Kitchen/Ceramic Tile Question

[Suzie-Q]

I'm going to put ceramic tile on my counters in the Kitchen, but first I need to ask a grout question.

Doesn't the grout get stained (kool-aid, grape juice, etc.) and eventually look dirty? Is there some sort of sealer for the grout to keep this from happening? Or does one just have to keep some bleach-based cleaner nearby?

Thanks in advance,

8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail) ~~~~~~

"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

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[montana]

There are dyes you can put in grout, but you know whatever you spill is going to clash with them and you can't bleach them clean... Sealer may work if you re-apply it regularly, but I've never seen one that does. Guess you're better off with white grout & bleach nearby!

[Tom J]

I've never been in a kitchen that had counter tops of tile that was over a couple of years old that didn't look like crap. They also looked too dirty to be in a house, but more like the kitchen in the project. My advice is to use something with as few joints as possible, and that doesn't include tile!

Tom J

[Jim Mc Namara]

I've done my kitchen countertops in 2 houses I've owned in the past. The first one was a glazed tile - never again as it is a problem to constantly keep shiny and avoid wear. My last one was a matte tile finish. I used a colonial white grout (more of an off white) and sealed several times before I used the countertop. I re-sealed once a year after that. I'm going to tile the countertops of my recently purchased home in a month. I will be using the same technique (of course now that I've been watching HGTV for the past year - there will be a little more color using some of the tiles with patterns on them spaced here and there) but I had great success with them in the past. I had used the oak trim on the front edge in the past and will probably wrap it again as well - although the bull nosed edge pieces look fine IMHO. As far as any staining goes between resealing - I use the Clorox Kitchen spray - let it sit on it for about a minute and it removes most everything I could get on it. Not as harsh as straight bleach. Good luck with it Susie -Q.

Jim