re-grouting - dig it out or is there an easier way?

[peter]

I need to refresh some old yellowed wall tile grout - are those paint pens any good or am I stuck with raking it out and re-filling? Thanks

[Simon]

Our new bathrooms at work have the grout coloured with a grout paint from day one, presumably to make it super-white, so it appears to work. Whether its so good on old greasy grout I'm not so sure. They are cheap so its worth a try. Raking out is best, but its not a nice job, and hard not to slip and damage the tiles. Simon.

[The Natural Philosopher]

dig out most. clean up with brick acid or similar.

[NT]

If the grout is good and sound, scrape the surface and smear white tile grout on with your finger. Job done.

If grout isnt sound, remove it with a grout rake or bradawl.

NT

[Lobster]

Totally agree. I've tried a pen thingy in a tenanted property not long ago, and when the tenants left after about 9 months it still looked OK. So, probably worth giving it a go at least and you can judge whether the effort of a proper job will be worth it next time.

David

[devonsteve]

Hi Peter I cleaned mine by spraying it with a bleach solution , approx 30% bleach, leaving it for 24 hrs and then rinsing off , It removed what mould was there and all came up really white. Might be worth a try before raking it all out. Devonsteve

[PeterC]

Aldi, on Thursday 20/8, have these pens:

[js.b1]

A grout rake requires a grout line a) wide enough to accept them and b) edge-glazed tiles.

Applying a grout rake to non-edge-glazed tiles (such as those glazed only on 3 or 2 sides) will rip bits of the tile face off. Better to use a stanley knife with a lot of blades and kevlar gloves (because you will slip).

[fred]

Thick bleach is good for this too, paint on, leave for 30mins, scrub with nail brush and repeat throughout the day as a background task.