We built a new house a few years ago. We have quite a bit of tile floor, but we never sealed the grout. We're looking at getting the tiles & grout professionally cleaned, but I'm trying to figure out if we want to seal the grout. Most of what I've read recommends sealing the grout, but my wife is worried about it changing the look of the floors.

Have any of you chosen to not seal your grout? If so, why?

Thanks.

what color is the grout? if it's a darker color you would probably be fine leaving it unsealed because the seal doesn't make it water proof, just keeps it from getting stained, which won't show as much on darker grout anyways

It is a lighter colored grout. The higher traffic areas (especially where the dog spends most of his time) are noticeably darker than the rest of the tile grout.

Stanley Steemer has a process whereby they clean grout, then seal it. Don't remember the price but seemed OK at the time. We'll probably have it done in the spring. Give them a call, I think they're out of Bryan.

I would steam it then follow up with a grout dealer in a can from HD if you are that concerned about it.

We had our grout epoxy sealed. Tile guy recommended the epoxy over the regular sealant, which would have to be applied every 3-4 years. Epoxy is a one time treatment. It's a little more expensive, but worth it.

On the same subject, our grout (home is 2 yrs old) in shower floor seems to be separating from the wall in a couple places. Should I be worried about water getting in between there and causing more issues (the pan is lined properly and passed home inspection with moisture gun about a year ago)?

Should I regrout?

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On the same subject, our grout (home is 2 yrs old) in shower floor seems to be separating from the wall in a couple places. Should I be worried about water getting in between there and causing more issues (the pan is lined properly and passed home inspection with moisture gun about a year ago)?

Should I regrout?

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Is it separating in the corners, or on the wall itself? If it's in the corners you simply need to re-caulk. If it's coming apart on the main pet of the wall you will need to regrout. If the tile was laid properly you should have a hardi backer board and a green aqua paint sealant which will not allow water to penetrate your frame.

Hardiboard and green drywall are not waterproof. Nowhere near it.

A shower should have
- (most common) a liner that is correctly installed, which I have never personally seen happen or
- Kerdi / Redguard (red and orange) waterproofing applied. Redguard is much like rubbery paint that tool handles are dipped in and Kerdi is more of a felt membrane.

Correct, hardi backer is not 100% waterproof. The green Aqua defense paint is waterproof and should be applied over the hardi backer.

Assuming the pan was correctly done, there is no damage to water getting behind the tile. in fact, grout is not water proof so water is getting behind your tile every time you shower. the shower pan is designed to intentionally allow water to flow through it and into weep holes in the drain below your tile layer. (Fife, you can go back to my master bathroom remodel thread and see one done with a liner correctly ) so no need to worry assuming the waterproofing was done correctly.


on that note, if the cracks are in the corners where the floor meets the wall you should use caulk to fix them (those joints should be caulk to begin with), if its spots in the floor you can get a grout saw, scrape out at least half of the grout (depth wise) in the affected area, and then re-grout it. or if its a small spot you can always just touch it up with matching color caulk.

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Correct, hardi backer is not 100% waterproof. The green Aqua defense paint is waterproof and should be applied over the hardi backer.

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Interesting - I've never run in to Aqua Defense and had to look it up. It's nice to see more options out there even though I'm a bigger fan of Kerdi than anything else. I'm sure there are at least a couple of showers in my near future because of friends who bought flipped houses. I pointed out that one had *ZERO* waterproofing in it but the flipper told them that tile and grout are waterproof enough and they believed it...

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but the flipper told them that tile and grout are waterproof enough

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and this is why I will never buy from a flipper, because yes, it is just waterproof enough for the flipper to walk away and be long gone before any problems show up. deserves a good smack in the face and to have to pay to tear it out and do it right.

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We built a new house a few years ago. We have quite a bit of tile floor, but we never sealed the grout. We're looking at getting the tiles & grout professionally cleaned, but I'm trying to figure out if we want to seal the grout. Most of what I've read recommends sealing the grout, but my wife is worried about it changing the look of the floors.

Have any of you chosen to not seal your grout? If so, why?

Thanks.

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I spent a better part of a day cleaning grout and sealing the grout myself. My back and knees paid the price for days. The grout looked great for a few months, then started turning darker again. Next time I'm paying someone to do it, and recommend you do the same.