After twenty years, all the grout in my house looks grody. Scrubbing with bleach does nothing to lighten it, so I decided to try grout pens.
Has anyone else used them and has any advice for me? For instance, should I seal the grout after I use the pen?
I used a grout coloring kit (I don’t think it was a “pen” - it was a some type of squeeze bottle and applicator). We had tile laid with the wrong color grout, and my wife couldn’t stand the mis-match with the rest of the house. So, I got down on my hands and knees and went over every grout line. It worked amazingly well. After maybe 6-7 years, it still looks good. I did not re-seal it.
And, the color match the existing grout perfectly.
The grout and caulk in my bathtub was 17 years old and disgusting. I tried cleaning it, scrubbing it, bleaching it to no avail. The Grout Doctor removed and replaced the grout and caulk and made it polished and shiny for $350. Well worth it.
I misspoke; the grout around my bathtub still looks good. The caulk at the bottom did look like crap, so I watched a how-to video on youtube and dug out the old caulk and re-caulked it myself. It looks great.
What I’m talking about now is the grout on the bathroom tile floors and the grout on the kitchen counters. All of it looks like crap. I don’t even remember the original colors - I think “winter grey” on the bathroom floors and beige on the kitchen countertops. Now it’s all caca brownish.
I ordered a couple of beige grout pens and will try them out on the kitchen counter tile. I’m still not sure if I should seal it afterwards, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. I’ll go to the hardware store for sealant when it comes time.
I haven’t, but looking at the negative review (22%) comments, I wouldn’t buy them, especially for an area where you’re going to be cleaning, like floors and counter tops.
Did you have to scrub the grout clean first? I want to change the color of my grout because it’s too light and always looks dirty. I scrub it on my hands and knees and it’s dirty again within a few weeks. I hate it.
It was very new, so I didn’t clean it first. The grout coloring we used is some latex formulation, so it tends to seal the grout after it’s applied.
If it wasn’t this product, it was something very similar.
Since asking about grout pens, I’ve been looking at DIY youtube videos. Another product looks to be the better bet - GroutRenew.
You scour the old grout with a heavy-duty cleaner, wait for it to dry, and then scrub in the colored GroutRenew with a toothbrush. Then you wipe off any excess from the tile with a damp cloth. The DIY woman says it has sealant right in it.
It looks like a better product, and has better reviews. I think I’ll go to Home Depot today and see if they have any in the color that I need.
TRC4941, grout is porous and once it gets stained it’s impossible to get it clean again. I wish someone would invent a different medium to go between tiles - something that didn’t suck up dirt and grease so readily. I want everything in a kitchen to be easily cleanable, and grout is the opposite of that.
I had a guy look at our granite tile kitchen counters with an eye to replace them all. The grout job on it is awful. He said that the newer style granite tiles are installed with a joint so thin you can barely see it.
There is epoxy grout, which is pretty much impervious.
However, it’s more expensive, and harder to install.