Removing Grout from the face of ceramic tiles

The person who installed my new ceramic tile
Smeared grout all over the tiles. There are pits
In the tile and the grout has adhered to those
Areas giving the beautiful tile a completely different look. The contractor keeps telling me that it
Can be removed. It has been more than 2 weeks
Since the tile was laid. I'm getting
Apprehensive. Is it truly possible for them to
Remove this?

Is this ceramic like you say or is it tumbled stone.

Wait and see if they do, hold back final payment till then.

It is ceramic that looks like tumbled stone. Right now it looks like it just came from the quarry. Not easy clean finish I was looking for. I fear that the longer they delay cleaning, the less likely I am to get what I bargained for and they keep telling me that it will come clean. Are they stringing me along or is there a product/process that will bring back the original finish?

It should clean up nicely Polly but the sooner the better. If they know what they are doing they will be able to clean it to your satisfaction, but if they know what they are doing why did they do this to begin with, and why are they waiting to fix it?

Just some random wonderings of an old fool, sorry!

Its been 2 weeks and they are still dragging their feet? You need to know that grout=cement. More or less. It gets harder over time. Based on your post I don't know the severity of the situation, but if it is just as a haze that shouldn't be a problem, a little water with vinegar should do it. If it is thicker then it will require severe scrubbing with the aforementioned water vinegar mix.

When you grout, after you clean up the heavy stuff, wait awhile and change your water and second wash the floor again, and it will be perfect.

My mom had ceramic tile put in her home and they did a bum job with the grout. So tiles are coming up so they are having to replace them and the grout smear is still on the surface of the tile we have tried vinegar and water and other things but the grout film is still there. What do you suggest to use to remove this smear from the face of the tile?

I would be more worried about why the tiles are coming up. Especially if this is a new job, you might have some problems going there that would atleast take care of the grout haze-- because the whole floor could conceiveably have to come up. What exactly is happening?

My daughter just recently got ceramic floors and they look great! I put some mop and glow on the floors and they have a beautiful shine but a friend of hers told her not to use mop and glow use vinegar is this a good idea.

Try the vinegar to clean, this may get your grout haze off, I don't know about the grout that has settled in the pits. You may need to try and chip that out and then clean with vinegar. There are also commercial products to do this, there is an acid, I think Sulfamic, for cleaning grout haze. I had good luck with the vinegar on Red Quarry tile, use a scotch bright pad and clean each tile individually. Then you'll want to get something to shine it up, also look for a commercial product, but stay away from Tile lab as I've found it has the same effect as water (none). Good luck.

Margo

No mop and glo, You don't put anything on glazed ceramic, just mild soap and water to clean

You DON'T want to use vinegar for anything but the initial cleaning, otherwise you'll bleach the color right out of the grout. Vinegar is a weak acid, and any acid will react with cement products, which grout most definitely is (that's why it works so well at taking up grout haze). But as the saying goes, too much of a good thing is no good, and that most certainly applies here.

Hi Bill,

I read in (reply 10) where it may be possible to take the color out of grout? Oh how I hope this is the case. We are getting ready to close on a new home where the builder put tile around our gas insert fire place. I asked for the grout to be a while and to my surprise it is gray. This late in the game getting him to change it isn't an option. I know nothing about tile and grout and I was hoping I could remove the grout from the tumble stone tile or at least lighten the color. Any input you may have would be appreciated.

Wendy

Wendy, I would say your best bet would be a grout colorant. The problems with any acid, including vinegar, are twofold-- first, you don't want to take the chance of getting it on any of the other finishes around the tile, whether that be carpeting, or the metal fireplace frame. Secondly, although it WILl bleach the grout, it won't really do it evenly, whereas the colorant will give you a nice even color, and seal the grout to boot.

Be carefull using grout colorant with Tumbled marble, if this is what you say you have, maybe mask it off first, if it gets in the stone, it could stain that area.

I have ceramic tile in my kitchen and two puppies that I keep there during the day. I often use a mild bleach and water solution (usally about a capful in a bucket of warm water) to clean up after them and remove odors. Will this harm the tile or grout in any way?

I have a related question regarding the haze from thinset. I just started laying slate tile that I presealed. I just did a few last night to see how things would go. The only problem so far is that the tiles look dirty from the thinset that got on the top. I wiped the tiles down with clean water and a sponge, but that only took off the major stuff. There is still a haze. Can I just wait until I'm done with everyting, including the grout and then scrub everything clean with the viniegar solution everyone recommends

I would use a non-acidic haze remover first such as Hydromemnts Remove.

Thanks,
So a regular grout haze remover will also work for the thinset haze?

Yes. The problem I have with Vinegar is it's an acid and could discolor or stain natural stone, you could mix it mild and try it on a spot out of the way first and see what happens.

My tiles look cloudy when dry and show no colour.

When wet they look as they should.

I have tried grout remover but have had no look as they dry like a cloudy colour.

Any suggestions?

I had a tile backsplashed installed a couple of years ago and just noticed that there is grout in the middle of the tiles. Does anyone know how to remove this grout? Can I just scrape it off?