Grout Repair near you

Cleaning revives grout that's merely dirty. Repair is for joints that are physically failing or holding water, and a few checks tell the two apart.

Regrouting removes the old grout to a consistent depth with a grout saw, carbide scraper or oscillating tool, taking care not to chip glazed tile edges. Scraping off only a thin surface skin leaves new grout too shallow to bond, so it cracks and pops out again. The joints are vacuumed clean, dampened if the grout maker calls for it, and packed with grout worked diagonally across them, then tooled to an even profile before the haze is wiped from the tile.

Fresh cement-based grout has to cure before it gets wet or sealed; its label gives the waiting times, which stretch in a cool room, so plan on using another shower for a while. Grinding out cement grout also raises crystalline silica dust, which the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety lists as a known cause of lung cancer, so expect dust extraction on power tools, a closed-off room and a HEPA vacuum instead of a broom.

The grout going back in doesn't have to match the kind that came out, but it should suit the joint width, the tile surface and how wet the room gets.

A penetrating sealer soaks into cement-based grout and slows how quickly water, grease and dyes get in. It doesn't make grout waterproof and does nothing for water that finds a crack. It goes on once the grout has cured as its label requires, and a quick test shows when to reapply: drops of water that darken the grout within moments, instead of beading, mean the protection has worn off.

Colour sealants, sometimes sold as grout paint or grout stain, are opaque coatings brushed onto clean, sound grout to even out patchy colour or change it entirely. They're a cosmetic finish rather than a repair: over cracked or crumbling grout they peel along with it, and on floors they wear first in the traffic lanes. Epoxy and most premixed grouts need neither treatment, so find out what's in the joints before buying a sealer.

Grout is rigid, so it cracks wherever two surfaces move independently: the inside corners of a shower, where wall tile meets a tub or floor, around the edges of a floor, and where tile meets a countertop, window or other material. Those joints should hold a flexible sealant made for the purpose, often colour-matched to the grout. A crack running neatly up every inside corner usually means someone grouted a joint that needed sealant.

Sealant has a shorter life than grout and is replaced rather than patched. The old bead is cut and scraped out completely, residue removed and the joint dried thoroughly before a new bead is laid and tooled; fresh caulk over old caulk or over mould traps moisture and peels. Large floors and heated floors also need movement joints within the tiled field, placed as the installation instructions require, and grouting over them brings the cracks straight back.

Black spots in grout and along caulk lines are common in bathrooms, and they signal moisture as much as a cleaning job. Health Canada's mould guide treats three or fewer patches totalling less than 1 m² as a small area that can be cleaned using proper procedures and protective equipment, while larger or returning growth calls for a professional. Mould that has grown into silicone sealant can't be scrubbed out, so the bead is cut away and replaced once the joint has dried.

Cleaning products carry their own risk. Health Canada warns never to mix bleach with other chemicals, especially products containing ammonia or acids such as vinegar, and to ventilate with windows open or exhaust fans running during and after use. Many grout haze removers and descalers are acidic, so read every label. To keep mould from coming back, Health Canada recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 50%, and a bathroom fan run during and after showers helps get there.

Regrouting renews the surface of a shower, but it can't repair the waterproofing behind it. When water has already reached the backer, the signs usually show beyond the tile: grout that stays dark long after the water's off, tiles that feel loose or sound hollow, peeling paint or swelling trim outside the enclosure, a musty smell, or a stain on the ceiling below.