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Changing grout color vs. better sealant

16 years ago

I have a light colored grout in my downstairs bathroom. It is only 2 years old but looks very dirty, particularly near the toilet. I mentioned to a friend at work that I'd like to recolor the grout but he said he tried it and wasn't satisfied with the results. He said it still looked dirty. He suggested cleaning it with an acid cleaner and using a better sealer for the grout. I did seal the grout after the tile was laid but it didn't seem to do much for it as it becoming stained within a couple of months. I used Tile Lab Surface Guard Penetrating Selaer found at Home Depot (green bottle). If anyone has and advice on either darkening the color with a grout coloring or sealing with a great sealer to resist dirt & staining, I would greatly appreciate it.

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lizzetta

14 years ago

The above posts smell suspiciously like advertisers for ThisOldGrout.

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Comments (6)

Joang_CA
16 years ago
I had a similar problem, but found a miracle. thisoldgrout.com solved my problem. You can order the grout color you have or change the color. I have a large area and it was a lot of work but I have done it several times now and it gets easier and seems to seal the grout better. It's like painting the grout but not quite. Check out the web sit

Here is a link that might be useful: Grout solutions!
gryd
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks.

Does it soak into the grout or kind of just paint the surface?
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A couple things I’d like to add. I put epoxy grout in both my bathroom remodels. It can leave a ting of shadow in marble because it soaks in the sides of the tile. You don’t want that area to have sealer on it though so the grout can make connection with the tile. You can barely see the bleed, but it’s there. I personally love it because it adds even more depth to the marble. Here is my slate floor in a light medium gray epoxy grout. It looks almost white in contrast to the black. That’s the trick to the eye. This floor is worn hard. Farmer husbands bathroom with bad shoes. I don’t fuss with this floor except may be once or twice a year, lol. And it’s not hard. I do know that there has been some slight staining near the sink where DH stands to wash up. But it’s slight. The last time I mopped this floor was several months ago. I just sweep it. It could use another mopping I see. The right half never gets walked on, the left is the main walking path into the room. I can see a slight darling. This shower shown below, with porcelain tile, has a narrow grout line. It is a very light epoxy where I combined 2 colors to get a slight off white. No mildew or mold accumulates because it gets wiped down after the showers are done for the day by the last user. Usually it’s just me. I have not washed the walls except 2 times early on 5 years ago, because I thought I should. It is a waste of time because of the daily wipe down with a large microfiber towel. I do spend time with the shower door sweeps from time to time because they will get mildewy. The floor is a cast iron shower pan and I do clean that as typical for cast iron, but because I’m usually the only one using it, that’s not often.
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Joang_CA
16 years ago
I think it does a little of both, soaking in and covering the surface. This stuff is unbelievable and has saved my tile and my sanity.
Joang_CA
16 years ago
After I used this product the grout did NOT look painted. It looked like it did after they installed the tile. I hope it works for you too.
lfnyc
15 years ago
Hi. I usually post at the Pet Forum on this site, and I know that this is an old thread, but I just want to add another thumbs up for ThisOldGrout.com.

I had a porcelain tile kitchen floor installed last month and chose Laticrete #34 Sandstone to bring out the color and define the joints of the diagonal tile (I have a long narrow galley kitchen). The grout came out several shades lighter and a different shade than the colorcard...more of a pinkish beige than a mauve-taupe. Yuch. Both Laticrete and the tile store suggested an Enhancing Sealer to darken the grout. I bought some locally(AquaMix's)and tried a small hidden area. It did darken the grout slightly but not much. I called Aquamix's Tech Support line ...they told me something important: That they could not guarantee color consistancy with the Enhancer and once it was applied, nothing could be done to correct any color inconsistancies. They suggested I try a small sample of their grout paint. Unfortunately, neither of the 2 paint samples I ordered hit the right color...a shame because folks had good things to say about AquaMix paints.

I did another web search and came up with this thread and the ThisOldGrout suggestion. They also have good tech support (they don't try to over-sell you). I ordered the colorant. It came out great...exactly the Laticrete color I wanted. It was relatively easy to apply. I did mask around the joints for a clean line that didn't need scrubbing. It doesn't have an odor and dries quickly. The color is perfectly consistant. I hope it stays that way. Thank You Joang for the suggestion.

LF

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