Refreshing your tile grout

For those that have stained tile grout (floor or wall) or wish to change the color of the grout I found this product at Home Depot called Grout Colorant. You apply it with a small modeling brush. Let it dry for about 1 hour then wash any over-paint off the tiles with warm water and a scrub pad. The product seems to only adhere to the grout. It is best to pre-wash the grout with sulfamic acid cleaner. I just did my entrance way and bathroom. It is amazing how much better the rooms look with new looking grout. For a different look you can change the color of the grout or make it darker for high traffic areas. I'm not sure if it is available at the Home Depot in Guad however they probably have a similar product.

Solovino, do you know of this product or something similar?

I'm assuming that you found the product NOB...you might not have wanted to bring this subject up because I'm afraid you're gonna be mulin' some down.
Do you have a manufacturer's name? If washing is required first with "sulfamic
acid cleaner"...is that assuming that the tile is porcelain? or made of ??? because that acid may ruin fired clay tiles.
Lookin' for answers to a very big problem for a lot of people, me included.

The product I used was made in Canada however there should be a similar product down there considering everything is tiled. I know you can use the sulfamic acid on porcelain and ceramic. Don't know about fired clay but that should be similar to ceramic however you should spot test it. Either way you mainly put it on the grout.

I WISH! There isn't even a decent sealer for grout here and there certainly isn't grout with the sealer built in.
Please! Somebody tell me I'm wrong...I really, really want to be wrong!

Juntador con sellador

http://www.homedepot.com.mx/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_11693_13803_65007

Thank you Sparks! Not only with sealer but anti mold too...Bonus!
Wish it had been available six years ago. I will check out the Home Depot website and see if they have the same brand in the sanded grout for joints that are larger than 3 mm.
Now if I can just get my hands on a dremel with the grout remover blade...

I see they also sell clear sealer in the 1 gallon cans there.

I can warn you about "Wisers" clear sealer...clear when it goes on then gradually changes to a disgusting yellow.
Unfortunately, I very carefully applied THREE coats with a small paintbrush...took me three days to do it and three years to get the shit off.

ferret wrote:Thank you Sparks! Not only with sealer but anti mold too...Bonus!
Wish it had been available six years ago. I will check out the Home Depot website and see if they have the same brand in the sanded grout for joints that are larger than 3 mm.
Now if I can just get my hands on a dremel with the grout remover blade...

There are a number of brands that offer a full line of grout products. Perdura, Crest, Bexel for starters. They can be found at any large builer's supply, don't need Home Depot. Also subsitute a latex acrylic additive such as Adexel in the grout for part of the water when you mix the grout.

Grout Colorants are also widely available.

I was thinking some kind of "American clean" starting on my tiles and my workers were suggesting bright colors of grout (red, green?). Me thinking lite tile and white grout. Ended up with light grey tiles and a coffee brown grout. They were happy that it's not sterile whitish .... and I'll probably be happy not worrying about clean looking grout

Yeah best to stay away from the light colored grouts if you can especially in high traffic areas. The grey tiles with the coffee colored grout must look good.

You're one smart guy Sparks! I thought I could keep anything clean if it started off clean...and it did look spectacular...dark green tiles and white grout. Clean and crisp...and then reality set in.
Friends of ours did blue tiles and grey grout...nice too.
I hope my next kitchen has granite or quartz...I'd like to die from old age not inhaled chemicals from cleaning products.

So I like the tile and grout .... the upload program leaves something to be desired
The whole house will be this color so I can see critters ... and sell it as a hospital some day

That skinny sliver of tile in the corner is a big no-no for a tile setter that knows his craft. And it led to misaligned grout lines on the floor. The guy wouldn't last long on one of my jobs.

I agree with you Solovino but stuff happens when you're not on the job site 100% of the time. Too bad it wasn't caught and fixed before the grout went in...but that would have meant taking out ALL of the tile on that side of the shower. Who pays for the new tile...can the tile lot number be matched...who pays for the workers' mistake....and who pays for the aggravation and time lost????
And, trust me, that kind of stuff happens in the U.S. and Canada too.
BTW, I appreciate your knowledge and expertise in the construction field.

The tiles fit on the other end of that wall in the shower. This end is the toilet. Matching grout lines from wall to floor is the last of my concerns and am enjoying much of the imperfections of the house - there are many. There's not a straight wall or 90 degree corner in the place but most hard to notice 'till the tile goes down.

Just ordered 90 meters for the main floors and I'll make sure the splash guard tiles are lined up with the floor ;)

sparks wrote:
Just ordered 90 meters for the main floors and I'll make sure the splash guard tiles are lined up with the floor ;)

Depends on the tile you use but that is an instance (the baseboard or zoclo) where you can stagger them by a half tile. IOW the grout lines of the base meet the floor tiles in the middle. Works good on large tiles such as a 30 x 30 or larger saltillo for example.

BTW, the rule a good tile setter follows is to never use less than one half of a tile.

Big floor tiles are 33x33 so I'll look into staggering the baseboard. Were even thinking of a diagonal pattern that may cover the lack 90 degree corners better. Maestro just says more cutting and work

sparks wrote:Big floor tiles are 33x33 so I'll look into staggering the baseboard. Were even thinking of a diagonal pattern that may cover the lack 90 degree corners better. Maestro just says more cutting and work

Diagonal patterns look good in big rooms. You can do the full room in diagonal or a tapete,a rectangular area in the middle with a square border around the room's edges. This takes careful planning and layout but can be very attractive.


Don't let the maestro run the job. It's your casa, not his.

He has no problem with either ... it was just a matter of time and work .... and would it really improve the look with my chueco walls

sparks wrote:He has no problem with either ... it was just a matter of time and work .... and would it really improve the look with my chueco walls

By the way it appears your maestro lays tile you'´ll get a gradual tapering course of tile and might wind up with some more small slivers in narrow trianglular shapes that looks like crap. Not the best way to disguise a crooked wall. By breaking up straight grout lines (by laying tile diagonally), out of square walls will be less noticeable.

If we start at the doorway and 7 meters in head 6 meters over to the kitchen counters ... I guess we could end up with tiny pieces or reasonable ones. Guess it just a matter of measuring out the tile ... but if you continue the pattern in adjoining room ... you get what you get.

Then the hallway and/or bedroom. Change the pattern at every threshold?

Sometimes you just get what you get.

sparks wrote:
Sometimes you just get what you get.

That certainly seems to be the case with you. See ya.

That mean I'm booted outta here ... or I just get no more unsolicited advice from ???

sparks wrote:That mean I'm booted outta here ... or I just get no more unsolicited advice from ???

What? Am I a mod now?

As far as unsolicited advice goes, some may benefit, some won't. Its obvious which category you fit in. Doesn't worry me in the least.