I haven't tried the R-teez yet. Before we decided to wait until all the tile work is done, I had already contacted This Old Grout based on grout mfgrs. recommendation. They sent me a sample which matched the grout mfgrs. color. I tried it in an inconspicuous spot (on the floor where the refrigerator will be installed) and I loved it. So the look of it is perfect, but per tile installer, not sure how it's going to wear so still checking for feedback from others who have used that type of product. No doubt when all the flooring is in we will try the R-teez as well before making any decisions, but my tile guy suggested we wait so that whatever we do is consistent with the rest of the floor which will be installed as soon as I can get my GC to finish the job and get out.

We tried cleaning and unfortunately it did not work. I think the drywall dust got into the grout before it had cured - not really sure of that, just a guess on my part because nothing is getting out, including the rented steamer (although it wasn't a steamer extractor like what was suggested, but what my contractor decided to try in spite of my requests.) The white vinegar was tried per recommendation from tile installer (I tried it, then my husband tried in on the second cleaning attempt) but I don't think the GC used it when he used the steamer.

Here is a novel idea, tell the GC you are not accepting the floor as is and make them redo the grout! Why settle? Do you still owe him money, hold it back? He screwed up, why should you be punished?

Millworkman, we are sort of same mind. I have checked around for another GC so I can fire this guy, but unfortunately, no one is really interested in finishing a job someone else has started (and "almost" completed) so I am in somewhat of a bind. I do owe him the last third of the job and he has already asked for half of it. I told him no, not writing any more checks until the floor is fixed to my satisfaction. I did ask for the grout to be redone but am being told that is not an option (the tile installer told me that) - there are other issues as well. I ordered crown molding for the cabinets, the GC quoted installing the crown but now says he can't install the crown because it's too big and the ceiling (which was put in by the drywaller he subcontracted) is not level. The cabinet company says he needs to scribe the crown to make it work if the ceiling is not level, but he just scoffed at that. He marked out floor tile to be cut by the island (heat registers with blowers and toe kick on both sides of the island) incorrectly so the tile has to be removed and redone on those areas. We had the ceiling raised and not only is it not even, but there are nail pops showing (has been 2-3 wks only since this ceiling was done) and there are uneven surfaces with pits and gouges. So, he's not getting another penny until everything is fixed properly.

Other issues aside you need to get the GC and HIS tile man at your house at the same time. The conversation goes like this with them both in front of you. "How is this being remedied, as is this is unacceptable", and begin the awkward silence, and you say nothing more. Let them come up with a solution. I agree firing him will lead to more issues as he will take you to court the judge will say one of two things, "he gets the opportunity to fix what he started before I say you owe him nothing" or "you fired him before he had the opportunity to fix what he screwed up and now you owe him his money or a % thereof". Anyway you look at it bringing in another GC will cost you more money to get the job finished. But and this goes for all the trades, he hired his subs he owes you what was contracted for, period. If they fail to deliver what he hired them for then that is on him, not to mean you need to settle.

I was afraid of that. I've been documenting everything in either text or email. He always calls me in response and I finally told him he needs to reply via email or text as I want everything documented. He said "I'm not a computer guy, I don't do well with email" and I told him he needs to put everything in writing whether it's on a note pad that I initial or sign off on, or in email or whatever. I said it protects him as much as it protects me.

I have not tried to get both guys out there at one time, mainly because I don't have any issue with the tile guy - but I guess you are right, I at least need him there to say what he is willing to do and how much it will cost as the GC will have to cover the "fix it" price.

Thanks for the suggestion.

You will also get a straight answer as to whether it can be done or he is blowing smoke up your a**. Maybe th GC never even told him, and if the GC is going to help ruin the tile setters name he should at least know what is going on.

You might want to have an uninvolved party there also, as a witness to the conversation.

Another great idea, thanks.

Iamwoofgang, Have you found a way to solve the white dust in the grout yet?

I have a similar problem, have washed and dried grout three times to no avail. Then tried washing, scrubbing with a toothbrush, then using a wet dry shop vac to remove the residue again to no avail. Also tried scrubbing an area with vinegar to no avail.

The bright white dust on the grout has ruined the grout and look of the floor and wondering if you have tried anything else.

It's a bathroom floor and I'm also concerned that people will be walking with bare feet on a wet tile floor that has joint compound dust that may contain a hazardous material like silica or other potentially harmful material.

Wish I could give you better news but no, I haven't found a resolution yet. I'm learning that I made a big mistake hiring this particular contractor. I haven't been able to get both the tile setter and the GC here at the same time (per above suggestions) - tile setter is willing and has even said if he needs to come before 8:00 a.m., late evening, either Sat or Sun, whatever it takes, he'll be here. Unfortunately the GC has been tough. The tile setter is not comfortable with "This Old Grout" because he thinks it will wear unevenly and then the floor will look really bad so he suggested I talk to a grout expert like Mr. Grout. I have a call into the local franchise but I do think I have already talked to a grout expert and that is the tech support at the grout mfgr. themselves and they are the ones who suggested This Old Grout.

I could not find the R-Teez suggested earlier so I finally ordered some online. I will try that once I receive which should be this week.

Have you looked into Grout 66?

I have the same problem. The drywallers and the tile guy were working to closely together, and now my grout is white instead of dark brown. I just tried scrubbing a small area with Heavy Duty Acidic Cleaner and it helped a lot. I diluted it 3:1 and scrubbed the grout with a tiny grout brush. It's going to take me DAYS to do 500 sq ft, but I guess I don't have a choice...

The grout manufacturer said to try Sulfamic Acid, so I might try that to see if it comes up any easier. I'm also considering trying it straight up and not diluting it. Any suggestions or precautions on that would be appreciated!

That's a big difference - what you are doing is working - thanks for the info and the before and after pictures. I haven't been able to try anything else yet (did receive the R-Teez) as the floors are now (after the fact) covered up again. Ceiling was all screwed up and they had to redo so the floors got covered the second time around.

Walteramylee, I have the same problem with white joint compound dust in the previously beige grout in new tile floor. Your results look great.

What is the brand name of the heavy duty acidic cleaner used? Did you use 3 parts acid or 3 parts water?

If you tried the sulfamic acid, how did that work?

Thanks

iamwoofgang, any updates to share?

Thanks for asking duchamp. No updates yet. Without turning this into a novel, we eventually parted ways with the original contractor - this floor thing was the tip of the iceberg. Six months + and we didn't have a working kitchen. We have a new contractor now, first thing he did was put heavy duty paper down on all the flooring and taped it down well, then added drop cloths. His tile guy came in and finished the tile in the laundry room and the part of the hallway that wasn't done, then that was all covered up. It's been about 4 wks and this new contractor was booked solid, but told us he would fit us in as best he could (I think he felt sorry for me.) The kitchen/laundry/powder room will be done next Friday! THEN, they are going to pull all the drop cloths and paper and address the grout. We are close!

Actually I misspoke above. The new contractor is not going to address the grout - I am. It's not the new contractor's issue and I'm not going to ask him to fix it. But the tile guy is coming to do the kitchen backsplash tomorrow and I will ask him for suggestions - but if he doesn't really have anything, I'm going back through all the suggestions above and will start over trying to fix this. Last resort will be to use the stain (even though the grout mfgr - Tec - recommended it and told us to contact This Old Grout.)

Hi Woofgang,

I don't know if this will help you but here are my learnings after having wood look tile and white tile for 13 years on radiant heat and having battled many grout issues. Sorry it is so long but these are all paths you may consider going down now and in the future so I'm trying to describe them all.

Wood look tile looks great. We used a cement based dark brown grout. The dark brown cement grout only stays dark brown for a couple of years. Eventually the color washes out of it with cleaning as the sealer wears off. Sealer is very toxic smelling so we have opted to not reseal it. It is currently a kind of greyish color. If I wet it then it becomes dark brown again so an enhancing sealer may need to be periodically applied even if your grout looks perfect now to keep that look with cement based grout.

Our brown grout that has been patched with a premixed brown grout from Lowes (where it cracked at doorways) has held the color better. However even it has lost a bit of color. Epoxy grout is probably the only product that will hold the color.

If you haven't sealed your grout yet and if it looks acceptable to you when wet then an enhancing sealer may do the job.

Our white tile I originally wanted white grout but the installer talked me into grey saying it would wear better. It wore terribly. The grey was dark and stained in some areas so very blotchy. It was cement based grout. We used the colorant to change the grout color to white. It looked great. Eventually it does wear off because it is a form of grout paint. Probably at the same rate as the brown grout changed color so it is a toss up between resealing and recoloring in terms of maintenance. I do not think colorant is a bad idea in your situation since you are going over the grout with the same color.

Because we want to do neither resealing or coloring, we eventually had the grey grout in our entry hallway pulled out and regrouted with the white premixed grout from Lowes. What a mess! The grout dust created when removing the old grout was everywhere even with the area sealed with plastic sheets. Literally every surface of every room including walls and ceilings needed to be wiped down with a wet microfiber towel. Lots of warnings everywhere about how you shouldn't be breathing this dust. My cleaning crew came with all their friends, including a professional painting crew and spent the entire day going through and wiping down every surface with the painters doing the walls and ceiling. This was a large area so they tried to use electric tools for the removal which created the fine dust.

Prior to this we had our master bath regrouted and it had this same grey grout painted white with colorant. This one did not cause nearly the mess because the guy used a hand tool/saw and only took the top off. While this looked great for a while the new grout did not stick to the old and came off in some places because we tried to steam clean it. The new grout was the premix and it was going over the old cement grout. Using a steam cleaner on the premix is not a good idea because it causes it to shrink. This caused it to separate from the old grout. This is why we had all the grout dug out when we regrouted our front hallway.

We had the river rock tile installed in our master bath. Since it was decorative instead of in the shower we used the premixed grout from Lowes. This grout is stickier than cement based grout and did not come off the top of the river rock well. The installer stuck us with the problem so we had to use the strong acid haze remover and a stiff bristle brush to get it off. Also had to dig it out with metal dental tools. Need to fully outfit yourself, use eye goggles, face mask etc. to protect yourself from this acid. It does work with some elbow work. It did not harm the underlying grout. We finished it off with an enhancing sealer and to this day it is great looking.

Based on my experiences here are the options I would try.

Does an enhancing sealer solve the problem? If the grout looks ok when wet this may do it. You could try a test area. You want to do this in an area not visible since once the enhancing sealer goes on there is no getting it off.

Colorant - I think this is a good solution to your problem. You may have to recolor down the line but with cement based grout you will have to reseal anyways. It is going to be one or the other to keep the look you want.

Use a grout saw to take off the top micromillimeter (just enough to get to the drywall dust). Wipe away dust and seal with enhancing sealer.

Full regrout with epoxy grout. Longest term most permanent solution. Will probably be expensive. May cause a mess. Find out what method they are using to remove the grout and then be willing to shut them down if you see the dust particles in the air. Using a hand saw is least dust but very labor intensive. Second is a blade attached to a reciprocating saw set on the lowest speed. Don't let them use anything that is high speed like a dremel tool. Also using a shop vac with filter to capture the dust doesn't cut it. High risk of the saw tool slipping and scratching your tile. This only happened in a couple of places and isn't noticeable with our tile but ours is old.

Does anyone happen to have an update on what worked for them? I have been suffering through this same problem since May of 2015 and I have tried everything suggested on this listing except for the grout stain. Did that end up working for anyone?

It's almost as if the drywall dust dried and became cement in the grout. I tried vinegar, acid wash, scrubbing so hard I broke brushes and wore through rags and nothing worked. Here is a photo of what I'm dealing with:

Please help!

Unfortunately, nothing worked in the way of cleaning it. We got such mixed message regarding coloring it or sealing it (do it! don't do it!) that we haven't tried that yet. We've been finishing up other areas of the house so I have sort of let it go, but when everyone is out of here, I think I might pull out the washer and try the color from Ye Old Grout coloring on the floor there, and a sealer under the dryer. The down side is that I won't be able to see how either holds up to wear, but better than nothing I guess. I did try every other method recommended here though and nothing worked. I have lots of areas where the dark brown grout looks white just like your picture shows only I think it's a little more pronounced because my floor tile is dark.

Maybe a bristle brush on a drill. Do this dry not wet, perhaps can this can sweep the dust out of the grout. My guess is every time you make it wet it stays stuck in the pores. Either that or a compressor with a strong blow gun might blow it out. I guess pressure washing it might work if either of those don't, fair amount of prep work involved in that idea though :)

I haven't tried pressure washing but I don't think I want to try that. I have an entire kitchen, bathroom, laundry room full of new cabinets and appliances. We use a pressure washer outside regularly in our dog run, on the siding, etc. etc. and there is no way I want that much water in the house. I have rented a heavy duty commercial steamer vacuum though and that didn't work either. I did part ways with the GC though and the new GC has been great to work with so I'm happy on that vein. To replace my flooring in the kitchen alone would be around $14K and I still have hallway, the aforementioned bath and laundry room, plus the formal dining room so I will have to live with it as is, color it, or seal it.

iamwoofgang, I am going through this exact same exercise with my new wood look tile installation. Mine looks very similar to yours in areas. I believe our issue was caused by the installers using too much water during the grout clean up efforts and thus carried the gray color out of the top layer of grout and left a much lighter, or whitish color behind (definitely not efflorescence). I have recently washed the effected areas with a sulphamic acid wash (8oz of crystals to a gallon of water). I used a stiff bristled brush and scrubbed the grout lines hard. I only left the acid on the tile and grout lines for about 5 minutes before mopping with a very wet mop and hot clean water. The lines are now much more consistent, but not perfect. They all look consistent when wet now. I'm going to now seal and hope they maintain their consistency. If I'm in your shoes, I would perform the acid wash with and rinse as I outlined before, then use the colored grout paint that has the integral sealant. You would have to seal the grout at any point, so this shouldn't be much extra work if any at all. I would NOT pull up the grout on a new floor like that.

Seal with a color enhancing sealer in a small area to see if you like the results.

I do think that Vith's suggestion to try a dry removal method with a blow gun has merit. Otherwise, International Tile recommends an epoxy-based stain - which will cover and bond to our cement-based grout without sanding; and with the added sealant benefit of preventing future stains or water penetration. Regardless, we will need to wait at least 7 days for the re-grouted areas to cure. The product recommended to us is ColorFast Industries Easy Clean Grout Colorant. http://www.colorfastind.com/easycleangroutcolorant.htm

I think this is what we are going to do as well onthechesapeake. Our grout was made by Tec and they suggested This Old Grout as having a stain which matches their grout perfectly. BUT, first I am going to call Mr. Grout (one last ditch effort and getting a recommendation from another expert.) This is a medium dark floor and the grout chosen matched the tile perfectly. The idea was to have grout lines as thin as possible and to have them blend into the flooring. When we do our foyer, we're going to use the same tile, and this time, I'm going to use the darkest grout I can find. The foyer is separated from the other areas so it won't butt up against lighter grout. We will also make sure any drywall work is done before flooring goes down, and even then, the flooring will be covered until everything has cured. Do NOT ever want to go through this again!

Everyone has probably solved their problems with this by now; however, when I found this thread, we were beside ourselves with this same problem in the house we are building. We have had great success with the Heavy-Duty Acidic Cleaner recommended by Amy. We used it as recommended, but found a long-handled grout brush to use rather than having to scrub on our hands and knees. It didn't take a ton of scrubbing. After letting it sit for 5 minutes, we used towels to wipe the surface and the grout lines. The floors looked great! I highly recommend this stuff. Yes, it takes some time and work, but it has been so worth it.

I am dealing with the same issue - my tiles are 24"x24" black porcelain with black grout and in some areas - A LOT OF AREAS - is gray, light gray, white. this is what I did...I got on my hands and knees w hot water, and a small brush and DEGREASER and I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed - Cinderella style - all the grout lines...I have to tell you that the grout cleaned up, but you have to continue mopping or cleaning w a rag and clean water as you go along...I am still getting some drywall work done, and I cant wait til this guy gets the heck out so I can have my house back and cleaned - dust free...I was looking for a pressure cleaning machine small enough that I have control of the water that comes out in a small amount, but after reading all the excellent feedback and support, I am going to look for a nice steamer to clean the grout...and - if any one ever says that the dark grouts do not need to be sealed - that is a lie - they need to be sealed as any light grout or more...I hope you can get your grout cleaned! good luck for the both of us!!

Be careful with a steam cleaner. Our grout shrunk up and came out with the high heat. It had some type of additive to prevent staining or shrinking or cracking that was not compatible with high heat.

Good tip, make sure to read the mfgrs recommendations or call the grout company, they should be able to answer whether or not that grout can withstand the heat.

Well, I'll check - I got the grout @ Home Depot - I also have a regular mop steamer - I'll try that in any case instead of getting a commercial one...

I wouldn't steam it, might push it deeper in the grout.

Iamwoofgang, can you share with us what happened after you cut the first GC loose? Any legal or financial ramifications?

nab721, I did hire another contractor who did a great job. Took awhile because he was trying to help us out and "fit us in" but even so, he finished the kitchen, dining room, eat-in area of kitchen, laundry room and two bathrooms by October - I "think" he started in July. The kitchen had been started on, but everything else was from scratch. Legally, wish I would have had the time and money to go after the first GC. Not only did we have to redo much of what he did, but he was extremely unscrupulous. However, there is a limit on smalls claims court suits, and hiring a lawyer would have likely cost me a lot of money, even if I had won. So I decided to chalk this up to experience. The second GC I worked with had great trades/subcons working for him although I have a tile guy I like better and I was not too impressed with the plumber (lazy) but the drywall guy, the demo guys, the carpenter/finish carpenter, painter etc. were all fantastic so I will go with the same GC when we finish the house.

I guess the other thing I should mention is that the problem has never been resolved. The tile guys (who are great, and were "accidentally" hired by the first GC. He all of a sudden (???) realized he didn't have a tile guy so he called around and found these guys who turned out to be awesome, but shock of shocks, he had no clue whether or not they would be any good, he just got lucky) came back and did the rest of the area which hadn't been done. It looks fantastic, grout looks exactly like it's supposed to look. It's in the hallway which goes to a laundry room, another entry to a bathroom and then continues down the hall to the garage. It doesn't really meet up with the rest of the flooring except in the entry to the hallway. The rest of the kitchen, dining area, dining room still looks pretty wretched IMO. I am living with it for now, but only because I am concentrating on getting the rest of the house done. We needed the break after the ridiculous amount of time we were under construction - first GC barely got anything done in close to a year. Yes, demo'd the kitchen, got the drywall done - ceiling had to be redone because after 3 tries, it still wasn't right, so new GC brought his drywall subcon in and they did a fantastic job first time. He also got the flooring done. Electrical work was only done about halfway and new GC had to redo it as there were a lot of mistakes. It was a very expensive lesson to learn and I honestly don't know how to tell someone to go about hiring a GC. Seems like I just got lucky on the second try. I may give the floor another whirl after the last part of the house is done. If so, I'll let you all know if anything new is working.

Just bookmarked this thread as we are finishing up new construction after two years! It was a long shopping process before deciding on Marazzi American Estates porcelain wood look tile and it looks like the real thing. Everyone who's walked through can't believe it's not real wood. BUT, we've just started the major post-construction cleanup and it looks like the dark (black) grout lines are grey now making the planks very distinguishable which is what I did not want for a authentic wood look. I will check back with you all in a few!

I just painted a job that the GC never covered the tiled floors. The taper used drop cloths and so did we. The drywall dust still got through the cloths or settled in the grout after the drop cloths were removed. The GC got mad at us for getting dust in the grout.

Should it not have been his responsibility to make sure the floor was totally protected?

He was going to withhold our pay because of the drywall dust in the grout. I have painted other finished floors and they have been covered with rosin paper or ram board..at the very least I have seen the grout lines covered with blue tape till the project is completed. Always the GC responsibility I think.

"Always the GC responsibility I think."

Liability is always 100% your responsibilty. Think of it like defensive driving because In this school of hard knocks, you are going to continue to learn how Sh#! rolls downhill, especially when sub contracting. It is a never ending lesson that will continue to throw banana peels in your path until one fine day you learn to protect yourself from Liability first verbally and then in written form. Trust no one and get it in writing ( and reflect it in your time/materials estimates. )

GC to supply & maintain finished floor protection and clean job site daily. GC to manage other trades working in shared areas while we are onsite........

Thank you. That's great advice. I will remember that in the future. You are right about continually learning. We have never how to have a written contract, but after this we will. Because the general contractor has been continually adding stuff we never agreed to verbally initially. So yes written agreements from now on. Thanks again

I always take a photo of the final tile work. Have it approved by GC or homeowner then cover it. What happens after that is 100% not my responsibility and someone will pay me big bucks in advance if I must repair my work that others trashed.

You know. Like painters adding custom color spots to the grout joints:)

We didn't get any paint on the floor. But the tapers dust settled into the cracks. Even though he used cloths. It was a 20 yr old floor. It was an insurance claim that we were hired to tape and paint. He liked our work but not the dust in the grout.

We've learned through this to at least tape the joints with blue painter's tape if the GC hasn't covered it with rosin paper or some form of protection.

Nobody said you did but your comment/question said a lot more about your situation at hand and how you could possibly have arrived in this scenario.

So be advised of the perils of blue painters tape and certain types of marble and stones you may have a bigger pay reduction at some future point ( red rosin paper too.)

So what is the best way to cover a finished floor? Grout or not?

Wow! Just came across this thread. We have Marazzi Chateau Reserve hickory grove and same happened with our grout.
I chose a grout that would blend in with tile and also chose this tile bc I wanted a very thin grout line.

I have tried everything- tile brush , steam mop. Our contractor didn’t care.
I will Reread this thread and try some of the options mentioned.

Our tile looks great but the grout drives me crazy. It just looks dirty since it’s a lighter color. Makes me angry when I see it bc I would have never picked such a light color.
Luckily - it’s only in our master bath.

It’s a shame some contractors are so unscrupulous.

I know there are honest ones out there, too bad we didn’t hire one .

"So what is the best way to cover a finished floor? Grout or not?"

Ram board with taped seams.

I agree......

Used these often for cleaning. I have not found anything better to date but I'm always open to suggestions.

https://www.ebay.com/p/R-Teez-Tile-Bathroom-Cleaners-Grout-Simply-Erase-Stains-Away/1700448997?iid=264000738867

Hello!

I have the same issue! The drywall dust settled into my dark grout after we had drywall work done. I tried everything! I’m a Type A and it drove me crazy! I resorted to using Orange Glow Oil furniture polish! I literally spayed the oil on every line of grout, wiped it as though I was polishing the floors and then mopped the floors to take out shine. It worked! My grout looks dark again. I’m not sure how long it will stay dark, but I am praying it stays dark!