I had grown tired of our tile floor and was thinking about replacing the floor. We have some ideas about making some other changes so any floor replacement has to be pushed out until we make the other modifications. In the meantime I wanted to do something to refresh the look of the floor. Specifically the grout has been stained over the years and parts of the floor have much darker grout than other areas of the floor. I decided to try one of those grout restoring products and change the appearance of the grout.
Planning
To begin planning this project I went online looking for a tool that would allow me to use a photograph of the floor and apply colors on the grout lines virtually. I figured with AI making is debut there should be some app that can do this. Sadly the web pages I found had software that allowed you to replace your floor with a product or show colored grout on sample tile that was offered for sale. I did find an AI based app for the Android but the software was unable to tell the difference between the actual grout lines and the uneven coloration of the surface of the tile. I had grout lines going every which way. No, this part of the project must be done the old fashion way, with your imagination. Channeling my inner Spongebob I decided on a grey or brown color.
I tried two different products and four different colors. The first product I do not recommend for large areas. The product is called the Miracle Grout Pen. Home Depot only offered white so I bought it to size up the product and thinking that white might work for the back splash in our kitchen when I get around to that project. Basically the Miracle Grout Pen is a paint pen that Home Depot sells for about $10. I did use the pen on my grout to see what white would look like on the floor. White was way to bright. The other thing I noticed about this product is the size of the pen’s nib. It’s about the size of a highlighter. It was much too small to effectively cover our floor. I’m sure it would take cases of these pens to do the job. I also noticed that the nib was too big for the small grout lines along our kitchen backsplash. Paint pens sold as art supplies have different size nibs, even an ultra fin point. Those paint pens are at Walmart for about $5. I’m thinking that might be the way to go for that project.
The second product is called Grout Renew. It is an epoxy solution mixed with colorant. It is applied much like paint and is water based for easy clean up. Home Depot sells an 8 oz bottle for about $17. I’ve used about 1/3 of the bottle and I have completed roughly 1/5 of my floor area. I laid down the brown Coffee Bean color but quickly decided it was too dark. Grey didn’t work out either. I ended up returning those and picking up the color Haystack which is a light beige and looks great alongside our tile.
The supply list for this job:
- Vacuum cleaner near by. No matter how well you think you vacuumed the floor you’ll be surprised how much dirt and dog hair is still down there when you get all up close and personal with the floor.
- Soft bristle tooth brush. More about this tool later. I used the cheap freebie toothbrush my dentist gave me.
- Small paint brush
- Small paint cup to hold the Grout Renew working supply
- Knee pads. Do yourself a favor and get good cushioned knee pads. You’ll be on your knees a lot.
- Paper towels
- Grout Renew. This is really the only expense as I already had the other supplies. I think I’ll end up using 2 or 3 bottles, about $50.
The Process
After cleaning the floors, the instructions say to apply the product using a soft bristle tooth brush and then immediately wipe off the excess solution from the surface of the title. I found this method to be a bit of a blunt instrument. Our tile doesn’t have sharp edges, instead it has a more worn and irregular edge and the lines are not straight. It sort of resembles hand cut stone. This makes the grout lines variable is thickness. The toothbrush tends to get more product on the surface of the title and since the edges are not sharp it makes it difficult to wipe off the excess solution. I found using a small paint brush more accurate.
On my hands and knees I am painting on the grout solution and wiping off any over paint. This is a tedious project. It’s not hard to do but it’s slow and strains the body. I managed to refresh about 3 rows of grout lines in an hour. I fished the kitchen and dinning nook in about 7 hours. It’s important to take breaks. The solution is thick so one coat is all you’re going to need but I did notice the next day I had missed a few spots. No worries, just paint over the thin or missed areas.
The Reveal
I let the grout dry over night and was truly amazed at the results. The floors look brand new. Such a small detail in the overall picture makes a huge impact. Not only does the Haystack color look great with the tile, the smoothness of the finish really makes a punch. The before photos have splotches of dark grout next to unstained lines that are many shades lighter. With this Grout Refresh applied the color is consistent. A+ product and if you have the time and ability it’s an easy way to update your floor.
