Care of ceramic tile
 

Our builder told us not to seal the grout on our ceramic tile floors. I'm questioning if that is the correct thing to do. Does anyone have any tips?

we sealed ours in both our homes. Tile is easy to clean....but when the stain gets in the grout...its difficult or impossible to remove.

The sealer is for the grout...not the tile. We did it ourselves with stuff we bought at lowes.

Our grout was dirty within a year and was very hard to clean. We had it stained darker and sealed by professionals (Alexander Tile). They claimed any spills would be able to be wiped right up. And they were right! It's still clean as a whistle.

Resolve carpet cleaner and a good grout brush will clean the grout.

Should you seal grout?
 

I had a home with all tile floors and had the grout sealed. I was later told that it wasn't a good idea because the sealant will eventually wear down in spots, and when you spill something on it, the liquid will seep through the spot and spread underneath the sealed area which is then impossible to remove. How long it would take the sealant to break down??? I don't know, but I would assume that it would wear in heavy traffic areas quicker.

Seal it... we were told the same but we sealed it!

A lot of the grout cleaners that actually worked, including the toothbrush, removed some of the grout. You could see the sand in the bottom of the bucket.

Plus I don't have the knees to be going over my floors with a toothbrush. Better things to do in retirement!

I guess one lesson to be learned here is that if you're going to do ceramic tile get the biggest pieces possible. That way you'll have the least amount of grout.

Grout gets dirty from the soap in the floor cleaners. A little of the soap remains behind and then collects dirt making the grout darken.

If you clean your floors with water with a little white vinegar the grout stays clean.

:spoken: Good point. You win the internet today!