A common problem encountered in older houses is the grout can look dirty. For the 1957 fixer upper house that my wife and I are presently working on, the tile grout in the master bathroom was dingy (see picture above). My plan since I bought the house was to remove the old grout and replace it with new grout.
However, last week before beginning the grout removal, I checked my copy of Home Depot’s book “Tiling 1-2-3“. The book suggested cleaning the grout to bring it back to its old glory.
So I purchased some Agua Mix Grout Deep Clean, and some White Tile Grout Coating for good measure.
First, I used my grout saw to lightly scrape off dark spots in the grout.
Then, I used the Grout Deep Clean, which to my surprise, actually did make the grout look cleaner. I let the liquid “dwell” on the grout for 5 minutes, I “agitated” it with a scrub brush, then I waited 2 hours for it to dry. But it still wasn’t as bright as I would have liked.
Next, I liberally applied the Tile Grout Coating to the grout.
The coating did a remarkably good job of coloring the grout to a strong color of white. I was very happy with the results. After the coating dried I applied grout sealer.
After all was done, the grout looked like this.
So, the lesson is, as long as the grout is not badly cracked, you’re better off cleaning and coating the old grout. It can save you a lot of time.
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