Efflorescence: Causes, Repair, Prevention

Since grout is a cement based product, it can be effected by efflorescence. Efflorescence is a whitish film that forms when the salts and minerals from water rise to the surface and dry on top creating an ugly looking appearance on your grout and tile. For the most part, it looks way worse than it actually is.

What causes efflorescence?
While there are many causes of efflorescence in a shower pan, here are the most common:
1. Shower drain was not installed properly and/or weep holes are covered not allowing water under mud base to drain properly.
2. Too much water was used when grout was mixed.
3. Grouting was performed too soon after tile was installed.
4. Water used in mixing or cleaning the grout was high in
chlorine or had a high mineral content.
5. Temperatures were too cold while grout was curing.
6. Sponge was too wet when used to clean the grout from
the surface of the tile.
7. Grout joints were wiped excessively during initial cleanup.
8. Standing water was left in empty grout joints prior to
grouting.
9. Grout was prematurely exposed to heavy amounts of water.

Can efflorescence be fixed?
Efflorescence can be removed but it is recommended to call a professional, such as Grout Kleen. Removal can be as easy as scraping off the deposits on the surface or as difficult as removing the effected grout and installing new grout. Once repaired, a good heavy duty grout sealer is applied. Our services are what you need to remedy this problem and help prevent it from returning.

Efflorescence prevention
After the efflorescence has been removed and/or new grout installed, a heavy duty grout sealer is applied. This layer will prevent water and dissolved lime compounds from reaching the surface where efflorescence could occur.

Regrouting Makes Your Tile Look New

If you are planning to replace your tile, you might want to consider re-grouting first. Many times, old, dirty or damaged grout detracts from the appearance of tile. Your tile may not need to be replaced at all.

Often, the grout, the cement between the tiles, starts to get dirty or deteriorate and steals from the beauty of the tile. The solution: Remove the old grout and replace it with new in a project known as regrouting. You can usually bring life back into the tiles by regrouting. Tiles are often a lifetime product, while grout usually only lasts a few years.

Of course, if some of the tiles are cracked, worn or just out-of-date, regrouting won’t help. But for those tiles with years left to them, regrouting is much less expensive alternative to tile replacement.

Regrouting can be a tedious process and their is always the risk of chipping or damaging some tiles. And if you have old tiles, you may not have replacements. It is probably a better idea to leave regrouting to the pro’s. Give Grout Kleen a call at 908-864-2122 or click here for an estimate and let us regrout your shower and make it look new again.

Uneven Grout Color Fix

Grout can turn a good-looking tile job into a bad one if the grout is not installed properly. Curing conditions is one of the most important factors in grout color, yet is the most overlooked. Inconsistent, uneven and splotchy colored grout is often due to poor curing conditions. Changes in temperature during the first 72 hours after the grout is installed, will cause some degree of discoloration. Issues will also arise if the grout is mixed too wet when applied or wiped too quickly before it is set up. In these cases it will leave the grout uneven in color due to over-washing the grout.

You could remove all the grout and start over but that would take time, patience, a lot of dusk masks and tons of messy clean up afterwards. Or, the easy way, by calling Grout Kleen and having us apply our special Color Restoration Sealer. That’s right, it’s a colorant and sealer in 1. It will make even the dirtiest, most discolored, uneven, splotchy grout look brand new. Our special sealer will make your grout completely water-proof and stain-proof. The sealer fills in the microscopic pores of the grout leaving a water-tight, stain resistant durable layer of protection.

Call us today at 908-864-2122 for a free estimate or click here to fill out our online form and have a representative call you back within 24 hours. We can fix your discolored dirty grout!

Can I Color Seal Grout In My Shower Or Tub Surround?

I have often been asked “can color sealer protect the grout in my shower?” so I decided to test it in my own shower. Let me say first that I would not apply color sealer to unsanded grout in a shower/tub, no matter what the manufacturer says. Unsanded grout does not have the pores that sanded grout has and the color sealer will not hold up as good under the heavy water flow. Unsanded grout on a floor, that is not subject to water, is a different story and should hold up with color sealer.

Now, on to the color sealer in a shower test.
My tub surround walls have 3″ x 6″ tiles that are brick laid, a 3/16″ grout joint and sanded grout. I applied our color restoration sealer to all the grout lines and installed some matching caulk in the corners to finish it off. It looked brand new again and held up quite well for a couple years. Then I started to notice some small areas that appeared to be mold growing on the color sealer (see photo below). It is only happening on the back wall which happens to be an outside wall. Not sure if that is part of the problem or the fact that the wall gets hit with the most water. I am able to clean it off with a scrub brush and some neutral cleaner but over time, it came back and started to get spread. So what I did was strip off the color sealer in that area. Thoroughly clean the grout with our special mold killing chemicals and re-apply our color restoration sealer. It is holding up good for now but I expect to strip and re-apply every couple of years.

So, would I recommend applying color sealer in a shower/tub? Sure, as long as you have it properly maintained annually by Grout Kleen (same as you would a color sealed floor).

Bathing areas are breeding grounds for mold and bacteria. While most color sealers claim to have mildicides that provide a sanitary surface for years, there are many factors that go along with that. Such as, how many people are using that shower and how many times per day it gets used. For everyone it is different and so will be the length of time before the color sealer starts to shows signs of wear.

Commercial Tile and Grout Cleaning

What is the first thing you notice when you walk into a commercial bathroom, the floor. And most of the time the grout is black. Do you think it started black? Most likely not but over time and lack of professional cleaning, the dirt embeds it self into the porous grout and can not be removed with just a mop. Dirty restroom grout is a number 1 customer complaint and a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Mops and buckets merely move soils around spreading the germs and leaving odors behind. All businesses need to have a sparkling clean restroom walls floors to avoid a negative impression.

“Cleaning” means more then just mopping and wiping. To be really clean the tile and grout need to be deep cleaned: sanitizing and disinfecting not only the floors but the tile and grout on the walls too.

Our KleenGlaze commercial tile and grout cleaning and sealing service can help kill all bacteria and allergens leaving your restrooms looking clean and respectable to the public and your employees. By having Grout Kleen do the initial hard work on your floors this enables your staff to be able to keep them looking cleaner and much easier to maintain between our cleanings.

For more information or to get a free quote on our KleenGlaze process, you may call us at 908-864-2122 or fill out this form and we will get in touch with you.