Does your shower have dirty, moldy and dingy looking grout and caulk? There are many ways to regrout and recaulk a shower or bath but there is categorically only one way to do the job properly so your shower will stay waterproof, stainproof and look beautiful for years to come.
First step is to completely clean your tiles: Many dirty showers have soap scum accumulation which must be completely cleaned before any regrouting course can begin. It is prominent to use a professional soap scum remover product as well as a professional scrub pad to scrub away the dirt and soap scum from your shower walls and floor. Do not use any type of grinder scrub pad as they may scratch your tiles. It can be helpful to use a professional steam cleaning machine in conjunction with the soap scum removers and scrub pads. A professional truckmounted steam cleaning machine is beneficial to accelerate the cleaning process but professional soap scum removers and scrub pads as well as a fair estimate of elbow grease can be very productive in removing all of the soap scum from your shower walls and floor.
Bathroom Shower
Second step is to remove the dirty, moldy grout and caulk: It is prominent to first remove all the old caulk from inside and colse to your shower. The best way to remove old caulk is to use a razor blade tool and scrape it all out from inside and colse to your shower. After the old caulk has been removed it is now time to remove the grout from your shower. There are many tools like a Dremel or Rotozip tool to do this but the hands down best tool is a Fein Multimaster or Supercut vibrating tool with a brilliant bit. It is prominent to use the Fein tool on every grout line and clean every line with a stiff brush to make sure the new grout will have a firm base to cleave to.
Third step is to dry out your walls: In most cases some water and mold has gotten into your wall. It is therefore necessary to completely and completely dry your shower walls before any regrouting course can take place. Do not attempt to regrout over top of a wet shower wall substrate. The water in your walls can continue to harbor dangerous mold and mildew. Also your grout will not set properly due to the moisture in your walls and will come to be discolored and flake away after a very short duration of time. The best way to dry out your shower walls is with a professional dehumidifier for at least 3-7 days. This way you can be positive your shower walls will come to be dry and any mold and mildew gift in your walls is killed before you begin regrouting.
Fourth step is to apply the grout to your shower: It is best to use a profession grout powder mixed with latex additive Do not use any premixed or ready to use products as these are vastly inferior and technically not cement products at all. It is best to go to a professional tile store and purchase your grouting supplies from an experienced salesman. Try to stay away from the big box home correction market as they have many inferior products and their sales people commonly do not specialize in tile setting products.
Fifth step is to recaulk your shower: The caulk is the weakest link between water damaging your walls and floors so it is prominent to apply it correctly You should caulk between all tile wall planes and between and fixtures and the tiles. This will insure that water does not get between your tiles and into your walls and floor. It is best to use only 100% silicon caulks. 100% silicon caulk will last the longest and will not allow mold and mildew to grow like the cheaper water based latex or siliconized caulks.
Sixth step is sealing: It is prominent to seal your grout with a professional impregnating sealer. A high capability sealer will safe your grout from stains and also forestall mold and mildew from forming. Here again it is recommended that your purchase a professional sealer from a tile store and stay away from the cheaper sealers being sold at the big box stores.
Seventh step is to wait 72 hours: Wait 72 hours for your grout and caulk to fully cure and then go and enjoy your new looking shower. A regrouting course can be done by many homeowners with the allowable tools and some handyman skills. It can also be very suitable and save a lot of headaches to have a professional tile and grout cleaning and recovery company to expertly regrout and recaulk your shower or bath.
How to Hire a professional Regrouting Contractor: Make sure that your ask many questions of your potential regrouting undertaker of a package deal and do not decree for a cheap incomplete one day regrouting and recaulking procedure. One day regrouting procedures will look sloppy and the grout and caulk will fail in a short duration of time. One day regrouting procedures also fail to address any potential water damage in your walls. Also do not accept any company that just skim coats new grout over the old grout. A skim coat course will not last and it will only be a short duration of time before your skim coated grout starts to chip and flake away. Additionally the new grout will trap water between the two layers of grout causing your shower waterproofing ideas to fail. Check with your state labor and industries as well as the good company Bureau (Bbb) to make sure your potential undertaker of a package deal is fully license and insured and does not have any unresolved good company Bureau Complaints that may be an indication of shoddy workmanship. For supplementary data about how our company performs its regrouting and recaulking services please visit credit Tile Care online.
How to Properly Regrout and Recaulk Your Shower Or Bath
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