LESLIE: Now we’re going to Louisiana with Lois who’s dealing with a grout issue in the bath. Tell us what’s going on.
LOIS: After talking to the people that sold me the grout, on the second complaint they finally acknowledged that there was something wrong with the grout, so now I’ve got it turning white. And it’s a mocha-brown kind of color in the bottom of my shower and I guess the only way to resolve it is to clean it out but how do I do that?
TOM: So how do you remove grout that’s already installed? Is that correct? So this is grout that’s in the wall?
LOIS: Floor of the shower.
TOM: Oh, the floor of the shower. And so the grout’s the wrong color. And it’s a darker color than you want?
LOIS: No, it’s changed color because they didn’t – they sold me – there was a problem, apparently, from the factory with the grout.
TOM: OK.
LOIS: And of course, I didn’t find out about it until after the fact. Now it’s turning white.
TOM: Right. Alright. So listen. What you might want to think about doing – only because if this doesn’t work, you have to take the grout out anyway – is you might want to think about applying a grout dye. Grout dye is available; it’s kind of like a stain for grout and it changes the color of the grout. It goes from – it can make grout that’s lighter go darker. It doesn’t work the other way around, of course. So I would give that a try first because, really, you’ve got nothing to lose.
Now, if that doesn’t work, you’ve got to take the grout out.
LOIS: Right.
TOM: To take the grout out, there are a number of tools on the market that can help you do that, that come into the category of grout saws. There is a type of saw that fits into the end of a reciprocating saw that enables you to cut through grout. There is a grout saw that works in a Dremel that enables you to take grout out. But you have to grind the old grout out and then regrout the tiles. It’s a big job; don’t get me wrong. It’s not easy but it can be done. That’s why I suggest you try a grout dye first.
You can take a look online at The Home Depot. They sell a product that’s called Grout Renew and it’s made by Polyblend which is, I believe, one of the grout manufacturers. And so they have a product – they have several different colors and they’re designed to stain and seal the grout in one application. So like I said, you’ve got nothing to lose by trying this out.
There’s also a website that just sells grout dye, called GroutDye.com.
LOIS: Alright, sir. Thank you.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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