black grout turns white?

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black grout turns white?

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S

sandeeeee2000

Hello,

I was hoping someone could help me. I have black tiles and my tiler at my request put black grout to my delight. I washed the tiles/grout with washing up liquid. My black grouting is now patchy and ranges from white to grey to black. My tiler says that because the size of the grouting between tiles are narrow, taking the grout out may result in chipped tiles
The floor looks awful and at £1000 for the tiles its an expensive mistake Is there anything that can be done?
Surely the grouting manufacturers are soley responsible? My tiler says and have others they have never heard of this before. Anyone eles experienced similar?

Regards
Sandy
 
A

Alberta Stone

Get some black concrete stain and have him apply (use a sealer bottle with a brush tip) and then wash.
This time use minimal water.
The problem you have is called efflorescence which occurs when any concrete product is over washed before it is cured.
They have an efflorescence remover on the market, but they only work so well with grout.
Make sure that you get a good sealer onto that grout before you get after it again with water.
So no, you do not have to remove the grout.
Any large dealer of decorative concrete should have the stain on hand or know where it can be found.
 
G

Gazzer

cornish_crofter said:
To be fair Neale, it may be the first time he's used black grout. Efflorescence can occur with any coloured grout but it's not always visable.

My BAL Ebony efflorescence free grout is still holding up well.
Click to expand...

But for a "Tiler" to say he or she has never heard of Efflorescence is a bit suspect to me. This "Tiler" is playing with £1000 worth of tiles and i would want him/her to know the trade.
We are not talking about a little known subject here but of a major problem.
Yes it can affect all grouts but the darker ones tend to show the problem more so.
Also Yes your "BAL Ebony efflorescence free grout" should hold up well....the clue is "efflorescence free".
 
T

TilingLogistics

sandeeeee2000 said:
hy kev

I have put olive oil on the tile..its darkened it considerably. Could you tell me what product u recommend?

thanks
sandy
Click to expand...

I hope you mean the grout and not the tile has darkened considerably? Now the next thing to do is to brush all the grout lines with a hard DRY brush a good quality nail brush is usually best the harder the better this will remove any salts that have been produced as a result of the effloresence. (UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WET THE FLOOR AGAIN YOU WILL REACTIVATE THE EFFLORESCENCE PROCESS)Then gently vacuum the floor paying attention to the grout lines (Use the crevice tool if necessary) Now purchase some Aqua Mix Enrich & Seal and apply it to the grout lines. Let it dwell for a good 5 or 6 minutes then wipe any excess up with paper towel and buff with an old towel. After 24 hours if the grout is still not dark enough repeat the process again until you are happy. Do not be tempted to just leave it for a couple of hours and apply again, be patient and allow each coat to cure. If you give me your total M2 Measurement and the width of the grout lines I will tell you what size bottle to purchase:thumbs_up:

Good Luck

Kev
 
B

brigitte

Kev, I tried the olive oil and it made the grout in that spot look a deep black again. I have the black grout in my shower(!) with lots of water hitting it. So I can just treat all the grout lines with olive oil, wait 24 hours, scrub and vacuum and then seal it? I don't know if I can get the product you recommend since I live in Canada, but I have a commercial grade sealer with colour enhancer for the slate tile. Will that do?
 
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