's Putty or Silicone Caulk, Which is Best?

Found a puddle on the laundry room floor with my socked foot. Please don’t let it be from Percy. Nope, not the dog. Where was this water coming from? Oh. Great. The sink drain is leaking.

When we first moved into the house, my dad visited and helped me install the free-standing deep sink and faucet in the laundry room. Over time and with lots of use/abuse (three boys who do sports and a dog we wash in the deep sink), the plumber’s putty must have cracked and needs replacing. Most likely due to when the sink is bumped hard it moves a little because it stands alone on thin legs. I have since built a unit next to it that provides so much more stability than it had before!

leaky sink drain — The plumber’s putty around the sink drain has cracked and is leaky. Time to take care of this problem so I can get back to using my deep sink. Laundry waits for no one!

Anyway, it is time to fix the deep sink drain and it got me thinking…what is the better choice of compound when repairing a sink or faucet? Of course I made a list to compare. Here are some PROs and CONs of plumber’s putty and silicone caulk so you can decide what product is best for your project.

Plumber’s Putty or Silicone?

Both plumber’s putty and silicone are sealing compounds designed to provide a water tight fit for pop up drains, sink strainers, undersides of fittings, showers and drains. Plumber’s putty is more traditional while silicone caulking is a more modern product, but either one (in most cases) can get the job done. There are pros and cons to both that may help you to decide which product is best suited for your needs.

plumber's putty vs. silicone — Yep, people at the hardware store thought I was nuts for arranging the plumber’s putty and silicone caulking like this. I like to think the puzzled stares were out of admiration for my creativity. Yeah, let’s go with that. Haha!

Pros and Cons of Plumber’s Putty

Pros

Easy to mold and re-position

Just as the name implies, the soft material can be kneaded, shaped, and manipulated over and over until the correct amount and location is achieved.

Reapply as much as needed

If the placement is not quite right, just pull it off and re apply.

Easy to remove after several years

Say you want to change out your faucet in a few years, it is easy to remove the old plumber’s putty with little effort.

Great durability

There are plenty of older homes where the original faucets are working just fine and they were installed over 50 years ago with plumber’s putty.

Cons:

Doesn’t stick to a surface

It can be tricky to get the putty to stay if you are working in an area where gravity is working against you.

Not an adhesive

Don’t plan on fixing cracks or holding pieces together with plumber’s putty.

Not to be used on large areas

This was not designed for nor is it ideal to use over a large area.

Pros and Cons of Silicone

Pros:

Keeps things secure

Waterproof seal that prevents leaking

Can be used over a large area

Silicone is used in marine operations to help keep the wooden ships sealed and in ship shape.

Can be used as an adhesive

Often used if there is a break or split to fill in an area and seal it off.

Hardens when it dries out

Once dry, it becomes so hard that you rarely see it break or crack.

Works well with acrylic or ceramic

Cons:

You will most likely need a scraping tool to remove it

If you ever need to replace a faucet, or something, you will have to scrape off all the bits of the silicone to make a nice tight seal again. A scraping tool of some sort will need to be used to remove it.

Needs more precise placement

You have to be accurate the first time you use it. The placement needs to be on point.

Lasts only about 10 to maybe 20 years
The hardness makes it challenging to shape and modify

What Brands Are the Best?

Because I haven’t bought and tested all of the brands out there, I relied on the opinion of Plumbing Love’s review. They admitted any brand of plumber’s putty will get the job done, but their top choice was Oatey 25101 Hercules STA PUT Plumber’s Putty which you can purchase here. For the complete review by Plumbing Love on different brands of plumber’s putty, click here.

GE 5070 Advanced Silicone for Kitchen and Bath Projects is recommended by Hunker.com. Find the link to purchase here.

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The DO NOTs of Plumber’s Putty and Silicone Caulk

When searching out the top brands of plumber’s putty and silicone, I came across this list of common mistakes home owner’s do when fixing drains and plumbing by FHFurr.com.

“Plumber’s Putty: Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT the plumber’s “duct tape”; plumber’s putty is a malleable substance used as a sealant for plumbing fixtures to aid against water exposure.

-DO NOT use plumber’s putty on plastic or metal threaded pipes to seal between joints. This is a job for Teflon tape.

-DO NOT use plumber’s putty to seal the area between the sink vanity and the wall. This is a job for caulk.

-DO NOT attempt to use plumber’s putty to join plastic pipes. This is a job for PVC primer.

-DO NOT use plumber’s putty on porous matter such as granite or marble—the composition of plumber’s putty will stain these surfaces.

Caulk: This is misused in same way as plumber’s putty; it is a substance that seals against water intrusion and is often seen where the plumbing fixture meets the wall.

-DO NOT use caulk on anything pressurized”

Well, there you have it. A little more information for you to make an informed decision when replacing faucets, drains or doing plumbing repairs. Now it is high time I get to fixing my own laundry room deep sink and focus on making a house a home.