We have a beautiful tile floor in our bathroom; however, the grout lines have yellowed with age. Must we replace the entire floor? Cleaning products haven't touched the problem..including bleach. Is there a solution to this?
Aaron,
This is such a common problem and in many cases people just give up and let their tile grout discolor rather then keep on trying without good results. Bleach used to be the only recommendation and in some cases it works a little, but today there are many options.
First of all if the tile was sealed, the sealant sealed over the grout and this makes it very difficult to clean because the sealant acts as a protection to help keep spills and stains from discoloring the grout.
Here are a few suggestions that you may want to try.
First there is a great product out there known as oxygen bleach. This is a non-toxic powdered product which you can mix with water and it actually produces billions of free oxygen ions almost instantly. You simply apply the solution to the floor and let it soak into the grout and believe me, it will soak deep into the grout. Make sure you let it soak for at least 30 minutes and better yet for about an hour.
As it soaks in it will begin to break apart all of the stain molecules, in other words, it will get the stain out, and it is not only safe to use, it has no odor and will not damage any adjacent carpet. When the cleaning is complete just rinse off the tile with water and wipe dry.
You can order this product online by just clicking on the following link.
Stain Solver
Now there is another solution and this is great especially if you want to change the color of the grout. Grout Colorant Paint can do the job. It will take some work, but when done right, the group will look better then ever. This paint is actually an epoxy colorant paint, and we all know how durable epoxy is, and so you know when the job is complete it will stand up to just about anything.
Click on the following link for complete instructions and to find out where you can buy this product.
Grout Colorant Paint
Also, take a look at The Grout Dye Company website because it has several Grout Colorant products that can do the job.
I hope this helps.
Rick Maselli
Founder of Showroom411.com