Grouting Tips

Preparing to Grout

Prior to carrying out any grouting, remove all spacers and brush or blow away any loose tile adhesive from the joints. We don’t recommend you grout over spacers as this can cause colour variation and will result in only a thin layer of grout being applied, undoing all the hard work you have already done fixing the tiles to the wall or floor.

Wipe down the tile edges to ensure a clean surface is available for the grout to bond to. Do not allow puddles of water to gather in the joints as this can have a significant impact on the performance of the grout.

Stage 1 – Mixing the Grout

There are a couple of really important things to remember when mixing your grout. Firstly, make sure you use cold, clean water with the correct ratio of powder – this can be found on the product’s packaging – and always use a clean bucket. When mixing:

• Always add the powder to the water gradually. DO NOT pour all the powder in to the bucket at once.
• Mix the product until you get a smooth, lump free consistency. You can achieve this by using a mixing trowel, or something similar, or a mechanical whisk (if you have one!)
• After the initial mixing, leave the grout to stand for a couple of minutes before you begin mixing again. This ensures full reactivity and wetting of all the components of the grout.
• Do not mix more grout than can be applied within the pot life – if you do, you will end up throwing product away which is an expensive thing to do!
• It’s important to keep the ratio of water to powder the same for all applications to ensure the colour stays consistent.
• Under no circumstances add any extra water to the grout. This will weaken the product and cause the colour of the grout to change.

Stage 2 – Applying the Grout

Before you start applying the grout, it’s worth taking a moment to remember the following points.

Make sure your tiles are fully secure and do not move under pressure (the drying time of the adhesive can change depending on the environment you are working in so it’s always worth checking they are fully secure rather than just relying on the packaging information).

If you’re satisfied your tiles aren’t going anywhere, start grouting in small areas ensuring the joint is filled completely. We also recommend the following:

• Only apply a small amount of grout onto the tile surface.
• Using a squeegee, or something similar, spread the grout into the joints and compact firmly – you don’t want to leave any air bubbles in the joints!
• Don’t be scared to apply a firm pressure. You want to make sure the joints are fully compacted which may require you to apply more grout over the initial application a couple of times.
• Once the joints are fully filled, remove any excess grout by moving a squeegee over the tile. Make sure you keep the squeegee at 90 degrees as this will prevent the grout from coming out from the joint.
• Leave the grout to firm before cleaning.

Stage 3 – Cleaning and Finishing Off

This is the exciting bit! You can finally wash the excess grout off and see your hard work in all its glory. Before you start cleaning make sure the grout has dried fully and when ready, use a small amount of water for cleaning. Any excess water is at risk of absorbing into the grout which can potentially change the colour – no one wants patchy grout!

You may also find the below tips helpful:

• Make sure you only use clean water and a clean sponge when cleaning your tiles.
• Work in small areas.
• You only need to dampen the sponge – it doesn’t need to be wringing wet.
• Wiping over the surface of the tile and joints with a damp sponge will remove the majority of the grout from the surface of the tiles.
• Keep washing the grout out of the sponge so you are using the cleanest tools possible. Use cold water to re-wet the sponge and, once again, wring out as much water as possible.

We hope you found our tips useful. If you would like any more information on how to mix, apply and clean your grout, send us a tweet @UltraTileFix or call 01827 254402.