How to Clean Tile and Stain Grout

The previous owner of our home had the hallways, kitchen, breakfast nook, and guest bathroom tiled with a white textured tile and rose colored grout. We cleaned the tile and re-stained the grout with an acrylic water-based stain and sealer.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Grout stain
• Small paint brush

1. Small sections of tile may be cleaned by hand using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Hire a professional tile cleaning company to clean larger areas. (Carpet cleaning companies will also clean tile floors.) The grout should be cleaned with a detergent and acid cleaner, rinsed
   and allowed to dry. Once cleaned, the existing grout will be brighter.

2. Obtain colored grout samples from a flooring or tile supply store. Use the samples to select a suitable color of tile grout stain. (We chose a Sandstone Beige that effectively covered the old rose colored grout.)

3. Apply the stain with a small paint brush. A one pint can of sealer should cover approximately 100-200 square feet of tile with two applications. Once the sealer has dried, use a damp cloth to remove any excess from the tiles. To prevent leaving paint on the tile, wrap
   a damp cloth around a finger tip and rub along the tile edges. (The manufacturer of the stain we chose also sold a cleaning solution designed to be used with a scrub brush.)

4. Stain the grout in smaller sections at a time to prevent being overwhelmed by the project. When the stain has completely dried and the excess removed, mop the floor again with plain water.

[bakerthebrand]

on 8/27/2009 Nice. I recently did this to my tiles.