Ten Essential Grouting Tips For Grouting Your Tiles

Many common grouting mistakes can be avoided by knowing the basics of how to grout tile. Below are 10 essential tips you should always follow when grouting your tiles. Following these 10 essential tips will ensure that you grout is strong, looks good and lasts for the life of your tile installation.

It is important to only use cement based grout that mixes with water when grouting your tiles. Many premixed brands from the home improvement stores will not last and be extremely difficult to clean and maintain. Premixed products are not cement based because the cement will set over time. Therefore they use latex adhesives and other types of substances to force these substances to adhere to the tiles and to harden over time. These latex based products will break apart and dissolve when alkaline cleaning products are used to clean them. Also dirt and contaminates will get trapped in the latex adhesives that will be extremely difficult to clean up and remove. You should definitely not use any type of latex based products in wet environments like showers. The latex adhesives will grow mold in them and become black and moldy in a short period of time. Cement based products may be porous and need to be sealed but they will not grow mold in them like latex based products.
Always clean and prepare the tile installation before grouting the tiles. It is important to remove all of the dirt and excess thinset that has gotten on the tile surfaces prior to grouting. Also all tile spacers must be removed before grouting and do not believe you can just leave these spacers in and grout over them. This will cause a thin weak layer over the tile spacers that will break apart and crack later.
Use the correct type of sanded vs unsanded grout when grouting your tiles. When grouting 1/8 inch or larger joints you should always use sanded. When the joints are less than 1/8 inch use unsanded. The sand will strengthen the grout and also look better than unsanded. If you have a choice to use either for joints that are exactly or slightly smaller than 1/8 inch go with sanded.
Always choose a color that emphasizes the tile design but does not stick out like a sore thumb in the tile installation. You do not want a color that is too similar to the color of the tiles. This will not allow the tile design to be emphasized. Also you do not want to pick a crazy color of grout that distracts people from the look of the tile installation. Also when choosing a color you should always look at the plastic color charts and never rely on paper charts when choosing a color. The paper chart colors will typically vary by a large amount compared to the actual color of grout that is installed.
Always follow the manufactures instructions extremely closely when mixing the grout with water. The manufacture will instruct you to wait a certain amount of time and then mix again and they will also give you the exact water usage required to get a proper mixture. There are important reasons that you have to mix the grout in this manner and it is important to follow the manufactures instructions extremely closely.
Never use too much water when mixing the grout. The biggest mistake people make is using too much water in the mixture and when cleaning up the excess off the tiles. Water can make the grout weak and start to crumble over time. Also too much water can wash away a lot of the color leaving you with a dull washed out looking color that does not look like the color that was originally chosen.
Always force the grout deep into the joints so that the joints are completely and totally filled. Do not just skim over the tiles with the grout float and expect the joints to be filled. You must force the grouting material deep into the joints with the float to ensure complete and total coverage. Thin and weak areas can easily crack and break out later.
Never use too much water when cleaning the excess grout off of the surface of the tiles. Once you clean the tiles and tool the joints so that they look nice and even then do not go back and re tool the grout joints. Often times people try to make totally perfect and straight joints by re tooling the joints multiple times. This will most often result in putting too much water into the joints and causing the grout to become weak and loose its color. Once you have a good looking straight joint you will do more harm than good by going back over and retooling the joints.
Always remove the grout haze within 2-3 hours after grouting. Many people think that they need to wait many hours or overnight for the grout to totally set before removing the haze off the tile surfaces. This will typically result in a haze that is extremely difficult to remove. It is best to only wait 2-3 hours after grouting so that the haze can easily be removed off of the tile surfaces.
Always allow the grout at least 72 hours to set and then seal it to protect it from staining. Never use any type of same day sealer and never seal before the 72 hour set time. It is extremely important to seal the grout after grouting. Stains and spills can easily be absorbed by the unsealed porous grout causing staining and discolorations that often times can not be cleaned with normal cleaning products and procedures.

Properly grouting your tiles is an extremely important step in the tile installation procedure and should never be taken lightly. For detailed instructions and pictures on how to grout tile you can visit the North American Tile Cleaning Organizations website.

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