I just grouted over my unglazed ceramic tile and the clean up is almost impossible. I have been at it or 5 hours and only a quarter done. It is taking a lot of scrubbing and there has to be an easier way! Please help!!??
You started before the grout set, right? No matter, it is probably pretty well set by now and the only way to get it off is physically (scraping/chipping) or chemically (acid).
When you grout, you push it into the joints and then wipe off the excess with whatever. Within 10 minutes or so, you clean off the rest with damp sponges...one swipe per clean side of the sponge else you just move the grout around. Continue with the sponge to remove as much as possible. Once the grout in the joints has set, wipe the tile surfaces with a terry cloth towel to remove the haze - should be very little - left over after the sponge wipes.
Wait! Unglazed ceramic tile? AFAIK, ALL ceramic tile is glazed. It wouldn't be "ceramic" otherwise, IMO. Maybe the glaze is just not bright (shiny)?
We had tile installed by a contractor who did a great job. When he finished, he gave us instructions....wipe tile with vinegar in water after 24 hours. Done. No haze. When we were shopping for our tile, there was a woman who had just tiled her whole home with her hubby, left haze on the tile, then threw down muriatic acid to try to get rid of the haze :o(
You're going to have to use muriatic acid and even that might not work very well for unglazed tile.
Due to its porosity unglazed tile has to be rinsed and rinsed and rinsed again with many water changes after grouting, then whatever haze is left polished off with a dry towel within only a couple hours, or you're screwed. -----
- gpsman
I would contact the tile dealer or mfg before I used muriatic, ESPECIALLY indoors...it is damn potent and boils up fumes that might damage electronics and stuff. When the grout is cured, I'd try vinegar/water with a stiff brush. Normally, when grouting unglazed tile, a sealer is applied to the tile first.
"Nyuh-uh" is the type of penetrating analysis that makes Usenet so special.
That's glycolic acid. I doubt it will touch it, but it (probably) can't hurt to try. -----
- gpsman
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.