What's the best way to seal ceramic tile grout?

[BGCarrera32]

Finishing up our bathroom remodel and I did the tub surround and floor with ceramic tile. I have the grout sealed up pretty well, but it looks like it still takes on water in certain areas of the shower when splashed with water. Not sure what's normal, I think my grout mix may have been a tad dry. Anyway, I've got one of these squeeze bottle things with the roller that you chase along the grout with to apply sealer, and it was taking forever. What do the pro's do? Any sealer recommendations? This is taking forever, even with dabbling it in using a rag. I've been over the grout 3 or 4 times now...

Thanks-
BG

[Zeke]

A solvent based sealer is best. Many of those have benn removed from the shelves due to the evaporative chemicals such as benzene. I think Watco makes a good one. Prfessional tile supplies have some pretty good stuff. You don't find a lot of this stuff at warehouse home stores. They only sell what sells and is easy to use, IMO. BTW, if you got the shower wet, you can't seal it until it's bone dry.

[turbo6bar]

BG, for the floors, I use a product called 'Sealer's Choice.' It is about $80-120 for one gallon and you probably need no more than a pint. It is available in smaller containers, I believe. You can choose to seal just the grout, or the grout and tile. For the floors, I use a simple squeeze bottle that has a cap with brush tip. I run the brush across the grout and squeeze the bottle to dispense the sealer. It's quick and don't worry about putting down too much. I usually put down enough to obtain a healthy 3/16" bead of sealer on top of the grout.

I don't have any hints for the wall tile. I would apply the stuff with a rag in several sessions until the grout accepts no more.

For the floors, I have found one application does the job. On vertical surfaces it will take more than one application, obviously.

For the Sealer's Choice, call a few tile stores (not Home Depot or Lowe's). You will pay more for the sealer, but it is the one the pros recommend. I have some rental properties with tile. The sealed grout will still get dirty on the surface, and I use a hydrogen peroxide solution (designed for cleaning floors) and a carpet extractor (steam cleaner) to clean the tile floors. This makes the floors look great.

Good luck,
jurgen

[BGCarrera32]

Thanks- I'll look elsewhere besides HD and let it dry out before giving it another go. Many thanks...

-BG

[Eli at Pelican Parts]

One last thing you may want to know. For some reason the brushes that come on the bottle tops have stiff bristles. I just did my shower last year and I tried the brush and the wheel, they both missed major areas close to the tile.

I’d recommend spending a couple of bucks and buying a pack of the 1/8” or ¼ “ brushes (size depending on the size of spacers used for the job). Make sure they have fine bristles, this will definitely make the application go much smother.

Good Luck!

[Moneyguy1]

Miracle Sealants Company puts out a project in a green containe for tile and grout sealing; a once a year type stuff. I put it on wotha afoam brush into the grout lines. Seems to work rather well; entire kitchen counter is tiles.