solutions of 0 1 0 3 and 1 0 by weight of as received surfactant in de ionized water were prepared three different surfactants as outlined in table 1 were used the resulting nine solutions were evaluated for their beneficial effect on the application of silicone caulking on the three different surfaces described above the results of these examinations are summarized table 2 below both the non ionic surfactant and the anionic surfactant were found to have a beneficial effect on the application of the silicone caulking to all three surfaces the cationic surfactant was found to have the least beneficial effect for the application of silicone caulking of all three surfactants at the concentration range investigated what this means for a tradesman is that all three types of surfactant will work the tradesman can mix any commercially available soap or detergent containing a surfactant with water and obtain the benefits of the above described method without worrying as to the particular u201c type u201d of surfactant to be used if purchasing a surfactant from a chemical store it would appear that a non ionic or anionic surfactant is to be preferred in summation it is to be understood that virtually any currently available household cleaner detergent or soap would be suitable for use as the surfactant in accordance with the inventive method discussed above the surfactant found in the following currently available household cleaners such as windex u2122 mr clean u2122 lysol u2122 fantastik u2122 formula 409 u2122 for example would be suitable for practice of the inventive method it is to be appreciated that the important aspect of the surfactant is that it be in a flowable or spreadable state.