Our counter has sanded, unsealed grout which is stained and discolored. We need to get it all one color again so we can have it sealed.
We have tried white vinegar, SoftScrub, and oxygenated foaming bathroom cleaner but nothing seems to work. Home Depost suggested that we use an acid wash but said it could damage the tile and we really don’t want to take that risk. A quick Google search seems to indicate using an oxygen bleach cleanser in powder form. We need some solid advice from anyone who has actually had to deal with this situation?
I think those white out pens are actually a latex or similar compound and it’s fairly difficult to do a professional looking job with them. Are you going to have a professional seal your tiles and grout? If so, why not ask them about the stains?
I have unsealed sanded grout that I personally put down, and decided not to seal it. You pays yer money and you takes yer chances. I have been laying down some pretty heavy duty acid cleaners with no results whatsoever. The solution can only be a Grout Saw. Big nasty project. Replace the grout. Then seal it. Or pay somebody else to do it. Seriously, I hope someone comes along and says I’m wrong. Please. Other than that, no. Can’t be done.
Use this stuff. I’ve had good results with it. Buy some grout brushes and towels also. It comes in different colors.
You will be painting over stains in essence. If you can, I would clean it and extract the dirty water from the grout canals with a wet/dry vacuum. Allow it to dry thoroughly and then color the grout lines.
I’m assuming you are talking about the grout between the tiles (not sure but I can’t really picture a benchtop made entirely of grout so I’m going with it…) If so I used to clean houses for bond cleans, use straight bleach. Use it again. if two hits doesn’t improve it remove all grout and regrout it you have no other option I am aware of cheers
I’ve had good luck with using oxyclean and water mixture.
Also did a test of like five different cleansers for soap scum, and “bar keepers friend soft cleanser” (not powder) was clear winner
I know that wasn’t your purpose, but might be worth a shot.
Dremel tool and one of their grout removal tools. You can go for the full blown kit, the bit that does a little bit at a time, or the grout blade for the multi-max if you have a steady hand and a lot to do.
I’ve cleaned my sanded grout with bleach water and a toothbrush. It was fine, except the edges of my tiles got extra clean so I had to give them more love when I was done.
My parents had their grout painted/stained professionally, using probably what **LAZombie **linked to. That was several years ago and it still looks very good, so I would recommend that too. Cleaning or staining - six of one half dozen of the other!
I used some of that toilet bowl cleaning gel that has bleach in it - the kind that comes in an angle-necked bottle. Wet the grout lines and the gently squeeze a thin bead of the bleach-y gel along each line. Scrub along the lines with a grout brush and let it sit for fifteen minutes or so. Then come along with a thoroughly wet mop and mop up all the gel. This may take several moppings to get it all.
It works well, but if the grout’s not sealed, it’ll just get dirty again. Next time I think I’ll get a concrete floor.
I regrouted a kitchen counter, by digging out the old grout with a Dremel with a grout remover blade. It was a very tough tedious job. It took at least 10 hours to clean out a 10 foot by 4 foot counter top. I wouldn’t recommend this except as a last resort, unless there’s some other reason to replace the grout.
