I know today is really Wednesday, but I haven't had time to blog about what I did in the breakfast area this past weekend . . . so I'm blogging about it a little late. :)
Last week I cleaned the grout between the porcelain tiles in my breakfast area. Although the Oxiclean did a great job cleaning the grout, I wasn't too happy with the color.
It's not easy to change the color of the grout once it's been applied. I thought I could just add a layer of grout in a different color over the older grout. Can't do that. Apparently the new grout won't stick to the older cured grout. One article I read suggested that I use an electric tool and break up or dig the grout up between the tiles and then reapply the new grout in the color I wanted. Uh no thanks! :D
In the course of "googling" for a solution to my problem, I came across a product called "Grout Refresh". (Sorry not a great picture)
This product is supposed to change the color of your grout and seal it too. I decided to give it a try. You can get it at Lowes in the flooring/tile section. It comes in different colors . . . I picked "biscuit".
The first step is to clean the area. I had already cleaned the grout with the oxiclean. See Makeover Monday - Grout Cleaning.
I moved on to step 2 which is to apply the grout refresh to the grout using an old toothbrush. I didn't use an old toothbrush. I used one of those little foam paint brushes.
It's okay if you get some on the tile because it comes off the tile with water.
You let the grout refresh sit on the grout for 30 to 60 minutes. I let mine sit for 60 minutes or more.
After letting it sit for the 60 minutes, you mist the area with water in a spray bottle and let it sit for 5 minutes.
After the 5 minutes is up, you then use a wet cloth to wipe (the bottle says scrub) the grout refresh up. It comes up pretty easily, however, it does make a mess of your wet cloth. I had to rinse mine out several times and some of the grout refresh will just peel up . . . it doesn't dissolve so it falls to the bottom of the water bucket . . . so you can't just pour it down the sink . . . I guess you could, but I didn't. I poured the bucket of water outside which isn't probably environmentally safe. . . . I just found an obscure spot away from the house.
I actually applied the grout refresh twice in the same area on separate days. I wanted the first coat to cure a little before putting on a second coat. I'm weird that way. :)
Here is the floor after the first coat:
You can see a difference (in the bottom of the picture) in the grout before I used the grout refresh and after.
Once I cleaned up the second coat and everything had dried, my breakfast floor looked like this:
Dave and I are very pleased with the end result. It has really brightened up the floor and the breakfast area. It looks so clean. :)
Before Grout Refresh:
Same area after 1st coat of Grout Refresh:
And Second coat of Grout Refresh:
Anyway, I'm slowly moving along in the breakfast area and checking off my to do list for that area of the house. Next week I'm supposed to redo the table . . .
That's gonna be a pretty big job for . . .
the Ferrell boys and me!
I'm linking up to these parties:
I think whenever you change color of grout you can seal it also at the same time. There are different sealer's available which mix with color and seal the grout. It is beneficial for tiles increase the life.
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