When grout does its job — locking tiles tight, keeping out water, and giving floors and walls a finished look — nobody pays much attention. It's only when grout fails, becoming stained, cracked, or falling out altogether, that people take notice. But grout deserves more respect. "Not only does grout fill the voids, it makes the floor, wall, or countertop stronger by bonding the tiles together and preventing the edges of a tile from chipping and cracking," says David Goodman, the tile contractor for This Old House's Nantucket project. Grout comes in two basic types, and the choice of which one to use depends not on the tiles but on the width of the joints between them. Narrow joints of 1/8 inch or less call for unsanded grout, a pudding-smooth blend of Portland cement and powdered pigments mixed with water. Joints wider than 1/8 inch get sanded grout — the same material, but with sand added. The sand helps bulk up the grout and keeps it from shrinking in the joints.

Three decades ago, when he started in the business, Goodman says, "we'd just add powdered grout to a bucket of water and away we'd go." carpet cleaning service allen txBut older cement-based grout was brittle and prone to cracking. best carpet cleaners in phoenix azIt also dried irregularly, leaving colors inconsistent. best gay pools in las vegasToday's grouts use polymer additives, which ensure color quality and increased flexibility, allowing for joint widths of up to 1 1/4 inches. Those wide joints come in handy for camouflaging irregularities in handmade tiles and for bridging the varying thicknesses of tile in some patterned installations. Despite their improved performance, however, all cementitious grouts are porous and subject to staining.

That's why manufacturers and installers recommend sealing grout after it has cured for a couple of days and is completely dry. Sealers come in two varieties: membrane-forming and penetrating. The first type is prone to peeling or getting cloudy when residual moisture from mastic or underlayments pushes to the surface of the tile. Penetrating sealers, which still breathe after soaking into tile and grout, are preferable. Goodman sometimes invites customers to save on labor costs by sealing the grout themselves. "I give them some cotton swabs or a disposable brush, along with a can of sealer, and make them promise me they'll finish the job." There are some settings — notably those exposed to acids and greases — in which even an additive-enhanced, sealed grout falls short. Such harsh conditions call for epoxy grout. Made up of two parts, resin and hardener, epoxy grout comes in both sanded and unsanded varieties and is impervious to most chemicals and stains. Early epoxies were unforgiving and difficult to apply, and had just a 45-minute pot life.

This made them fast to cure but slow to be embraced by many tile setters, and anathema to beginners. The new generation of epoxies contain detergents in the hardeners, which make for quick cleanup with water and improve workability. Because epoxy can discolor porous surfaces, such as unglazed quarry tiles or limestone, these should be sealed before grouting. But its stain resistance, hardness, and durability make epoxy grout the best choice for applications such as kitchen counters, backsplashes, floors, and other heavy-traffic areas. Epoxy grout is expensive — as much as $8 per pound, compared with $1 to $2 for cement-based grout — but there is an upside to the cost differential: Powdered Portland cement grouts have a shelf life of only one year, while two-part liquid epoxies, if they are not subjected to freezing temperatures, will last forever in their sealed containers. When it comes to grout color, there are three approaches: contrasting (say, white grout with black tile), harmonizing (green grout with green tile), or neutral (a shade of gray or white).

While it can be tempting to go with an eye-popping combination, David Goodman tries to steer his clients toward the neutral option. "You may not be madly in love with gray," he says, "but chances are you won't hate it, either." If you do choose a bold color, grout up a sample section of tile on plywood and live with it for a few days. "I tell people to look at the color in lots of different lights — natural, incandescent, fluorescent," Goodman says. If you make a mistake, unsealed cementitious grout can be stained or painted after it cures (sealed or epoxy grouts will have to be removed). "However, it's a pretty tedious procedure," Goodman says, "so why not make the right choice the first time?" Years of food and grease stains can penetrate surfaces, leaving grout a dingy mess. In extreme cases, the only cure may be to regrout or retile, but more often than not old grout can be renewed. All it takes is a degreasing agent, a stiff-bristle brush or commercial steam cleaner, and elbow grease.

Some spot regrouting is usually necessary — a process that involves digging out and replacing cracked or crumbled areas. Debby Parker, who does business as The Tile Lady, has been in the industry for 25 years. In several hours, she and her husband, Roger Thorp, restored the tired grout in this Sacramento, California, kitchen. Where to Find It Hazy Film On New Marble Floor QUESTION: We just has a marble (natural polished stone) floor & tub surround installed in our bathroom. There is a haze on the tile from the install process that needs to be cleaned off before it is sealed. What is the best way to do this? ANSWER: It's important to thoroughly clean and remove excess grout after a floor tile installation. It's next to impossible, though, to completely clean the floor before the grout dries, so it is common for a hazy film to remain. However, removing grout and grout haze from polished marble tile can be a delicate and tricky operation.Two issues to consider....1. Marble tile is soft and can easily scratch.

When the grout is wet, risk of scratching is minimal, but you must be careful when removing dried grout. If truly just a haze, then typically not a problem, but you should carefully sweep up all chunks and other debris prior to removing the grout haze. 2. Marble etching can occur from acidic and/or harsh chemicals. Nearly all "grout haze removal" products are made with acids and will etch (burn) the marble floor tile ruining the polished finish and leaving it dull. Grout Haze Removal SolutionsFirst, if you already have acetone or mineral spririts you can try to remove the haze with these. Neither will damage your stone at all and both are very good for cleaning most substances from the surface. However, grout haze (unless very faint) is often a difficult case and requires a specific type of cleaner. Most likely you'll need to use a "marble-safe" grout haze remover like the Hard Water / Soap Scum / Grout Remover we recommend. This product is labeled a "Bath & Shower" cleaner, but is very versatile and effective removing the more tenacious substances like hard water deposits and soap film that commonly occur in the shower.

Grout haze and hard water deposits are very similar and the above product is super-effective at removing both. product is made specfically for use on marble, travertine, limestone and all natural stone, so it won't etch or damage the tile in any way. Plus, after removing the grout haze you'll have the best cleaner to use on your shower and/or bathtub! About Sealing Marble ShowersIt's quite possible that your polished marble does NOT need sealing. Polished marble is highly resistant to staining.... it just isn't very absorbent contrary to popular myth. Many people (even some in the stone industry) mistakenly believe that all stone must be sealed in all cases no matter what. This is not true. Many, many natural stones never need sealing AND it also depends on where you are installing the stone... is staining a risk, etc. You can easily determine when to seal or not by testing the stone using water to see how absorbent it is. Understand sealing does nothing to prevent etching (corrosion due to a reaction with acids) of the polish.