Sealing tile grout

aetbaar

Hi

I had a new wetroom installed about 2 months ago and have noticed the white grout has turned brown on the floor- I have read online that this could be due to the grout not being sealed

I contacted the tiler who said he did not seal it as the grout was resistant however as I have read it needs to be epoxy based to be waterproof and this was not so it needed sealing

The tiler has since moved on to another job and want to sort this myself asap

I have ordered some LTP grout sealer in an aerosol can but understand the grout needs to be clean and dry before hand

I plan to clean the grout with vinegar and a thin brush as I have read that it is very effective and then if needed fill in with some additional grout – I will then leave to dry for 24 hours and apply the sealer

Does this sound ok- ie vinegar to clean the brown marks out of the grout and will 24 hours be sufficient to allow the cleaned grout to dry out before applying sealer

I want to do this right having now found out that the tiler should have put the sealer down in the first place!

anotherbaldrick

I would clean the grout with a steam pressure cleaner, far more effective , and leave 24 hours.

andyhop

It sounds like a low grade grout. We use universal sealers grout sealer from CTD but for many years did not bother, we never got any call backs and when retuning for other jobs the grout remained white

It possibly sounds like its soaking up the colour from the underside whether its adhesive or plywood/resins

cddc

Agree with Andyhop on this one. It is probably something from underneath leaching through....sealing wont help much if that is the case.

It is never perfect anyway. After all, at the end of the day, most grout is cement based and slightly rough and therefore prone to picking up dirt. White grout on floors will always discolour eventually. Steam cleaning is a good idea to restore the colour in most cases. Yours sounds a bit more serious though..

googler

White grout on the floor isn't a good idea.