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Many areas of the grout in the tile on the first floor of my home (kitchen, dining and living rooms) are badly discolored/ stained and need repair. I am getting quotes to repair.
Two options seem to be on the table:
1. Complete removal and replacement (likely very expensive) or,
2. Clean, repair as needed and the apply a stain/colorant and sealer Less expensive than above!)
Any experience with these options? Pros? Cons?
Thanks
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It can be hard to clean. What caused the stains? What have you tried?
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I've done #2 with the colorant. I used Aquamix. Though it looks good after, it's still a lot of work scrubbing away all the excess that gets on the tiles. The good thing is that you don't have to do the whole floor at once, like regrouting. Also, you don't have to worry about color consistency.
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I used a grey colorant/sealer on new grout that was too bright of a white. This was at least 2 years ago and it has held up very well. It wasn’t terribly difficult to use and wiping away the overages on the face tile is easy if you do so sooner than later. The sealer will still put up dirt but we added a rug in front of the bathroom sink where most footprints land. I bought the sealer at HD and mixed a grey with a white to adjust the color.
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Even with a multi-tool removing the grout is a lot of work.
I used a grout sealer when I re-did the bathroom. It comes with a small brush like you would use with nail polish. The small room took close to a hour to seal, but the grout is still white so a good investment.
Did you try bleach? Or even pool shock powder? (Use the latter with gloves and plenty of ventilation.)
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