Grout Sealing - who's done it?

with a good portion of our home being tiled with grout, this being majority of floors as well as bathroom walls we would like to seal the grout..

what products, techniques have you used if you have done it in the past, have you found it worthwhile doing for cleaning purposes? Are there companies who do this for you if so what do they charge?

Is it easy to DIY or should look for a professional?

It's easy to DIY. I did all mine in laundry and kitchen and splashback and both showers, I didn't do the main tiled floor but my grout is dark and I have very minimal lines due to porcelain being straight edged.
I used a very soft fine paintbrush for the grout lines. Using gloves and a mask I painted it on, waited 15 mins and then washed the extra off with a thick sponge, otherwise a white residue is left on the tiles. I had two big buckets of rinse water next to me and did it section by section only, so I didn't run over the 15 min and risk the white lines becoming permanent...

The only thing hard about it was the fumes...they are horrible.

If you have a lot of tiling then it's pretty painstaking and time consuming work. If you have the stomach for it then it's not hard to do. We also have a huge amount of tiling and we opted to have it all our grout sealed by a professional (we used Groutpro). We were very happy with the work and it came with a guarantee. We've been in the house for... I guess a year and a half now... and have kids tracking in dirt all the time... and it still looks like the tiles were just laid. I guess the big test was when I dropped a big glass jar of enchilada sauce on the floor which went everywhere - and not a mark on the grout after I wiped it up. Well worth doing!

hmmm I am all for DIY but now that both Trees and Bluesuede have mentioned the smell I better not! I am sensitive to VOCs and strong chemical smells.

Can any of you advise if the smell lingers if I get it done professionally?

I've just put in an enquiry with GroutPro (thanks!)

Hi Yvonneh, I am extremely sensitive to chemicals as well. Once the grout is dry there is a small residual chemical smell. It did take about 2-3 days for the remainer of it to leave, I did it before handover as we were living on the block. So once we moved in I only had to worry about the new paint smell!

Thanks Treeseachanger! I think I'll be OK for a couple of days as long as I don't linger in the bathroom for long. We'll leave the windows and exhaust fans going as all the rooms with tiles have exhaust fans.
So you did it yourself despite the smell? Can you advise which brand of product you ended up using and why? (PM is fine too if that is better?) Oh and the type of mask you would recommend given the fume situation. Thanks!!

You can purchase a water based sealer which will have no odour at all. DIY is the way to go and you will save hundreds even thousands. The guarantee they give is not worth the paper it is printed on. Clear sealers break down over time and you will notice the water stops beading after a year or two then you have to re apply.

Just look for a water base sealer from Aqua mix. It is safe to use.

Thanks Grout Perfect

Using a phone. Please excuse typos and autocorrect issues. And brevity.

Watching this with interest, so this stuff seals the grout from staining and getting dirty, pretty much easy to clean etc?

Are these off the shelf eg bunnings?

Hi Grout Perfect, does water-based mean that the brushes will wash off in water? If so, the fumes were still a big problem for me.

I have been using water based sealers for years and never had a problem with fumes. Solvent base sealers are a different story. If fumes are a big problem then you can simply put on a mask.

Please note these clear sealers are not bullet proof. They only stop deep staining in the grout. The do not stop your grout from getting dirty at all. I have had hundreds of customers tell me that they wish they had never clear sealed there grout as they never saw the benefits. I tell them it is lucky you did because when it is professionally cleaned the grout will come up a lot better if it was unsealed. If unsealed the grout can look patchy after professional cleaning this is why grout colour sealing is a better option.

The difference between clear sealing and colour sealing.
Clear Seals only stop deep staining.
Colour sealing stops all staining and dirt can not stick to your grout. It will give your grout a uniform look and will stay that way for over 15 years. There are cheap versions of grout colourants at bunnings and masters that are NOT colour sealers they are cheap and nasty clear sealers with paint added to them just like grout pens a waist of money.

Hi grout perfect, I'm intrigued by your last statement, I never knew there was such a thing as grout colourant. Are there any particular brand you recommend? And is this different to epoxy-based grout? As I heard that was supposed to be good for keeping it clean. Thanks.

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I have used the Aquamix colour sealant before. It really did come up a treat. We went from a dark gray to a white grout.
Unfortunately the place that I got it from had it sitting on the shelf for a million years and when I had to order some more I had to go to a lot of tile places to eventually get it. No one had any idea of what I was talking about.
Expensive, but worth it.
Sandra

Grout colourants have been around for over 10 years now. There are some cheap versions that do not work. I sell and train carpet cleaners in how to apply our grout colourants. I also sell to the DIY market. Our sealer is called Grout Perfect and our customers absolutely love it.

I have professional applicators all around Australia. Grout Perfect is now used in most KFC and MacDonald`s restaurants. If you ever stay at the Crown in Melbourne or any other crown hotel you will see our sealer has been applied to all the bathrooms floors and walls.

Our grout colourant can be scrubbed or high pressure cleaned which you can not do that with other grout colourants as you risk in damaging the sealer or it may peel off. If you would like to see what it is all about you can visit my website at www.groutperfect.net.au

Hi Grout Perfect

I am trying to send you a message via the website but there was an issue. So thought I'd send it here

I'm quite sensitive to VOCs and just wondering if the colour sealer off gases and when. ie is it just when applying and before it cures or do we need to wait for a few days?

Given that the colours aren't easy to tell what is the 'best' white to use for most people? (ie what's the most common one that your business owners use for their clients?)

I am using a water based sealer. There is no offensive smell.
After a few tries I found the easiest way to apply it was to use a pastry brush. This minimised wastage and spilling the sealer on the tiles.

Its too early for me to know how effective this sealer is.

@Grout Perfect, so if I understand correctly you wouldn't recommend clear grout sealer even for a new build and brand new grout? I was actually surprised that clear and colour grout sealers work in different ways.

Clear sealing is better then no sealer at all. Clear sealers only stop deep staining so when it is cleaned you will have a better result then unsealed grout as it can look patchy after cleaning.

Clear sealers sit just below the surface of the grout where as grout colourant`s sit on top of your grout. We have seen many grouted floors that have had clear sealers applied years ago and our customers always complain that it was a waist of money. In saying that when we cleaned them professionally they came up great where as unsealed grout does not respond that well during our cleaning process.