Browse Forums Bathrooms and Laundry Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 3Feb 02, 2013 7:42 pm That would be ideal, but this really needs something done now. The floors look disgusting - like they've never been cleaned. They are really quite bad. Even the grout guy was surprised and said he hadn't seen anything so pronounced. I guess because of the colour it looks far worse and obvious than if the tiles were lighter. I read elsewhere that if you put some olive oil on the grout and after 24hours if it looks like you want it to look you should clean and seal the grout with aqua mix enrich and seal. I put olive oil on a bit of grout today and it look 10000x better. Just not sure if I should use that aqua mix or just cut my losses and regrout. At this point I don't know enough about what I'm dealing with to know which road to take. It's also two bathrooms and a powder room so not a small area we are talking about. Sigh. Off to bunnings tomorrow to look around for a solution otherwise we will need to re grout. Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 4Feb 03, 2013 7:49 pm Uuuuuggghhh. My other half has decided he is going to regrout it all himself. Feeling a tiny bit (a lot) nervous about this. Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 5Feb 04, 2013 2:35 pm Champagne4lulu Uuuuuggghhh. My other half has decided he is going to regrout it all himself. Feeling a tiny bit (a lot) nervous about this. why, grouting is one of the simplifier diy jobs. Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 6Feb 04, 2013 2:46 pm Is it? I've been reading about it online and working with black grout is apparently a pretty horrible job. I read one forum where tilers discussed trying to out price themselves so they wouldn't get the job. Messy, difficult to work with and easy to stuff up were the common themes. Happy if that's not correct! Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 7Feb 08, 2013 7:48 am Quote: why, grouting is one of the simplifier diy jobs. I'll guarantee you that what you have between your floor tiles is not grout but grey cement and that will be a swine to rake out and replace. The lime in the cement has started to come to the surface. Grouting is easy but removing old grout particularly cement grout is time consuming and fiddly. You will also have to be careful not to chip any tiles when doing so Stewie Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 8Feb 08, 2013 7:56 am Hmmmm, could be? But in parts (where it hasn't had as much foot traffic etc) it is dark brown. Almost chocolate coloured. I'm no expert and I really have no idea!! Will tell my husband your thoughts too. Thank you for that! Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 9Feb 09, 2013 6:30 pm Stewie is right, The stuff you are seeing comes from the cement. you can try cleaning grout but do not use any bleach based substance as it will deteriorate your waterproofing underneath. As a waterproofer by trade I can tell you bleech in bathrooms do not mix. if you can't clean them then re grout the bathroom clean the tiles and apply a clear waterproof sealer over the top this will stop any future efflorescence. Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 10Jun 17, 2013 7:57 pm I have exactly the same problem and the tiler has tried to say its soap scum but its not cause its in every wet area, not just the shower. My tiler tried to re-grout and couldn't even remove the grout cause its like concrete so I'm stuck with it, worst grout I've ever seen! And on a dark grout it looks dirty but its not.
Re: Black tile, black grout, efflorescence or something else 11Jun 21, 2013 9:42 am It certainly is not efflorescence from the pics you have shown. It looks like the shower does not drain that well and water just sits in the grout joint causing hard water just like a shower glass door and you only see this on dark coloured grout. I would not re grout way to messy and can ruin your tiles. Colour sealing is your best option well the only option here. Thanks splashers, that makes sense. The waterproofing guy used this Davco product, I will raise the issue with builder and hopefully get resolved with him - if not… 2 12890 I work with owner, he/she is my man on the ground and I instruct them when to visit the site and take photos and I have other tools in the bag. 4 15265 |