are too busy to return to the job to perform the service. I can’t tell how many times I have heard homeowners telling me ” I wish I would have had the grout sealed when it was new!”. Here at Grout911 we offer this service to all tile installers so they can recommend us to their customers. These days we very rarely clean a floor without applying a sealer afterwords.

   How Do Grout Sealers Work?

Grout sealers work in a similar manner to carpet protectors – they form a barrier on the grout to prevent soils and dirty water from penetrating into the grout. Grout is like a cement sponge – very porous in nature. Grout, being the lowest part of the floor, collects all types of soils – both water based and in the case of a kitchen floor – oily soils from cooking oils. When mopping a floor – dirty water often times will sit in the low grout lines and absorb into them. When sealed, this water will sit on the surface allowing it to be removed with a clean water rinse. Food spills as well as liquid spills will also sit on the surface of the grout – allowing for easy clean up. Regular cleaning and maintenance will still be required on your grouted surface. You will find however that the surfaces will clean up much easier. A grouted surface that is sealed after installation will remain in like new condition for many years.

Clear Grout Sealers

When floors are new or return to new condition after cleaning a clear sealer can be used. Basically a clear grout sealer is just as the name implies – it does not alter the appearance of the grout. This has been the most common type of sealer used for many years. Grout911 only uses high quality clear sealers – similar to the sealers used to seal granite or marble.

Grout Color Sealers

In the past few years a new family of sealers has come out and also improved dramatically. these are called “color sealers”.  And again – just as the name implies – they change the color of the grout. The advantages are many – old discolored grout can be returned to it’s original color or even changed to a new, more up to date color. These sealer are the ultimate sealers – lasting many years. They also have one distinct advantage – the grout that has been color sealed can always be touched up if needed. If ever a tile breaks and has to be replaced the grout can then be color sealed back the the original color to make a perfect match. Many home owners will even color seal new grout to keep the original color looking good. You can see some great examples of color sealing here.

Whatever you as the homeowner requires – Grout911 is here to help you make the correct grout sealing decision!

This shower needed an almost total rebuild. Why? If you look at picture below you can see some small areas of missing grout near the soap dish.

Grout Missing Near Soap Dish

Which then led to this

Missing Grout Causing Tile Failure

This could have easily been avoided had the homeowner called us in to do a simple re-grout. The reason this failed so badly is because the missing grout was in an area where water was bouncing off the body and hitting the area directly.  This grout had been missing for quite some time. This turned into a 3 day job and was fairly expensive. Re-grouting the shower would have been done in one day at 1/3 of the repair cost!

Any time you as a homeowner see grout that is missing you should have it repaired as soon as possible to prevent this from occurring in your home. Do not use caulk to repair this. Caulk looks bad and will mold after a while. Caulk can also prevent grout from sticking in the future. The same goes for the pre-mixed grouts sold at the big box stores. If you are handy or want to do a temporary repair – go out and buy some grout – mix it according to the instructions and use that. This way water will not get back behind the tiles causing them to fail.

This particular shower had sheetrock behind it that had to be replaced as it degraded and was moldy as well.