Grout

Q: DEAR TIM: Cleaning a tile floor is my next big project. The grout lines are filthy, and I haven't discovered an easy way to restore the tile. Is there a magic product that will clean floor tile? Once the grout is clean, what's the easiest way to keep it that way? Should I invest in a cleaning machine? -- Michelle S., Corvallis, Ore. A: DEAR MICHELLE: We had a boatload of tile floors in our last home, and cleaning them was a nightmare. To make it worse, we had brilliant white tile with light gray grout in our kitchen and...

Q: Two years ago, we had a tile shower bench added to the interior of our shower, which has glass blocks on the side facing the bathroom. The bench is hollow, so you can see through the glass blocks into the interior of the bench. Recently, I've noticed what appears to be a bright green funguslike stream that seems to originate from inside the bench and is spreading along the mortar under the bottom layer of glass blocks. It's most visible from outside the shower. I have sprayed the mortar with Tilex, both inside and outside the shower, but the...

Q: DEAR TIM: Can you instruct me on how to paint ceramic tile? Money is tight now, and painting the tile is the only thing I can afford. Can you paint old ceramic tile so it won't peel? Is there a special ceramic tile paint? What is an easy way to paint ceramic floor tile, and should I paint the grout? -- Leslie S., Belleville, Ill. A: DEAR LESLIE: You can really transform the look and feel of a room by painting ceramic tile. If you have painted walls and flooring, you can do this job. Any ceramic tile can be painted, whether...

Dear Heloise: You printed a recipe for CLEANING GROUT using borax and something else. I lost it. Could you reprint it? I really enjoy your hints. -- Ann in Houston I am happy to help, and it's pretty easy. The grout-cleaner recipe is this: Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda with 1/4 cup of borax. Add hot water until it makes a thick paste. Apply to grout. Gently scrub with a soft brush and let sit for 15-20 minutes before rinsing. Do you have other areas you want to know how to clean?

Cleaning floor tile grout makes most people grimace. I clearly remember scrubbing and scrubbing and seeing little improvement. That's why years ago I threw in the towel and just let the grout get dirtier. When I used oxygen bleach for the first time, I couldn't believe it. After soaking on the grout by itself, much of the grime and stains came up with little effort. A second soaking and a little scrubbing in the worst areas made the grout look like the day I installed it. Some tile floors are installed adjacent to carpeting.

You can ruin the grout by adding too much water to the mix. The wet grout should be the consistency of wet clay. You should be able to form it into a ball with ease, and it should keep its shape without sagging. Remove all excess grout from the tile as you grout. Use a damp sponge to do this, making sure all water is squeezed from the sponge as you wipe across the tile. Wipe with light strokes to make sure you do not remove grout from the joints. Change the rinse water frequently so you are not leaving a grout haze on the tile.

DEAR TIM: I've tried cleaning the tile grout on the floors of my home, with little success. The grout just doesn't come clean. The tiles themselves don't look like they used to, even though I'm using those newer pad-cleaner contraptions. What do you recommend? -- Judith P., Forest Park, Ill. DEAR JUDITH: When I built our previous home, my wife selected a pure-white tile for our kitchen along with a light gray grout. I warned her that the grout would turn black, but my pleas were ignored.

Be sure to wait one day before you grout the tile. This time allows the mastic or thinset to harden. Some backsplash tile requires you to create the spacing between tile. You can buy plastic spacers that create uniform gaps, but coins can do the same thing. If you put too much adhesive on the wall, the mastic or thinset might ooze in between the tiles. If this happens, it's imperative you remove the adhesive from the joint immediately. If you don't get the adhesive out of the joint, the grout won't be able to penetrate between the tiles.

Q: DEAR TIM: The grout in one joint of my floor tile has come out. Do you know why this happened? I can see that the previous homeowner repaired it. What's the best way to work with floor grout in this situation? What type of grout do I install, and how do I match the color perfectly? -- Valerie P., Tampa A: DEAR VALERIE: Floor grout can fail for a host of reasons. Some of them have nothing to do with the original installation, and others have everything to do with the installer or bad grout.

Dear Heloise: What can I do to make the grout on my bathroom floor look clean? Most of it looks gray, and I have not found a cleaner that will restore it. -- Julia O'Connor, North Little Rock, Ark. If the grout has been discolored for a long time or is just plain old, it may be harder to clean, and even bleach may not help, but here's what to try: Mix 1 cup of household bleach with a gallon of water. Apply to grout and let it sit for 20 minutes. Use an old toothbrush (powered would work especially well)

Grout used to protect steel support cables in the  Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which carries Interstate 95 over the Potomac River, may be contaminated with an excessive level of chloride, a corroding substance known to accelerate rusting. The Federal Highway Administration warned 21 states — including Maryland —that as many as three dozen bridges were built with possibly defective grout manufactured in Ohio between November 2002 and March 2010. Chloride-contaminated grout was blamed in the collapse of a pedestrian...

Repairs to large cracks that run across the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery are finished and holding up well, cemetery officials said, but the recent work will be checked again in the spring to see how it fares this winter. Heeding the advice of preservationists who had feared that the historic structure would be jeopardized with a botched repair, the cemetery contacted stone experts who appeared to have developed the right grout for the job. The cracks in...

Dear Heloise: What can I do to make the grout on my bathroom floor look clean? Most of it looks gray, and I have not found a cleaner that will restore it. -- Julia O'Connor, North Little Rock, Ark. If the grout has been discolored for a long time or is just plain old, it may be harder to clean, and even bleach may not help, but here's what to try: Mix 1 cup of household bleach with a gallon of water. Apply to grout and let it sit for 20 minutes. Use an old toothbrush (powered would work especially well)

DEAR TIM: I've tried cleaning the tile grout on the floors of my home, with little success. The grout just doesn't come clean. The tiles themselves don't look like they used to, even though I'm using those newer pad-cleaner contraptions. What do you recommend? -- Judith P., Forest Park, Ill. DEAR JUDITH: When I built our previous home, my wife selected a pure-white tile for our kitchen along with a light gray grout. I warned her that the grout would turn black, but my pleas were ignored.

Q: I live in a home built around 1953. The two bathrooms have small tiles on the floor, and the grout is very dirty. I would like to know what I can use to clean the grout and then keep the floors clean. Replacing the floors would be very expensive, and our contractor said you should not put ceramic tile on top of this floor because it would raise the level. Any suggestions? North Chevy Chase A: Try scrubbing the floors with an alkaline cleaner, such as Simple Green, Spic and Span or Mr. Clean.

DEAR TIM: I visited a home recently that had an interesting mosaic pattern inset into regular floor tile. I loved the look, as it broke up the monotony of the tile. Can you tell me how to install ceramic floor tile in this manner? I looked closely and the tile designs in each mosaic appeared identical. I assume they came pre-fabricated. Any tips you can share would be appreciated. -- Melanie W., Center Harbor, N.H. DEAR MELANIE: I've installed many ceramic tile floors, including some that featured mosaic...

Q: I live in a home built around 1953. The two bathrooms have small tiles on the floor, and the grout is very dirty. I would like to know what I can use to clean the grout and then keep the floors clean. Replacing the floors would be very expensive, and our contractor said you should not put ceramic tile on top of this floor because it would raise the level. Any suggestions? North Chevy Chase A: Try scrubbing the floors with an alkaline cleaner, such as Simple Green, Spic and Span or Mr. Clean.

Q: DEAR TIM: You helped me recently when I decided to replace my showerhead. Believe it or not, the showerhead slipped from my hand and broke the shower soap dish. This small weekend project has turned into a nightmare. How do I replace the ceramic soap dish? What else can go wrong? -- Alan L., Jackson, Tenn. A: DEAR ALAN: You are not the first person with good intentions to cause a cascade of home-repair events. Replacing your ceramic soap dish is not going to be easy. It may be time to call in a professional tile...

Be sure to wait one day before you grout the tile. This time allows the mastic or thinset to harden. Some backsplash tile requires you to create the spacing between tile. You can buy plastic spacers that create uniform gaps, but coins can do the same thing. If you put too much adhesive on the wall, the mastic or thinset might ooze in between the tiles. If this happens, it's imperative you remove the adhesive from the joint immediately. If you don't get the adhesive out of the joint, the grout won't be able to penetrate between the tiles.

Q: Our concrete basement floor was painted before we moved into our house, but the floor was bare in spots. We had it repainted, but the new paint comes off easily. Is it possible to successfully paint a basement floor? -- Mary A: It is definitely possible, but there are several pitfalls. If water is wicking up through the concrete, it is virtually impossible to get any coating to stick; the hydrostatic pressure will simply lift the paint off. Before attempting to paint, check for seepage by taping one-square-foot pieces of aluminum foil at several...