Simple DIY Solution for Yellowed Caulk

The stairs in our household are used many times a day. I’ve noticed in the last couple of years that the caulk on the edges of the stairs had yellowed, and it’s been driving me nuts! The caulk itself was in fine shape, but it wasn’t bright white anymore. Also, the backs of the stairs and the side trim needed some white paint freshening.

One of my “to do” items this summer was to fix this! The backs and sides of the stairs were easy- it just took some paint. I wanted to see if I could also paint over the caulk with trim paint to see if it would help the yellowing issue (instead of having to caulk over it).

I bought some bright white trim paint and got to work! The trim paint worked perfectly on the caulk… I was so pleasantly surprised. I used a very thin paint brush (like a 1/4″ artist-type brush) and I just painted over the caulk.

These pictures make me feel a bit vulnerable because the before pictures show so much dust and grime… so please don’t judge me too harshly. 😉

Here are some before pictures! It might be hard to tell with the lights, but the caulk was definitely more yellow-tinted than the side trim.