Jan
6
2015

DIY: How to Restore Tile Grout

If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know how much I hated my floor tiles. One of my biggest regret was not replacing them before we shifted in. Now, it will be too much of a hassle to get them replaced especially with little Ayden around.

Late last year during my birthday, we did not do anything fancy but spent the entire evening walking in a DIY store at IPC. I’ve forgotten the name of that store but I do know that they are the same row as Brands Outlet because Ayden kept running out of that store into Brands Outlet >_< It was my idea to spend the evening in that DIY store as I wanted to look for a few items for my home improvement project. Yes, I have a home improvement project for 2015. After a decade or so, it’s time to restore our lovely home. 

I bought this:

Grout coating and sealer

Grout coating and silicone grout sealer.

Prior to that evening, I do not even know there is such a thing as the word ‘GROUT’. I went into that DIY store and asked the staffs if they have special paint for the lines in between the floor tiles and they went, “Oh grout coater”. I was like, “What?!” The staff then proceeded to hand me those two items. Oh… so those lines are called ‘grout’ -.-

Next question I asked them was, “Can I just purchase the grout coating and not the sealer?” and that guy answered, “if you coat your grout without sealing them, they’ll wash away if you mop your floor”. Oh… so I was forced to purchase both. 

Feeling so determined to beautify my floor, I made Darling take care of Ayden immediately when we got home so I can start working on my floor tiles. This is my floor tiles:

DIY Grout restore

I super dislike the grout from the very beginning. No matter how I clean it, it is still ugly. And then because I hated it so much, I stopped cleaning it, making it even uglier >_<

how to restore tiles grout

OK so project restoring grout begins. I squated down to ‘paint’ my tile grout. Fuiyo, I’m amazed at how effortlessly I kept using the word grout in this post. It makes me sound like some DIY expert there doesn’t it? LoL! 

Was it difficult to apply the grout coating? Nah. it was simple, so simple. No sweat at all… 

restore ugly grout

See! Improvement! It took me a freaking 2 hours to get THAT done! *CRY*

By now I was cursing silently. My back was aching. I can’t lift my head anymore. My shoulder was so darn stiff by now that I started to question myself if I am crazy for starting this project. I gave up and went to bed. After all I need to let it dry for a minimum of 4 hours.

The next day, feeling much better after a good night sleep, I proceeded to wipe the excess grout coat and get started on the silicone grout sealer. For the silicone grout sealer, I have to wipe away excess immediately. After another 2 hours, I got this:

Grout restorer

Tah-dah! Not bad right? Quite an improvement compared to my old, ugly grout. It does improve the appearance of my floor tiles I believe. Do you agree with me?

How to restore floor tiles grout

See the BEFORE and AFTER. 

Darling and Ethan said the floor looks so much better now. Of course lah. See lah who has been sweating it out meticulously lining each and every ugly grout -.-

I am very happy now that my floor tiles are finally a little prettier BUT I can’t imagine myself working on the remaining tile grout for the rest of the living room. Oh please, can anybody out there help me? :'(

16 Comments + Add Comment

  • //

    Poor thing …work so hard until ache here and there. Worth it la… now the tiles looks so clean!
    OK, you just earn yourself a massage!

  • //

    I want that too!!! Problem is I cannot get down on the floor to do it plus the big watermelon gets in the way – you can come an do it for me too, yes? Hehehehehehehe!!!!!

    • //

      LoLoL at watermelon!

  • //

    Hmm.. perhaps I need to go and buy and try them out, Hopefully mine will not be so killing as my apartment is small … Hahahaaaa…..

    How much is it?

    • //

      The coating is RM30++ while the sealer is under RM20. Yeah maybe yours will be better coz not too big. Then after you are done you can come help me finish the rest of my house >_<

  • //

    Wow it Does look better!

    • //

      It does, doesn’t it :)

  • //

    Kenny got something similar too at Daiso (liquid paper size) :P

    • //

      Oh? Easy to apply? Need to apply sealer after that or not?

  • //

    Wow. So much work ah? I think I will break my back and neck doing all those grout coating and sealing. Why dont they just invent 2-in-1 grout solution? Haha. Easy for us.

    It does make the tiles prettier and cleaner. Good luck with the rest of the living room’ s grout. I also learnt a new word today. Grout!

    • //

      Oh yes man. If only there is a 2 in 1 solution.

  • //

    wow, awesome! how much for one bottle and where did you buy it?

    • //

      Ken, the coating is around RM30++ while the sealer is under RM20. I forgot the name of the store but as I said, it is the same row with The Brands Outlet but then again coz u in Penang so you might not know the place.

  • //

    not bad huh…like brand new tile!

  • //

    You left out the bits where the piano is sitting leh. Next time when you move the piano, then you will feel sad that there is one ugly spot among your nice grouts.

  • //

    Wah, you are very hardworking lah. But for how long can it stays white like that before you need to do it again? A few years?

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MeHome is where MY heart is.
I am a mother to two boys; Ethan and Ayden and a wife to Darling William. I'm a stay at home mum who blogs to break the monotony of life and to avoid feeling jaded. Would love to get to know all the Super Mommies and Daddies and Babies or Singles out there with the hope that we can learn more from each other. Most of all, I am a happy person, and I hope YOU are too.

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