Experts recommend thoroughly sealing your grout after any new tile work is done, but even those who have sealed it (or have had it done professionally) back when their floor, shower surround, or backsplash is newly completed should break out the sealer regularly (anywhere from every six months to a year) to keep that nice protective coating on your grout. You don’t absolutely have to, but it really cuts down on maintenance and keeps it looking mint for years to come.
What does sealed grout have over non sealed grout? Well, by not allowing moisture or dirt to penetrate the grout, it relegates these things to the surface, thereby protecting the look of your lines. In other words: white grout stays nice and clean and white. And any other colored grout looks as good as new (all while warding off mildew and other gross stains). And one tip that we heard from several tiling experts was that not only should we thoroughly seal our bathroom’s floor and wall grout two months back when we completed our big bathroom overhaul (learn more about that project here) but that we should go back in and reseal everything about six months afterwards- just to be sure we didn’t miss a thing and that we have a nice thick seal on everything (which can literally be the difference when it comes to having to scrub dirty grout lines to rid them of mold and mildew).
So far our initial sealing efforts have definitely paid off. I can proudly admit that I’ve had to scrub the shower grout exactly zero times since we initially sealed everything over five months ago (and I haven’t had to touch the floor grout either). Thanks to that nice impenetrable seal it looks like we actually accomplished the lower maintenance bathroom that we dreamed of- and we didn’t even have to give up white subway tile or the coordinating white grout to do it. Whew.
And because we heard from more than a few pros that sealing grout is a great idea around six months after the initial sealing job- we figured we’d take you guys along for the ride in the form of a simple step by step tutorial so you can seal your grout right along with us if you so desire. Of course we should mention that if you start with dirty, cracked, discolored, or mildewed grout, sealing that will do nothing to keep it looking clean (since you’ll just be sealing those flaws in). So you might want to go to town scrubbing the heck out of your grout to get it back to its original glory before taking on this project. And those who are dealing with especially nasty grout can actually dig it out with a grout knife and regrout the whole tub or floor- which you can learn more about here in this post and by asking the experts at your local home improvement center.
But back to sealing the deal grout. The first step is to clear the room. That means everything on the floor or the shower walls (or your kitchen backsplash) must be removed so you can seal without worrying about getting it on the shower curtain, the floor mat, or the blender. We even removed our shower caddy to be sure there was not a centimeter of grout that was left inaccessible. So after we tossed a nice little pile of bathroom stuff in the nursery we were well on our way to step two.
The second step is to ensure that the grout (and surrounding tile) that you’re about to seal is clean and dust free. Since our grout was most definitely not stained, cracked, discolored, or mildewed we just ran a microfiber cloth over the surface of the shower walls to grab any spare dust particles that we didn’t want to seal into our sparkly white grout lines. And as for the floor, we did some sweeping to be sure that we picked up every last spec of dust and hair so that surface was also good to go. Again, if your grout is not in stellar condition, this would be the time to clean the heck out of it (note: be sure to read the back of your sealant instructions to see how long the grout must be dry before it’s sealed- aka: don’t scrub your tile and then try to seal it while it’s still soaking wet).
Once you have your grout nice and clean and dust free, the next step is to whip out your sealant of choice. There are tons of sealants that you can choose from at your local home improvement store, so just read the bottle to see what materials it’s meant for (some will specifically say “for use on marble or granite tile” or “specially formulated for dark tile” so it’s nice to find one that works best with your surface- and you can always ask the experts in the tile area if they have any recommendations if you find yourself standing there scratching your head over all the options). We opted to use this sealer from Home Depot for the white subway tiled walls of our shower/tub since the description sounded perfect for the job:
And when it came to our precious dark marble floor with mocha grout lines, we purchased this specialty sealer from The Tile Shop since it not only said that it works on all surfaces but was specifically formulated for marble (we felt it was safer than relying on something that lists a wide range of materials, only one of which is marble). It was pretty pricey at around $50 (although the special marble sealer at Home Depot was around $40 so it’s not usually cheap stuff anyway), but the box not only included the sealer- it also had a sponge, a grout brush applicator (for anyone with thicker grout lines), and a special cleaner formulated just for marble tiles that keeps them sparkling between annual sealing adventures. Plus we had more than enough for the initial sealing job back in January and still have tons left for touch-ups to keep things nice and protected throughout the years.
Next it’s time to crack any windows that you can for a bit of nice ventilation- and turn on any and all fans (like the vented bathroom fan, or your ceiling fan or range hood if you’re working in the kitchen). The reason that we mention doing this now is because once you’ve sealed something you’re not supposed to walk on it or use it again for a few hours, so if you’re sealing your way out of the bathroom or the kitchen, the last thing you want to do after you’re all done is walk back across your freshly treated floor to open a window or turn on the fan.
Then you should decide how you want to apply your sealant. Some people like to just seal their grout with a grout sealant applicator brush (which is sort of like a wire-y nail polish brush that can be traced along a grout line to distribute sealer along that groove. We prefer to rely on the sponge because we have very thin grout lines so we like that it feels a bit more thorough than just tracing each grout line once with an applicator brush- plus it has the added benefit of sealing our tiles while we’re at it (which can also be sealed to keep them more stain resistant and to protect them from moisture penetration as well). In other words by applying our sealant with a sponge we’re sealing entire sections of the bathroom, like the entire tub and shower surround and the entire floor. This is nice because natural stone like marble and granite can be very porous and therefore a lot more prone to staining or damage if they’re left unprotected.
Next it’s just time to sponge on that sealer. I prefer to pour small amounts of sealant straight from the bottle onto my sponge by tipping it to get a good splash or two on there. Then I work in small sections to be sure that I don’t lose track of what I’ve sealed and what I haven’t and I apply the sealant in a circular motion, sometimes working back and forth or up and down to get the edges of things. This isn’t exactly a gentle process, you have to apply a good amount of pressure to work the sealant into those cracks. As you go you can subtly see what has been sealed and what hasn’t because the sealed sections of tile should look slightly wet and the grout usually looks a bit darker where it has been saturated.
Another reason it’s smart to work in smaller sections is because five to ten minutes after you’ve begun to apply your sealant, you’ll have to start wiping it off. Of course we recommend following the specific directions on the sealer that you purchase, but both of ours had a time limit within that range that they recommended as the wait time before wiping. This meant that I could seal one out of the three shower walls (which took about seven minutes) and before I moved onto the second wall I used a dry rag to wipe down that first wall since any excess sealer should be removed within that 5-10 minute range. Then I moved on to the middle wall, which I sealed and then wiped down after around seven, and finally got to my third wall which I also sealed and then wiped down within about seven more minutes.
You really only need to do one or two passes with a clean dry rag (I like to do a light pass to get any obvious droplets off and then I do more of a “buffing pass” where I gently buff the surface of the tile so it sparkles, which more thoroughly removes any excess.
Then you just leave everything undisturbed for the amount of time that it says on the bottle. Our shower sealant said it needed 48 hours to fully cure before it could get wet (so we strategically applied it on a Friday night when we knew we’d be out of town for the weekend so it wouldn’t cut into our showering time). By contrast our floor sealant only needed 24 hours to fully dry (but could be walked on in just two hours) so be sure to read those labels to see what yours calls for. Either way it should only be a day or two at the most that your room is out of commission, and that’s a small price to pay for months or a full year free of grout scrubbing and mildew battles.
Then you’ll just want to repeat this whole sealing thing every six months to a year if you can, just to head off nasty discolored or mildewed grout before it gets a chance to rear its ugly head. It’s just a smidge of maintenance to keep your bathroom looking mint, so we definitely think it’s worth the effort. We’re thinking every year from here on out will work just fine for us. What about you guys? Are you overdue for a grout sealing adventure? Has anyone already sealed theirs and noticed the easier maintenance perk that we’ve mentioned? Dish the grout sealing dirt.
Update: We finally created this Shop Our House page to help you hunt down any furniture/accessories that you see in our house, along with all of our paint colors.
Maria says
this post couldn’t have come at a better time! i am about to start kitchen renovation and i’m doing a white subway tile bakcsplash and i was getting very high strung about it getting dirty! kitchens get dirtier than bathrooms, you think it will keep my kitchen tiles nice and clean if i do this right from the beginning? thanks guys you are real lifesavers!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Maria,
Yup, doing it right from the beginning and every 6-12 months thereafter should protect your tile and grout so it stays nice and clean!
xo,
s
liz @ bon temps beignet says
A tip we learned from a friend in the biz is to put the sealant in a spray bottle and just mist it on then wipe off. He also gave us a spray-on car wax to use on our granite counters (we never put food on the counter) and you wouldn’t believe the difference in shine. I’ll have to check on the name of it when I get home.
Amanda@Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
Quick question- does your grout go completely to the tub or do you have a line of caulking all around where the tub and tile meet? We have had some issues with caulking sticking to our tub, maybe it’s becuase it’s acrylic. Have you had any issues? http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/master-bathroom-reno-take-2/
YoungHouseLove says
Amanda- Industry standards dictate that a line of tub and tile silicone caulk is best for the edge where tile meets the tub (far superior over grout for that crack) so that’s what we did when it came to our bathroom reno. We didn’t have any issues with ours! Hope it helps.
Megean- We’ve heard that loose tiles can be chiseled out and reattached with thinset (and then regrouted). You can probably google around for a simple tutorial or even find a how-to video on YouTube. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Megean says
Thanks for the tips! I am getting ready to tackle some regrouting, and this is very useful informaiton.
In your expansive DIY research and renovation endeavors have you come across loose tile issues? Some of my bathroom tiles are starting to come loose from the walls (the grout is pretty much intact, but if you put pressure on the wall you can feel some give), and I’m wondering why. It’s pretty sporadic, though there is one whole section in the shower that could give way at any moment.
Kate says
Perfect timing! I’m on vacation next week with no plans…looks like the kitchen floor is going to be sealed! When did my life take this turn?! Vacations used to be spent at the beach drinking rum runners…now I get excited about grout! I wouldn’t have it any other way though!
Kelli says
Wow! This is great! I didn’t realize that you need to seal the grout too. We’re getting ready to clean up some grout on a new rental house we’re purchasing. For some reason, I thought the sealer was already in the grout… maybe there are some grouts that have sealer in them??? I guess I need to read more about this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. You probably just saved me a lot of time in a couple of years!
Elizabeth says
Thanks for this post. A quick question for you.
We recently purchased a house where the bathroom had been retiled probably 3-4 years ago. They did not seal the grout and it has gone from being white to a not-so-lovely shade of gray.
I would like to return it to its original white color and then seal it. However, I’ve not had good luck in getting it clean. I’ve even broken my no-harsh-chemicals rule and scrubbed it with a bleach-based cleaner, with little effect.
Any advice on this? Or do you think it’s beyond hope? Is the next step to consider regrouting the whole thing?
Amanda says
For anyone else in this situation (I currently am, but with atrocious mauve-y pink grout! and I’m renting so I refuse to regrout), The Lettered Cottage had a post about what they did to their grout that was extremely helpful to me (with links to the products they used): http://theletteredcottage.net/master-bathroom/
They used Antique White, so if your tiles are white you might want to go with one of the other whites they carry. Just search Grout Renew for all of the color options.
There are even video tutorials on youtube that I checked out to make sure this would work for me.
Hope this helps anyone else in a similar situation!
YoungHouseLove says
Great info Amanda! Thanks for sharing!
xo
s
Chris says
I know this is really dated, but, I thought I would share my current experience with both cleaning and sealing grout. Hopefully others find this just as useful.
All of our grout (floors, back splashes and shower walls) is originally an ivory color. Our home is just over 6 years old. The grout was never sealed (yeah, I know). The wall grout is generally fine. However, as you can imagine, the floor grout, especially in high traffic areas has become atrocious regardless of how much floor cleaning one does! As embarrassing as it may be, my grout was a very dark gray along quite a number of grout lines.
I finally had the time to deal with this problem. My goal is to restore the ivory grout lines to as close to the original as I can get. Over the years I have tried a multitude of products, home brewed, commercial and industrial strength, none of which worked. I was at my wits end and recently decided that I would simply have to re-grout entirely (I have A LOT of tile in my over, over 600 square feet of floor tile alone). A friend of mine offered a suggestion, and, that is what I am here to share now with everyone.
The product suggestion from my friend was Soft Scrub with Bleach. Apply liberally to your grout lines and let it stand for 15 minutes. If you have very dirty grout (like myself) I grabbed a grout brush and lightly scrubbed along the grout lines. Wipe clean with a cloth or paper towels (in fact, might as well spread that excess on your ceramic tile). No need to get the product on the grout lines entirely dry. My grout was very close, if not a little brighter, than the original ivory grout! After a few hours any remaining Soft Scrub will form a powder residue. Do not bother with a wet sponge as it will not help. Instead, grab a clean microfiber towel and wipe along the grout lines while applying some slight pressure. This will remove any and all remaining Soft Scrub residue on your newly restored grout lines.
Being that grout is highly porous you want to wait until 24 hours after the initial Soft Scrub application and its corresponding removal. Time to seal the grout! My product of choice is Miracle Sealer 511 Impregnator (I in no way am affiliated with the manufacturer, I just did my research) and is available in most home improvement stores. This is a professional and high quality sealer for a multitude of materials, reduces the static coefficient of the surface (reduces skidding), is a penetrating sealer and not a surface sealer (which is what you want), will not discolor the material after a full cure, has an antimicrobial agent already mixed in and is backed by the manufacturer for 20 years (although, in reality, you will get somewhere between 7 and 10 years without having to reseal). I opted to use a brush applicator attached to a 4oz bottle rather than a sponge, a specialized applicator or towel so that I could precisely trace along the grout lines without wasting any product on my ceramic tile (my ceramic tiles do not have any staining or discoloration issues after all this time and really do not need to be sealed). Apply it (no real need to wipe off excess with a towel unless you are using some other application method) and let it dry. Normal traffic can resume in 1 to 3 hours and a full cure takes 24 to 72 hours. Depending upon the porosity of the surface you just might have to apply a second coat (this stuff goes a long way).
The way to test for whether you need an additional application of the sealer (actually, any sealer for that matter) is after the specified curing time to execute the water test: drop some water on the sealed surface and if it beads up you are good to go! Otherwise, you need an additional sealer application.
missy says
I used baking soda and mr clean with febreeze till it made a paste then scrubed with a denture brush thier alot harder then a tooth brush then just mopped it with hot water youll want to change your water and go over it a second time or it will leave a powder when it dries but i did the bath floor in about20 min and its all clean now
Shelly says
Great tip!! Thanks guys…look like at the end of July our shower will be getting re-sealed.
p.s. We have the same shower caddy.
Jessica @ How Sweet says
This came at the perfect time. We desperately need to do some for the tile in our kitchen!
AJ says
Thanks for the tips! You guys are great.
I have a sort of related question. Our new home has marble tiles in the bathroom, both on the floor and as the shower surround. What products do you use to clean those lovely mocha marble tiles in your bathroom? I’ve heard that some cleaning products can eat away at marble.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey AJ- That’s true, anything acidic or too heavy-duty can etch the marble permanently, so you definitely want to be careful with what you choose to clean with. We love mild natural soaps like Ms. Meyers All-Purpose Cleaner (which we water down before using) and vegetable based soaps like Dr. Bronner’s (also watered down). There are also cleaners specifically made for marble that you could pick up.
Elizabeth – if you’ve already tried the harsh stuff then it may be beyond hope, unfortunately. Our only last ditch suggestion is to see if you can find a special grout bleaching pen at a home improvement or specialty flooring store. Good luck!
xo,
s
Caroline @ youngDCliving says
I didn’t know you were supposed to reseal that often–good to know! I love it when you guys post house upkeep tips like these. It’s the kind of stuff that’s so helpful to know if you don’t want to hire someone to do every single little task that you could really do yourself. Thanks!
Lauren says
I would love some tips on how to CLEAN grout. We have white tile floors with white grout in our kitchen (bad bad idea-but it was done by the previous owner and we will not live in this house long enough to make replacing the floor worthwhile) and in some places it looks terrible. The only two things I’ve tried are magic erasers (SUPER tedious) and bleach (not an option with an infant around now).
I would love to get it super clean and resealed. Again, redoing isn’t an option unless you have some super DIY ideas!
Kate says
So, I realize that I’m about 2 years late in leaving this comment, haha, but I’m reading over all of this as we prepare to clean and seal our grout! For your sake, I hope you were able to figure out a solution, Lauren. But if not, have you tried a steam cleaner? I’ve heard awesome things about using steam for grout in floors. I’m going investigate further to see if it will work for my tile surround in the shower. (Anyone have any experience with the steam cleaners?) I think companies like Stanley Steamer will do it if you don’t want to DIY it!
Karen says
I have tile in my laundry room and three of my bathrooms. I scrubbed until I was exhausted to keep the white clean, finally I called the flooring company and was told that they could color the grout. I contacted them and purchased grout color – easy application and I changed my grout to grey! No more worries about keeping it spotless white!
nicole says
so…. we just moved into a new house and thought that the grout was sealed by the contractor – but at our 30 day walk through we learned it was not :( can we seal it now? do we have to regrout because it has been exposed to water? we have white tile and grout and I want to keep it shiny!
YoungHouseLove says
Nicole- Yes! Clean it well and seal it as soon as possible to protect it from here on out!
Lauren- Good point! Everyone feel free to chime in with grout cleaning tips! Share and share alike!
xo,
s
Lenore @ Lather. Write. Repeat. says
Great post about something we often don’t even think of! Plus, who likes to scrub the bathroom – really? Thanks for the step by step instructions, very helpful!
XO
Lenore
Tracy Adele Jones says
It was recommended to me (by a contractor I met in the hardware store) that you should seal your old grout before adding a new layer of fresh grout (and sealing). That way the yucky stains don’t penetration through to the new grout. Makes sense. Has anyone else heard this?
Also, I used the aerosol sealer and I can tell you you need LOTS of ventilation! I’m normally not very cautious and that stuff gave me huge headache even though I had the window open. Next time I’ll use a box fan to pull out vapors and take lots of breaks.
By the way, the line of caulk around the tub allows the tub to move freely (microscopically anyway) from the wall of tile. Otherwise you’re likely to get a crack in this area.
YoungHouseLove says
We haven’t heard that about sealing old grout Tracy, but it definitely makes sense!
xo,
s
Colette says
I have never heard of putting new grout over old grout. To do the job correctly, remove the old grout first. That is a project I will be taking on soon. Great info on this site.
Lisa says
We so need to do this. We finished our floor and haven’t sealed it yet, I still need to clean the dust out of the grout lines. When we swept, everything got caught in the grout lines.
My mom’s sealant application technique is to use one of those foam paint brushes and just paint the sealant directly onto the grout line.
Christin says
Great post. I never knew you had to reseal tile once it’s been sealed once. Really helpful tutorial. Thanks!
Heather D. says
Thanks for the specific and helpful instructions. I am in the process of getting tiled floors installed and I asked the guy at Lowes if I just seal the tile after installation or do I have to keep up the sealing year after year? He told me to just seal it after it’s installed and it’s good for ten years…
So thanks for the info!
Nichole@40daysof says
What do you use for regular cleaning of the marble tile floor. I have marble tile in my entry and I use water and a micro fiber mop. It’s okay, but I would love something that could give the 15 year old floor a little shine without build up or traction problems. Any recommendations? Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
Nichole- Just scroll back through the comments for that info. Hope it helps!
Nancy- We write things in our planner when we remember but for the most part we rely on each other to try to keep things straight. We’ve been planning a big post with all of the house maintenance that we do on a month to month basis so stay tuned for that whenever we get around to tackling it…
xo,
s
Nancy says
thanks for the tip!
I love reading the blog because these are tips I can cross off or revisit your blog to read about, rather than page through a stack pile of magazines.
As a new homeowner, there seems like there’s projects that need to be revisited. It would be interesting to see timeline for a month by month.
How do you keep track of it? Spreadsheet? Binder? What does your project list look like?
Christine says
Great tips – thanks guys!
I find myself regularly checking back through your how-to section and will make a mental note this one is in there when I need it!!
Carole says
good timing! I sealed our granite counters last night, and am going to seal the grout in our shower today!
Elizabeth, we had a similar problem when we moved into our house (unsealed grout in the bathroom), and it was nasty. After trying all of my usual tricks, I resorted to Soft Scrub (use gloves and ventilation!), squirting it on the grout and leaving it there for an hour. I had to do this twice, rinsing in between. I rinsed and washed the floor, and then sealed it the next day, and it’s been fine since then.
http://buckcanuck.blogspot.com/2010/02/dirty-jobs.html
Marilyn says
Great timing; my bathroom needs resealing after a year of being finished. I really appreciate the bloggers who are so helpful when someone ask a question.
Kristi W. @ Life at the Chateau Whitman says
Very helpful! I have a question relating to bathroom stuff, but not about grout. How do you keep your shower rack from getting rusty? We’ve had two metal racks on our shower, and they rust like crazy and just look bad. Anyone have any ideas?
YoungHouseLove says
Kristi- We find that keeping them out of the direct stream of water can help them from collecting too much water and rusting. simply pushing your shower head a bit further amour so it siesta away fron the wall can help. So far ours hasn’t rusted yet. Anyone rose have ideas?
xo,
s
candace @ thecandace.com says
These tutorials are so insanely helpful!! I haven’t tackled any tiling yet but I do plan to someday – and I will be referencing your fabulous posts!
Lauren says
I wish someone had told my landlord that! My bathroom grout is disgusting. No amount of scrubbing, chemicals, natural methods, elbow grease or praying can cut the dingy look of the grout in my bathroom. Trust me, in the long run you will be more than thankful you took the time to seal the grout and safe yourself the trouble later on.
Srismi says
Great post! Our grout was beige + dirty, and no amount of scrubbing lightened it. I finally found this post: http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infgroutcolorant.html
I used grout colorant, which was basically like grout paint. It has only been one month, but so far it looks great! So that might be an option for those who don’t want to dig out the old grout and re-do it.
Terisia says
Thanks for so much information! I have some grouting and sealing to do so the timining for your post is great. As for cleaning old, unsealed grout, a contractor recommended that I use sandpaper for the grout between the tiles in front of my fireplace. It worked pretty well, but it is kind of hard to get the end corners really clean.
Barbara says
Elisabeth: I used Kaboom Shower, Tub and Tile bathroom cleaner – I have very old tile and grout and it worked fabulously. Spray it on, rub it in with a toothbrush and let it sit for a few minutes. Wipe with a wet cloth and WHAM. White grout.
http://www.amazon.com/Kaboom-Shower-Tub-Tile-Cleaner/dp/B000TJVZME
Erika says
This may be an unrelated and crazy question, but how do you keep your wire shampoo/soap rack from rusting? I am so mad…I splurged on one at Home Goods only to have it rust a few months later. So frustrating!
nic says
Great post thanks!
Your floors are lovely and very glossy – do you find that such a glossy finish tends to really show every water drop or bit of debris more?
Are your kitchen countertops very glossy as well, or less so, and how do you find them for showing any smears etc.?
I am all about low maintenance, and I wanted to ask these things as I consider my finishes….
Laura (youngDCliving) says
This is too perfect, I was just looking at my bathroom tile the other day and wondering about this kind of stuff. Do you have any posts on actually re-grouting? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Laura- Yup, we linked to that tutorial right here in this post so feel free to check it out!
Erika- Feel free to scroll back through the comments for that info!
Nic- We’re all about low maintenance and we don’t find that our counters or our floors show water droplets or smears at all! In fact the mottled pattern on both materials helps to hide any crumbs or water droplets so they blend right in. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Meghan says
With regards to Elizabeth’s question about stained grout that needs to be white. When we bought our house the old owners had smoked everywhere… including in the shower… so the grout was no longer white it was yellowy brown and no amount of scrubbing would change that. We bought a tube of white grout stainer (or colourant) that worked wonders. It wasn’t expensive at all I don’t remember the name of it but it comes in a pen format and you just go over the grout lines, we bought it at home depot. It was super easy to use and 2 years later I still have white grout!
Jessica says
Thanks for the tip! It’s also helpful to hear how this method holds up over time. Question: Did you seal the tile after you stained it?
Lisa in Seattle says
I will file this away for when the time comes! Right now, though we really *really* need to recaulk the tub. It’s all ripply looking and keeps collecting mildew. Suuuuper. I know there are recaulking kits available but I have no faith in my ability not to bork this up.
MIchelle says
Another timely post for my major bathroom remodel! I’ll be sealing my grout very soon. Thanks for the tips! You guys are great. :)
AJ says
Thanks for the marble cleaning suggestions! I already use Mrs. Meyers All Purpose Cleaner on everything else so it’s great to know that I can also use it on the tile.
katy says
Awesome timing! We have 5 guys laying tile throughout our entire house as I type this. The first grout color was wrong (eeks!!!) and now they have to chip it out and do it over. Our contracter picked the color and it was practically white. Not the look we were going for with the carmel-y tan tiles. ANYway, this is great info and I will make sure they seal it.
thanks!!
Katy says
Y’all always have great timing! I need to seal the new marble on our bathroom vanity we just installed. Thanks for the tips!
Would love for you to check out the bathroom re-do:
http://eatdrinkanddecorate.blogspot.com/2010/06/and-shes-done.html
Thanks and Happy 4th!!
Beth says
My husband and I just bought our first house and the bathroom looks a lot like your home’s original bathroom. The floor’s in really good condition with only a few minor cracks, but the wall subway tiles definitely need to be replaced in the next few years. My question (and sorry if you’ve already answered this in a previous post) how did you guys go without a shower while renovating the bathroom??
YoungHouseLove says
We showered at the gym and at John’s sister’s house nearby. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Erin B. says
We just recently sealed new travertine in a bathroom remodel (GORGE-OUS by the way!) and that inspired me to buy some penetrating sealer for the disgusting grout on our main level. My husband had bleached our “dark gray” grout while I was travelling last year and discovered that it was actually white grout that was super dirty. EWWW!! The house was built in 1991, so this is 19 years of grime (the previous homeowners weren’t exactly “into home mantinence”) and two floods on this grout! Anyway, we bleached it again last week and we are going to bleach it once more and then put down the penetrating sealer… here’s hoping it looks better afterwards!
My only regret is that there isn’t a greener option. We are a chemical-free, organic family as much as possible (I recognized your Avalon Organics shampoo bottles so I assume you all are as well). The chemicals in this are enough that I get headaches after sealing, even with fans, a mask on and gloves. Do you know of any greener alternatives or is this a necessary evil for clean grout? Thanks!-Erin
Erin B. says
Also, for Elizabeth if you would send this note her way, the only way to really clean that grout it straight chlorinated bleach (those giant gallons of Clorox is what we used) undiluted and allowed to dry naturally (don’t wipe it off). We also used a scrub brush to rub it in with a good amount of elbow grease. It is as un-organic and chemical-laden as it gets, but we tried everything else first to no avail. You can re-hit the areas that are still dirty the next day and then use a penetrating sealer. **Note** These instructions are for glazed ceramic tile floors. I’m pretty sure that the bleach would hurt any natural stone and possibly unglazed ceramic tile as well. Good luck!
jen @ {decor junkie} says
Thanks for the step-by-step process. This definitely seems like one of those things that it’s better to maintain than risk getting all grody. I love that pristine white look you have!
Condo Blues says
I didn’t seal the grout in my master bathroom when we bought our condo and 6 years later I’m paying for it big time. I have stained grout. Regrouting the shower is on my To Do list.
hi-d says
Thanks so much for this post. I forwarded it to my Mom today and she went and sealed both of their newly remodeled bathrooms. :)
Dennis says
Great information guys!
Josie says
question for y’all…have you ever heard of this type of bathroom/kitchen refinish?
http://www.resurfaceamerica.com/About_Us.html
does anyone know the pros/cons for this type of job? and of course does anyone know if there is a DIY option?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Josie,
It sounds like they’re a professional reglazing company, which is actually a nice long-lasting solution if you research the company (check with the better business bureau, ask for some references you can call to see how their clients like them, etc). We hired a reglazing company to do our tub after a lot of research and the results have been amazing. Unfortunately we don’t recommend DIYing it because it’s definitely a job for the pros (things can peel and crack if they’re not done correctly- and it’s a very fumey and toxic application process so you don’t want to be handling it yourself). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Leila says
Great tutorial! I will be doing this very shortly in our two newly renovated bathrooms. :)
Josie says
a few questions for y’all…
have you heard of this type of bathroom/kitchen refinishing?http://www.resurfaceamerica.com/About_Us.html
does anyone know the pros/cons of this type of job? also is there a DIY option or would it be best to hire a pro?
thanks,
josie
Grace says
Awesome! Thanks for the great info! I just recently cleaned the grout (after a year’s worth of dirt accumulated)on all the bathroom floors and they’re starting to look dirty again. I think sealing it is just the ticket! I never would have thought to seal it.
Steph says
Totally unrelated, but I just finished reading ALL of your posts, from your very first up to todays!! Only took me four weeks, reading every night after work and on weekends and now I’m sad that there isn’t more ;)
Although I do have Burger’s blog to catch up on!
I love all your tips and have even started ‘greening’ up our house as best we can. Whenever I share a new idea my fiancee says “was that a John and Sherry idea?”
Congrats on Clara and keep up the fantastic work :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wow, that’s dedication Steph! So glad you found our blog! Thanks for reading!
xo,
s