LESLIE: Time for grout talk with Chris in Rhode Island. What can we do for you?
CHRIS: Oh yeah, hi. I have a big grout problem. My husband and I had grouted a backsplash and it came out wonderful. We didn’t buy the premixed grout. We mixed it ourselves. Then we did the floor. So we put the tile down; we did the grout, which was brown, and we woke up the next morning and there was this huge – it was full of white powder all over the tile and the grout, which actually should be brown, is white.
TOM: OK.
CHRIS: Now, do you know why that happened?
TOM: Well, obviously you chose a white grout and the powder over the grout is pretty much normal …
LESLIE: Well, over the tile that’s clouding and that’s just – you know, it just needs to be …
CHRIS: It’s like a powder you actually can wipe your finger in.
LESLIE: Right.
TOM: Right, but that’s – when you grout tile that’s what happens. You get like a haze and the last step is that you buff it off after it dries.
CHRIS: OK, but we did that and we even bought products that are supposed to take this haze off and it didn’t. But actually the grout we bought was brown and it’s white.
LESLIE: Hmm. And you’re sure that it just wasn’t mismarked on the packaging?
CHRIS: No, it wasn’t and even when we put it down it was brown and as we tried to wipe the haze off – when it was wet it was nice and brown and as soon as it dries …
TOM: Well, it sounds like it dried lighter than what you expected.
CHRIS: You think that’s what it was then?
TOM: Yeah, I think so.
CHRIS: OK.
TOM: That’s all. It just dried lighter than expected. Listen, if you’re still unhappy with the grout color you can dye it and darken it up.
CHRIS: (overlapping voices) OK. OK.
TOM: But you know, you might just want to live with it for a while. But the haze is a normal part of the grouting process.
CHRIS: OK. Alright, well I thank you.
TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Leave a Reply