Hi, this is the first time I've posted here. My husband and I will be tiling our bathroom and were wondering which type of grout sealer to use, the 1 yr or 20 yr. (both penetrating sealers). At first we thought that the 20 yr with teflon was surely better, but when i read the container, i saw that you are not supposed to use cleaners with ammonia, acid or bleach on this sealer, which pretty much covers anything i would use to clean a bathroom floor. Any advice or comments as to the pros and cons of these sealers? We will be using engineered tile if that makes a difference.
i've only ever used the shorter-duration old-fashioned kind. it works fine. sealer is the most important part of the job i feel, esp on a floor. you can apply it with a small paintbrush after the grout dries thoroughly. i am anal retentive and always do 2 coats.
Why would you go through the effort of using a one year sealer, when you can use a 20 year? So you can use harsh cleaners such as bleach, which are bad for the grout anyway? There are many, many good cleaners that don't contain harsh chemicals damaging to grout. The prime reason people have so many problems with their shower or tub grout falling apart is that it's been cleaned hundreds of times with bleach or acid/type products and the grout can't take it anymore.
Get the more expensive sealer and put down one heavy coat with an applicator bottle. Assuming you are using a polymer modified grout, one coat will be enough and will make any liquid bead on it. A second coat is not needed on polymer grout, and will be a pain to apply because it will just bead onto the first coat. The object is to apply only enough so liquid no longer soaks into the grout, which, as I said, is one heavy coat over polymer modified grout, allowed to dry overnight.
I use HomeyDepot's more expensive water-based sealer. It's the dark (brown?) one that's $15 a pint. I use the round applicator bottle with the brush on top. Pull the brush backwards and deposit the sealer into the joint. It will dry quickly, but needs 24 hours to cure.
And do some research and find some quality cleaners that won't hurt your grout.
Wait at least 3 days after grouting before sealing grout.
What type of cleaners should you use? I don't want to have to order a specific brand from the grout sealer maker, and the lady at home depot was no help - besides warm water she didn't know what cleaner was ok to use. I googled it and just found grout cleaners (like stain removers) and one specific tile-lab brand cleaner.
I like the idea of putting down one heavy coat, thanks for the suggestion. I am so used to painting and putting down multiple thin coats, i would have probably done that.
Spic and Span, soft scrub, simple green etc. Just read the labels and use any detergent that doesn't have bleach or acids. I never heard the "don't use ammonia" thing. Any properly diluted, safe detergent should easily clean a sealed grout. As I said, what destroys grout is when people insist on using straight bleach, or straight 'tile-ex", or strong cleaners containing acids on a regular basis. If you use diluted, mild detergents you should never have a problem.
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