CHECKLIST

Tile tales

Everyone loves a beautifully tiled kitchen, bathroom or other relevant space such as a laundry. There are vibrant colors to choose from, different textures, and styles in thousands of variations. What’s not to like?

Well, a major component of tiles is grout. Grout keeps the tiles in place and protects from damage from water or other material and we cannot have tiles without it. What’s not to like is what can happen to grout. Light colored grout can stain and can get damaged. Also, because grout is porous, water can get through and can cause further problems. Grout is prone to water damage, mold and mildew and cracking. Choosing the right grout for the space you are tiling, and maintenance can save money and headaches in the future. When tiling or maintaining tiles, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Selecting tiles for your indoor or outdoor space can be daunting with the sheer number of options available. You want to make sure you select a style, color, pattern, texture, and its durability suit all your needs. Dark colored tiles can use darker colored grout, and this can prevent some staining. You want to select a specialized high traffic type of tile for the kitchen and bathroom. You should also consider surfaces that can get wet often need to be more stain and water resistant. Thankfully most tiles are already non-slip and water resistant by nature.

You want your tiles and grout to last as long as they possibly can before you have to replace the grout because its life has run out.

For bathroom tiles, you should get into a habit of using a squeegee after your shower on the tiles and throughout the surfaces. There are also after shower or bath sprays that can be applied daily. Kitchen tiles should be cleaned daily or as often as can be for cleanups and messes. Outside of this, weekly deep cleaning on the bathroom and kitchen tiles must be done to keep stains and mildew at bay. There are commercial grout stain removers and cleaners, but a simple homemade version is a quick internet search away.

Using a high-quality grout and sealant will avoid costly replacement, so keep this in mind when you are going to tile or retile a surface. You may want to make a larger investment up front to save from an even larger one in the future.

Remember, the least amount of liquid and time that moisture is on your tiles and grout, the better. Extended wetness can cause damage to the grout. Grout sealers are also available commercially and claim to protect grout and make it water resistant, but using a sealant can extend the life of your grout.

When dealing with your tiling professional and installer, he or she will advise you on when is the right time to apply the sealant. Prolonging the life of your grout will keep your tiles looking newer and cleaner for a longer time. p