Help!: Discoloured Grout in wet room

[mick7]

Hi All

I have a wet room 2 years old, the grout despite thorough cleaning every day in discolured on the floor and half way up a couple of the walls. Can this all be raked out and redone? Job was done at great expense by a "professional" !!!!

Anyone near enough to do the job?

Help please it looks dreadful

[Dan]

Mick,

Could it be the plaster colour bleeding through a bit? Was it plastered before tiled?

[merlecollins]

Are the wall tiles loose where it is discoloured?

[Sir Ramic]

Hi All

I have a wet room 2 years old, the grout despite thorough cleaning every day in discolured on the floor and half way up a couple of the walls. Can this all be raked out and redone? Job was done at great expense by a "professional" !!!!

Anyone near enough to do the job?

Help please it looks dreadful

that would depend on your location

[mick7]

Many thanks for response. The wall staining has only started in the last 12 months, I thought tthat would be a bit late for the plaster to be bleeding through. The floor is laid on the Impey gradulated tray and tanked so no plaster there. Round the floor grate the grout looks blue/mouldy colour. Can it all be redone i.e. raked out ?

[mick7]

Hi


No tiles are loose at all.

PS: where the wall joins the floor the grout has cracked, should this have been siliconed?

I am in Sunbury, Middx.

[Sir Ramic]

Whats the colour of your shower gel ??

[merlecollins]

Can it all be redone i.e. raked out ?

It can be mate, awful job, but a good job is possible with the right person and gear.

But do you not want to find out why it's doing this so, it doesn't come back?

If it's dampness rising up behind the tiles, which is why I asked if the tiles are loose, it will continue to rise and you will be re-grouting again in another 2 years time.

[Sir Ramic]

Hi


No tiles are loose at all. Not yet !

PS: where the wall joins the floor the grout has cracked, should this have been siliconed? Yes

I am in Sunbury, Middx.

Thats me out of the question then

[merlecollins]

PS: where the wall joins the floor the grout has cracked, should this have been siliconed?

Yes it should.

Were the walls tanked?

[merlecollins]

If the walls were tanked, my advice would be:

remove all the existing grout from the floor and up the walls . Leave to dry for a few days without using the shower. Regrout all joints except the internal wall joints and floor perimeter - use a matching silicone from the Mapei range to seal all corners and floor perimeter.

[mick7]

Hi All

All different colour shower gels. Wet room has very light usage !!

Yes, I would like to know what the problem is but to be honest I spent a small fortune having the wet room, built fitted and tiled by "professionals" only 2 years ago. I dont really want the whole thing dismanted if possible.

There was real problems with the tiler and getting the correct slope ( Impey) on the floor. Not much we can do now bar rake it all out and start again?

[mick7]

Yes, walls are tanked.
I would really like to try and get someone to do this job for me, God knows who.
Can anyone recommend a good tool for grout removal please?

[Oli]

Sounds like its discolured from all the chemicals in the shampoos, I often see blue or pink statining in older bathrooms im ripping out. Have you resealed the grout since it was done, if it was sealed in the first place, i recommend having it redone every twelve months.

If it is from the chemicals, you should be able to rake it out regrout and reseal.

[Dan]

Many thanks for response. The wall staining has only started in the last 12 months, I thought tthat would be a bit late for the plaster to be bleeding through. The floor is laid on the Impey gradulated tray and tanked so no plaster there. Round the floor grate the grout looks blue/mouldy colour. Can it all be redone i.e. raked out ?

Ahhh okay I thought you meant just tiled. Though it still can blead through at a later stage I think?! (Pro's? Can it?)

[Dan]

Yes, walls are tanked.
I would really like to try and get someone to do this job for me, God knows who.
Can anyone recommend a good tool for grout removal please?

Don't do this yourself. You'll need to rake out the grout and not touch the tanking system behind the adhesive. A tiler will be able to do it with a Fein Multimaster (supplier: Tradetiler tilers Fein Multimaster)

You can use a "grout rake" but it's time consuming and you could chip tiles.

I'll leave the rest for the pro's as they seem to be getting to the bottom of it for you.

[merlecollins]

I really don't think this has been caused by superficial staining from shower gels, etc. due to Mick saying it was mouldy.

This really sounds like dampness, especially if you're also saying the perimeter floor joint has cracked.

Use a Fein cutter to remove, but be careful not to cut the tanking membrane behind the tiles - if you can remove it to a thickness of at least 5mm that should be adequate. let it dry out and re-grout, making sure to seal the internals and perimeter joints with silicone.

[mick7]

HI

Thanks for all the help. Looks like I need someone to do this for me. help!!

[merlecollins]

Sorry Mick can't help you there - I live in Orkney....

Couldn't be further away if I tried...

[Dale44]

Seal the grout when you finish the job, with seal guard to stop any possible staining.

[Dave]

Hi mick.....Can i ask a couple questions...

.
1 : Is there a ventialtion fan in the room..?

2 : what do you use to clean the room with.?

[mick7]

yes ventilation fan
Just squeegy it down every time and clean it with Lithofin products every so often.

[Dave]

what product would that be mick please..?

[mick7]

Lithofin grout cleaner and impregnator ( stain stop - or should I say not in my case1)

[Dave]

I think we need to see some pics please mick...can you do that for us.?

[mick7]

Will try a take some pics in next couple of days.

Still no luck getting anyone out to even look at it. Everyone says too fiddly and might chip tiles. Must be plenty of money about !

Cheers

[Smithy153]

Bit of a tricky one this one. Be better if you new the cause to work out the correct rectification. If its just staining from shower gel etc then I would go with a grout recolour. As long as the grout is good just stained it can have some very good results. Alot less fiddly than a regrout with less risks. I would have siliconed the wall floor joints and the wall corners.