I tiled a set of outside steps with quarry tiles last week,i grouted it with granfix maxi grout on friday,it was dry friday and saturday,but today it has turned light grey and looks terrible,anyone got any ideas what has caused this ?

Did you use anything other than water to wash the grout off with ie brick cleaner.

no just used clean water ,i have never seen anything like this !

Did you mix well? or over-wash with washboy? not having a pop, just curious. Granfix is not a product I use

Could be down to over washing... with dark colours it's very important not to over wet when washing down and use the minimum amount or clean water...

If you have left a lot of water on the joints when washing off, this can cause polymer leaching and cause this lighter appearance
Try a suitable polymer residue cleaner and scotch pad the joints and see if that helps
If not then a recolour would be an option

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I've got the same problem with Granfix maxigrout brown. I used clean water and washboy. Got the call yesterday from the customer to say that the grout has gone a funny colour. The man at Tile Depot tried to sell him a cleaner to clear up efflorescence. This is the first time I have used Granfix grout. I believe that the BAL Microcolour reduces the chances of efflorescence. I will try and sort out this issue this week.

2011-08-16_14-22-28_991.jpg
I tried to clean with 'cement away', but the grout is getting whiter. I have scrubbed away with scotch pads, but the problem is getting worse. I would have thought that efflorescence would come away with a bit of scraping, but this is not the case with this situation. I noticed yesteray that the bag of grout has a date of Jan'10. It states that it should be used within 12 months of this date. The date is so smudged on the bag that it was very difficult to read. The grout was only bought last week by the customer. The customer is bringing the bag back to Tile Depot. I also noticed that the unused mixed grout that I threw away is not actually brown in colour. It has a uniform silver/white/dusty colour. So could this be down to the fact that the grout is old?

How was the grout in the bucket. Did it seam to go hard quick, if it did sounds like to much cement was put in. I had similar problem with standard grout. Bucket went red hot and grout went from grey to White.

Could be looks more like it has been mixed to wet . try a little neat vinegar on the white scrub a bit let it sit for 5 mins then rinse might work

The area is only 1.5sqm. So I only mixed a small amount of grout. I normally use BAL grout, but recently customers have been getting their own grout. I did 30sqm of floor a few weeks back and used an Italian grout. I mixed it to the letter (used a measuring jug for water). It turned out so dry I had difficulty working with it. I have never used Granfix grout, but it did state only to mix enough for 20mins work! Good job I was not doing a big floor area, as I'm pretty sure there would definitely be colour variation in the grout. So if anything, I may have slightly (only slightly) mixed the grout a little on the wet side. I used a well squeezed out sponge to wipe off excess grout. If I don't have any luck with the vinegar do you think I could just paint on Aquamix colourant?

is that the grout pens .That would be your best option . Recommend you find a grout you feel comfortable using and stick to it .That way you are not dealing with different brands and problems just supply your own and ask customers to return what they purchase . grout can make or break a good job

Aquamix colourant comes in a bottle. It is applied with a toothbrush. I have used it before, but did not know if it would work on this discoloured grout. Am I thinking that this whiteness is not efflorescence? You are quite right about sticking to one brand. Cheers Sean

You might struggle to get Aquamix colourant now but I can say that the stuff sold by Tradetiler is as good if not better...actually I prefer it, it seems to take hold quicker.
Tradetiler Universeal Grout Colour

Originally Posted by Sir Ramic

You might struggle to get Aquamix colourant now but I can say that the stuff sold by Tradetiler is as good if not better...actually I prefer it, it seems to take hold quicker.
Tradetiler Universeal Grout Colour

arghh. No brown!!! Cheers anyway Sir Ramic.

I had the same problem with that same grout about 4 year ago back when tony from tile it all (now tile giant) supplied there gear, I bit the bullet and re grouted using mapei!! will never use granfix grout again