4 More Serious Problems With Unsanded Grout And How To Solve Them

Continuing on our never ending quest for grout perfection, there are 4 more nasties you might face even if you do everything right. There are solutions, but not all are cheap and easy.

The more common problems that have easier fixes are covered in this post listed here:

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH UNSANDED GROUT

Now let’s take a look at some of the less common problems.

1. Washed out color: if you are using a grout color and the finished product looks too light compated to the grout color chart, the result can be a ‘washed out’ look. This is usually caused by too many passes with the sponge, allowing too much water in the finished joint.  While I’ve never heard anyone say it happens with white, it can be a problem with darker colored grouts.  The solution is to remove the fresh grout and start over and this time, use less water. Two or three passes over the tile with damp but not dripping wet sponge is better than overwashing it.
2. Powdery grout: if the grout is not firm after it dries, but can be removed easily from the joint using a finger, this may indicate that the batch of grout was bad or that too much water was added when mixing. When grout starts drying up in the bucket, don’t add more water to make it last longer! All that will do is ruin the grout and cause it to be powdery and weak instead of strong. The solution again is to remove it and start over.
3. Cracking grout lines: if the grout is firm and was a new batch, but after it dries, there are large cracks that appear in the grout lines, it’s not likely a grouting problem. It’s more common that the tile wall has too much movement, often from insufficient wood studs or cement boards not secured well to the studs. This movement is almost certain when the cracks follow a long line, probably where two cement boards meet. This is more serious – you need to demo the grout, tile and backerboard and put some real support in before you re-tile. Much more $!
4. Weird color change: I mention this one last because it’s rare and not really all that clear why it happens.  We did a regrout for a lady in Boston once and she called back about 4 months later to say that the white grout had turned yellow. I thought she was exaggerating, but then she sent me digital pictures of …BRIGHT yellow grout! We called the manufacturer and the tech support guys said: “Yes, we’ve had this happen before” I believe they recommended she spray it with Tilex cleaning liquid. She doubted it would work and I did too. She tried it and said it worked like a charm. Go figure. I have no idea why it worked, but for a couple of bucks, if it ever happens again, that will be my first choice.

Of course, if you don’t want to deal with any of the above horrible grout issues and you just want us to do it for you, just give Boston Grout a call at 617-500-9271 and we’ll do the regrouting for you.  Then instead of scraping grout lines, you could be sipping a refreshing can of V8 and realize that you were meant for more important things in life, as you watch us cheerfully grouting away!

For instant quotes, just fill in our handy dandy contact form below.

Towns where Boston Grout does grouting and regrouting : Boston, Brookline, Milton, Wellesley, Newton, Weston, Wayland, Dover, Concord, Acton, Lincoln, Lexington, Bedford, Westford, Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Winchester, Belmont, Woburn, Waltham, Ashland, Framingham, Sherborn, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Walpole, Norwood, Westwood, Sharon, Stoneham, Foxborough, Foxboro, Canton, Stoughton, Needham, Ashland, Chestnut Hill, Natick, Sudbury, Maynard, Stow, Watertown, Dedham, West Roxbury, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Randolph, Weymouth, Cohasset, Scituate, Braintree, Holbrook, Quincy, Rockland, Hanover, Hingham, Medway, Franklin, Wrentham, Medford, Malden, Everett, Revere, Charlestown, Winthrop, Chelsea, Melrose, Saugus, Peabody, Marblehead, Ipswich, Swampscott, Lynn, Wakefield, Tewksbury, Woburn, Burlington, Reading, Lynnfield, Wilmington, Middleton, Wenham, Hamilton, Essex, Manchester, Gloucester, Topsfield, Boxford, Boxborough, Boxboro, Rowley, Georgetown, Andover, North Andover, Haverhill, Carlisle, Billerica, Ayer, Harvard, Lawrence, Methuen, Salem, Beverly, Salisbury, Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, Harvard, Lancaster, Bolton, Franklin, Mendon, Newtonville, Hopedale and Milford.

But, you demand, ‘what are the zip codes that go along with those town names?? Don’t leave us in suspense!’

OK, OK, here they are!

02138, 02139, 02140, 02141, 02142, 02141, 02141, 02140, 02140,  02163, 02108, 02109, 02110,  02111, 02113, 02114, 02115, 02116,  02118, 02119, 02120, 02121, 02122, 02124, 02125, 02127, 02128, 02133, 02163, 02199, 02203, 02210, 02215, 02222, 02283, 02284, 02126, 02129, 02130, 02131, 02132, 02134, 02135, 02136, 02128, 02127, 02215, 02128, 02127, 02420, 02421, 02458, 02459, 02461,       02462, 02464, 02465, 02459, 02460, 02461, 02462, 02464, 02465, 02459, 02461, 02462, 02464, 02466, 02467, 02468, 02459,  02459,        02465, 02478, 02446, 02445, 02447, 02143, 02144, 02145, 01801, 01890, 02155, 02155, 02155,  02148, 01803, 01730, 01731, 01821, 01862, 01862, 01862, 01810, 01845, 01845, 01742, 01742, 01742,             01741, 01720, 01718, 01719, 01720, 01720, 01776, 01776, 01776, 01864, 01867, 01701, 01702, 01701, 01701, 01752, 02184, 02184, 02184, 02184, 02184, 02169, 02170, 02171, 02171, 02171, 02171, 02169, 02169, 02169, 02186, 02186, 02067

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