Pretty tile. Could it be grout haze?

are you sure it's ceramic and not cement? did you look at all the tiles when unpacking them? and, has all of the grout haze been wiped off of it? go over it w/a wet sponge and see what happens

Hi Beth, yes it is cement tile -- sorry, not ceramic.

When I go over it with a wet cloth I can see the green underneath, it looks great. But when it dries it looks the same. Is it grout haze? How can I clean it off? Just tried a baby wipe, so will see if that works.

ok,,that's what I thought. then I think you may have a problem. not many people know that these tiles MUST be sealed before install. they are very porous. when the grout goes on, it should not be spread out over the tiles like regular tiles, especially if not sealed. the tile absorbs the grout material and it can stain. Now I don't know if this was done to yours, but you could try some grout release and see if it cleans up.

you need to ask,,, were the tops (seal tops only, not the sides) of these tiles sealed before installed? a way to find out is water should bead up on the tiles. if the water absorbs, not sealed.

when the tile setter installed them on the wall, did he dunk them in water first? if not, a dry cement tile will quickly suck up all the water from the mortar and possibly lead to poor adhesion.

what kind of grout was used?

here, read this page for more info. look at the grouting and sealing heading. read carefully:

https://www.cementtileshop.com/INSTALL.html

If that tile is discolored and won't clean up, hurry up and take it off before it hardens and cures. replace w/a new tile. wash all those tiles well, let dry and seal multiple times (every 24 hrs or so) until no more sealer is absorbed.

Thank you, he will be here on Monday or Tuesday, so I will talk to him then. My wife saw him sealing the tiles outside, so perhaps this one didn't take or was missed.

Is it hard to peel a tile off and replace, out of curiosity?

it would be now if it dried.

spray some water on the tiles and look at it. does it sit on top or does it get absorbed. that will tell you if they're sealed.

I sealed my cement tile 4 times over 3 days. If he only did it once when he first got there, it wasn't enough. and which sealer did he use?

I agree these tiles need some special attention before install and a good tile setter would know that so if they were sealed then maybe it is just haze. It is a bit of a PITA to remove and replace but it is done often.