What is Grout?
Grout, which is a mixture of water, cement, and sand is used to fill the lines between wall and floor tile. There are several commonly used grout types, including the most common, cement grout, which comes in "sanded" types (for wider grout lines) and "unsanded" (for thinner lines), latex grout, which is a cement grout, but modified with a latex polymer for strong adhesion, and epoxy grout which is usually pre-mixed and a ready-to-use paste-like substance. All of these have specific purposes, pros and cons, and are used for different applications and reasons; but, for the most part, you'll find cement grouts are used in most standard residential bathrooms.
For several reasons cement grout lines can become stained, dirty, and cracked. Primarily, time is a factor in each of these issues. As the waterproof seal wears off, grout begins to absorb water, dirt, body oils, and other soap and residues, including tub and tile cleaners. Eventually, water makes its way under the tile and can cause floor and wall damage and undermine the integrity of the tile itself.
What Can Be Done?
Many feel that repairing grout is an expensive, time-consuming issue to resolve and either delay or do not address grout problems altogether or until it is unavoidable. On the other extreme some may even use dirty grout as a reason to remodel an entire bathroom! Well, I won't judge here, but I can assure you that is the most expensive way to remediate dirty grout lines. When called to address these issues, there are three things I will do to assess your options:
Determine which type of grout is used and why,
Determine how much, if any damage has occurred to the tile backing as a result of time, and
Determine the least invasive way to repair the damage so your bathroom can once again look its best.
You may be surprised to know that most bathroom grout issues can be completely repaired and renewed within one day! Give me a call at (240) 324-8081 to discuss your grout renovation work.
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