How To Repair Epoxy Grout

How crawly would information technology be to never have to seal your shower tile grout or worry about information technology staining?

This is what I was thinking subsequently repetitively trying to make clean our shower floor tile grout with no luck. And so I decided to remove all of it and starting time over.

So which grout is the best selection for a shower tile flooring?

I've had a lot of luck using grout by Custom Building Products. And their technical support line has e'er been actually informative (think Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi, seriously, these people are awesome).

I researched their website, spoke to a technical representative, and decided to utilise epoxy grout.

Epoxy sounds a scrap scary and I was nervous about using it. However, since information technology offers stain & chemic resistance that regular grout can't lucifer I decided it was the best pick.

Plus, the shower epoxy grout joints will exist super durable and this means they likewisewon't fissure or compress over fourth dimension.

You should consider using epoxy grout for your shower grout for these reasons and because it isn't hard to install. I'll share the tips I got from Custom Edifice Products and you'll discover that using epoxy grout is easier than cleaning your kitchen after Thanksgiving.

Here are the supplies you'll demand for this project

CEG Light Commercial Epoxy Grout
Five-gallon buckets (3 full)
Grouting sponges with buff pad (3 full)
Microfiber cloths (3 total)
Dawn soap
Margin trowel
Grout float (fabricated of hard rubber)
Condom gloves
Safety spectacles
Spiral grout mixer (optional)
Drill (optional)
Timer
Old Towels

If you're ready for shower grout that volition look awesome and resist the test of time then epoxy grout is the way to become.

Let's go started!!

Getting Started with Epoxy Shower Grout

Whatever fourth dimension I utilise a new production it'south my habit to call the technical support line of the manufacturer. So the directions I'one thousand providing today are from the notes I took while on the phone with Custom Edifice Products.

Custom Edifice Products makes grout and I've had success with their products in the past.

The first step is to add about 3 drops of Dawn dishwashing soap to the three buckets (5 gallon). Fill the buckets to within 5 inches from the tiptop with warm water.

You'll want to get this water along with your sponges & microfiber cloths ready before mixing the epoxy shower grout considering once the grout is mixed you only take forty minutes to work with it. Hither's a moving picture of all the supplies I used.

Shower Grout that Won't Stain or Need Sealed-Get your buckets of water ready

If yous only installed your tile brand sure all of them are fully embedded in the mortar. This ensures the tiles won't sag, which tin can consequently create pinholes in your new grout (which absolutely sucks, I've had it happen).

Vacuum the tile and grout joints one final time. Then dampen your shower tile surface with the sponge and water from one of the buckets. Brand sure water doesn't pool in the grout lines.

Add a rag to the drain, the concluding thing you want is epoxy grout bottleneck information technology (can you say nightmare),

Fix your timer for 30 minutes. Yous'll have 40 minutes to piece of work the grout into the grout joints and make clean up. But the timer will requite yous a x-minute alert. You'll find that having a timer is really helpful because it allows you to step yourself (afterwards all, this is kinda like running a race).

How to Mix Epoxy Shower Grout

Since y'all have a limited time frame to utilise epoxy grout in your shower get all your tools fix. Place your margin trowel, grout bladder, gloves, safety glasses, drill, and spiral mixer next to you.

Yous should also position an erstwhile towel (or two depending on your level of messiness) next to your working area. This gives y'all a space for the used bucket of epoxy grout when you're done.

Applying epoxy shower grout is easiest when the temperature is between 70F and 85F (21C and 29C). The directions say that lower temperatures will brand the epoxy grout stiffer and extend the setting time. College temperatures, on the other hand, will make the epoxy grout more fluid and shorten the setting time (which means you need to work FAST!!).

FYI, the temperature in our business firm was effectually 69F when I did this project.

CEG Low-cal epoxy shower grout tin can be constitute at Dwelling Depot and one saucepan cost about $24.

Shower Grout that Won't Stain or Need Sealed-CEG Lite Epoxy Grout

Our tile shower floor was roughly 32 inches by 58 inches and one saucepan was more than enough.

CEG Lite consists of a Part A (which is the colored hardener) and a Part B.

Put on your gloves and become prepare to have some fun.

Mix Function B, which is already in the bucket, with your margin trowel. The mixed consistency should be a thick peanut butter that looks and feels similar information technology has sand in information technology (don't spread this on toast).

If for some reason Part B is difficult to stir you lot can put the top back on the bucket and soak it in warm tap h2o (120F) for x-20 minutes. Become sentry a Seinfeld rerun, I similar the 1 where Jerry visits the male child in the bubble, haha.

Later letting the Part B saucepan return to room temperature mix it with your margin trowel (humming the Seinfeld theme song isn't mandatory only makes epoxy grout stirring fun).

Open the Part A container and add together all of it to Role B. Use your margin trowel to scoop out equally much of Part A every bit possible since information technology contains your colorant.

Mix Part A and Part B together, scraping the lesser and sides of the container. I had to really turn over the mixture (like whipping upwards a cake batter) to get a homogenous consistency. This will accept you a skillful five minutes. Make sure there are no colour streaks so that your new grout color will look consequent.

Y'all could utilise your drill and spiral grout mixer for a few minutes at a low speed to assist with this procedure. I didn't do this because you can easily cause the epoxy grout to "flash" set up (envision your saucepan of epoxy grout turning into a rock) if you mix it too quickly. Since I'm not Superman but regularly workout I decided to mix via margin trowel simply.

The directions tell y'all that epoxies generate heat chemically. Information technology makes sense that if you go out your mixed batter in the bucket all the rut will cause it to prematurely set up upwards. So it's a practiced idea to scoop most of the epoxy grout onto your shower tile to extend the working time.

How to Use Epoxy Shower Grout

Pick the corner of your shower that's the hardest to attain. Scoop your epoxy shower grout into this corner.

Use the safe grout float at a 45-degree angle to smear and pack the epoxy grout into the grout lines.

Concur your grout float at a 90-degree angle and motility it diagonally beyond the tiles to remove excess grout. You'll have to do this a few times because epoxy grout is very sticky. Make sure the grout joints are fully packed.

If you did remove some grout only add together more than and pack it in place with the float. This takes patience and a sharp centre but you'll be happier with the end result by beingness anal-retentive.

Try removing equally much of the epoxy shower grout every bit possible with the grout float. This will make the clean-upward process a lot easier (can you tell I'grand talking from experience, haha).

Here'due south a short video that shows y'all what to await.

How to Make clean Up Epoxy Shower Grout

Cleaning up is the final pace in applying epoxy shower grout and it could arguably be the near important thing you do.

Your goal is to clean off the excess grout, tool the grout lines smooth, and make certain there won't be a hazy pic left behind.

Move your get-go saucepan of warm water into position. Dunk the sponge into the bucket then squeeze out the excess water.

Use the soft side of the sponge in a circular motion 1 or two times then turn it over and do the same thing with the nylon scrub pad.

Clean off your sponge in the bucket of h2o and repeat this process until the sponge becomes besides gunky.

Shower Grout that Won't Stain or Need Sealed-Use both sides of the sponge to clean

Switch to your second bucket of water and use a new sponge in one case the grout becomes hard to remove. Continue this cleaning process until all of the epoxy shower grout is transferred from the surface of the tiles.

You lot may get abroad with using only 2 out of the iii buckets of water. But I had to employ the third saucepan in order to completely make clean the tiles.

Now for the finishing touch .

Take hold of your microfiber cloth. Submerge it into your final bucket of water (which should be relatively make clean) and squeeze most of the h2o out of it.

Place the cloth on the surface of the tiles and so elevate information technology diagonally beyond to remove any leftover grout haze.

Shower Grout that Won't Stain or Need Sealed-Use a microfiber cloth to remove epoxy grout haze

Practise this for the entire shower tile surface area and double-cheque that the grout lines all the same expect good (I had to retool a few but it wasn't a large deal).

You'll dear epoxy grout considering it won't stain or fissure like the normal sanded or united nations-sanded varieties.

After speaking with LJ, the technical service rep for CEG Lite, I learned that epoxy grout is pretty much impermeable to water. This ways that information technology makes your shower floor virtually waterproof and besides eliminates the possibility of mold growing in the grout joints.

Mold and mildew will grow on the surface of anything, even epoxy shower grout. This is particularly true in showers where soap, hot water, and skin oils create a cafe for growth.

Just at that place's no take a chance of the mold penetrating inside epoxy grout, there's merely no space within the epoxy matrix for this to happen. This isn't the case with sanded or un-sanded grout due to their structure having small pockets for mold to penetrate.

Here are some before and afterwards pictures of my shower grout and then you tin can see what I was dealing with (In case you demand help removing old grout hither'due south a link to my tutorial)