Good practice to mix tile adhesive powder inside bathroom?

Nov 26, 2015 19 Replies

Fear not, the saga of our new shower is drawing to a close and soon you won't have to hear more much about it. Hurrah!



Meanwhile, the builder is happy about coming back to sort out any remaining snags I identify including the residue of dust.



Someone mentioned that it was normal for powdered adhesive or grout to be mixed in the bathroom (as opposed to in the yard outside the house) and consequently this would always lead to some powder in the air which would travel within the house and settle.



The implication of this is that I shouldn't worry about the mess made by the clouds of grouting powder which were wafting around at the end of the job and left a film of grout or adhesive powder in some rooms.



I can see why a tiler would prefer the convenience of mixing his powdered grout in the bathroom but is this really considered to be good professional practise?


Have you found the s*it that the builder had in a carrier bag and dumped in your loft yet?

ARW scribbled

I heard he'd hidden a few fish too. When the house warms up it won't half pong.

Can't think why, except for convenience...

Grout's OK as you tend to hand mix a small amount at a time, but I've always mixed the adhesive outside with a power mixer on a drill.

And the white residue in the knicker drawer is NOT tile adhesive.

Yes. Shame he didn't pour a pack down your throat whilst he was at it to shut up your whining.

It will depend on the circumstances, and the amount being mixed as well as how its being mixed. Keep in mind at this time of the year encouraging more traipsing in and out will walk in more mud and other "wet" dirt. There is no getting away from the fact that building anything will make a certain amount of mess no matter how careful you are. Jobs involving fine powders are especially hard to contain.

All this carry on about grout. Grout will always leave residue on tiles, washing off with water too soon is bad,wiping off with damp cloth when it is almost dry is the go and it will still leave some fine powder when that dries, final wipe over with almost dry cloth should get most of it, careful mixing inside should not leave the house full of dust. Are you sure there was no plaster sanding going on as well, it will leave dust everywhere.

F Murtz scribbled

Using a shower will leave scum stains on the tiles. I full expect another thread to start when the OP can't be arsed to clean them off either.

And sealant will soon show black marks from water left pooling on it.

Chris

Film of grout left on tiles can be removed by soaking then scrubbing with a plastic scourer.

NT

Grout is particularly difficult to mix because it's hydrophobic. Yes, it will eventually be forced into a paste, but it prefers to fly out of the bowl on to the carpet

Please feel free to use your kill file if my posts are not to your liking.

actually limescale remover often works, as does brick acid.

I've never known a grout that didn't just dust off with a dry kitchen towel. Different matter if it's a combined grout/adhesive

Wait until you try an epoxy grout... ;-)

I won't ever try that ......especially on mosaics :-)

Some friends were considering epoxy grout for their bathroom but in the end they used ordinary grout. Seems epoxy can give an excellent long lasting result but is tricky to use and very unforgiving if you get it wrong.

I have found a traditional grout treated with Lithofin grout protector works very well.

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required