upgrade your tile grout Escape the white with colour or even glitter in your bathroom
Give tiles a quick refresh with clean, crisp, and even colourful grout
Lovely white grout never takes long to become mouldy, dirty-looking grout, does it? Spend a weekend replacing yours – and while you’re at it, why not try something different from white this time, with a colour or even glitter grout?
1. GET READY Cover the floor with a dust sheet to make cleaning up quicker. If you’re working over a bath, sink or basin, put the plug in to stop grout blocking the waste. Open windows and doors to ventilate the room, as there will be a lot of dust in the air. If you can’t, wear a safety mask. Put goggles on, so you don’t get bits of flying grout in your eyes. 2. GET TOOLED UP You can remove grout with a nail, but it’s very fiddly! It’s better to buy or borrow a grout rake (try the heavy duty grout remover, £4.70, B&Q) and spare blades (£4.38, B&Q). The best option, though, is an electric grout remover (such as the vitrex Grout Out, £27.99, screwfix). It’s far less labour intensive, especially if you’re doing a whole room rather than just a splashback. 3. DIG OUT THE GROUT Fit the rake into a line of grout, starting in the middle of a tile. apply pressure and draw it along the line in a slow, steady movement. If you’re using an electric tool, there’s no need to apply pressure, but be sure to choose the correct size head and be careful not to damage the tile edges as you go. do the vertical lines first, then the horizontals. Wipe over the tiles to remove the dust. 4. APPLY THE NEW GROUT If using powdered grout, mix up just as much as you’ll be able to use in 20 minutes (it’ll start to harden after that). apply a blob of your mixed powder or ready-mixed grout to a grout spreader (using a scraper or grout trowel). Use the spreader to work the grout into the lines, going over the tiles with the edge to clean off excess. 5. FINISH THE JOB Use a well-squeezed damp tile sponge to clean off the excess. If any grout falls out when you do, just push a little back in with your finger. Let it harden for about half an hour, then use a grout finisher to give tidy, indented lines – you simply run the rounded end along the line gently. Leave it to dry for a few hours, then use a soft, clean cloth to polish away the powdery residue on the surface of the tiles.
Gently run the rounded end of a Grout finishing tool along the lines to Get a perfect, slightly indented finish