My new house has ceramic tile. Do I need to put sealant on it?

Question

I am very worried about the tile. It seems that in every restraunt, friends house, or anyplace with ceramic tile, it has this shiny gloss to it and never stains. Is this just the tile? Because the grout in my kitchen and bathroom has stained in a couple of places. But at these other places, ie restraunt bathrooms, I have looked and there is no staining at all. Im also scared to mop the floor and end up staining the grout (I have been here a year and have never mopped). Help!! What do I do, and if i need sealer, how do I put it on??? Thanks!!!!

Answer 1

Hey there! Ok.. I've read some good answers and couple were pretty terrible, too.

First for the tile. Don't worry that your tile doesn't have a gloss, that's very common. It's probably just that it is a porcelain tile, versus a ceramic tile. The difference; porcelain is signicantly more durable and it typically has the same color or a similar color going all the way through the tile... unlike ceramic, which has that brown clay color under the glazed finish. Well, that glaze stratches and cracks easily and it doesn't look as natural as a good porcelain tile. With porcelain, you typically don't see scratches due to that similarly colored body... plus it is much harder to scratch anyway. And unless your tile is natural stone, it is not porous and therefore it will not stain. Grout can stain, however, and there are way to prevent it... keep reading!

As for the grout, it sounds like there are a couple of stains. One suggestion I read was right on the money (water and vineger) for the cleaning of the tile and grout, but I would do it slightly different. First do a thorough sweep and then a couple of fresh warm water mops without using anything else. The reason is to get all the dirt off the floor before giving it a penetrating cleansing. Next, take 1 part white vinegar to 4 or 5 parts warm water and mop the floor again, and use some elbow grease! Also, where you have seen these stains on your grout, use a soft brush toothbrush to scrub and clean these areas really well.

After this... give it another mop or two with fresh water to get up all the vinegar. I know... sounds like a lot of work, but you won't do this all the time; this is to prepare your floor for sealing the grout and making future cleanings very simple. So, in the long run, it's totally worth it!

Alright! Now tile is finally mopped... our grout is as clean as possible and we may have even removed those stains. If they're still there, they're bothering you, and you want to take care of them once and for all... I have a solution. If they are gone, you like how the grout looks and want to protect it so you don't have to go crazy getting it clean again... I also have a solution!

IF IT IS STILL STAINED: We will use a product called ColorFast Grout Colorant (http://www.colorfastind.com/products/groutcolorant.htm) This is an awesome product that will penetrate color and protection into your existing grout and it will elimate the future need to maintain the grout, too! It's epoxy based, which means no future maintenance. I can't put into words how wonderful this product truly is. Even if you want to completely change the color of the grout... this product will do it! And, again, it will protect it with a finish that requires absolutely no maintenance! To apply it to your grout is a snap... simply use a foam triangle tipped brush and paint it on your grout joints or use an applicator they also sell that has a foam wheel atop the lid for a very simple job. After applying it, you come back w/ a sponge and a bucket of water and remove excess colorant off of the surface of your tile. And that's it! You're done! This is my prefered solution for any floor grout.. whether stained or not due to the fact that you eliminate future maintenance of the grout forever. This product is for ceramic and porcelain only... do not use on natural stone.

No more stains... let's just protect it now: Easy! I suggest either a product called 511 Impregnator or 511 Porous Plus, both by Miracle Sealants Company (www.miraclesealants.com) These products are raved upon by the best high-end tile supply stores in the world, they're easy to apply, and are also used to make surfaces less slipery (it can be applied to the entire floor without changing the appearance). These products form an invisible coating that protects the most porous surfaces out there. In fact, these sealants are my choice for natural stone which is more susceptible to staining than grout. The only difference among the two is that the porous plus is a little bit better and costs more money... but it's also shown in independent tests to out perform any other competitive product on the market! So, you can't go wrong there! Application is similar to that of the Grout Colorant or you can apply it over the entire floor for slip resistance... again, without changing the appearance!

So... there you have it! It sounds like you have a porcelain tile on your floor... a good thing, a floor and some stains to clean up... common (you're not alone), and I guarantee you now have the best solutions! I know, I'm in the business specializing in high-endn custom installations and I use these products on a regular basis. Good luck... and let me know how it works out for you!

Answer 2

Sealing Ceramic Tile

Answer 3

so....i take it that you want to seal the grout, not the ceramic tile. they're two completely different things.

you can seal a grout by using any sealers that can seal porous materials. that'll keep most of the things from staining it.

You will, however, have many choices of sealants. Most are topical, which is like putting a thin layer of wax on the surface to repel liquids and oils. This works ok for the most part but in time it will fade and you will have to reseal every year or two. It also will not protect your surface for a very long time. Within about ten to twenty minutes, the liquid or oil will saturate your stone.

The alternative is a fluorocarbon based sealants that will chemically change your grout/stone to make the surface tension of the stone/surface less than water, repelling water more effectively. You also do not need to reseal after a year or two because it's not topical. The only sensitivity is with UV/sunlight.

The downside of these sealants is that it does not repel oil very well. If it's for bathrooms, you should be ok, unless you decide to take a bottle of crisco and cook something in the bathroom.

Whatever you do, make sure you wipe the surface clean after a spill, as soon as you can, and also that when you seal your surface, you give it a good 2nd or even 3rd coat to seal it well.

Answer 4

Ceramic Tile Sealer

Answer 5

some ceramic tile is polished to a high gloss, while some is matte finish. for the floor, a high gloss would be dangerously slippery. a matte finish is best. is the grout white? too bad if it is, because there are so many colors of grout to choose from nowadays that dont show the dirt like white does. there is a product you can apply to the grout to protect it. i suspect that it is what is used in the restaurants and public washrooms. whatever you do, dont apply a high gloss finish to your ceramic floor tile.

the grout sealer comes with easy to follow directions. make sure and clean or bleach the grout first before you apply the sealer

Answer 6

I looked into tiling our basement floor a few years ago. The tile installer at the store said to put down a layer of thick tar paper on the floor and tile as you normally would right on top of it. He said this serves two functions, it keeps moisture out, and it lessens the chances of cracks showing up. He showed me areas in the store where they tiled over existing tile, linoleum, & wood. Using the felt allows for easy removal when a displayed tile is discontinued. Thinset sticks perfectly to it. We were going to do just that but ended up using rubber-backed carpet squares instead, which are working out great.

Answer 7

If it's grout, it will probably stain, but grout is easy to clean and/or re-apply. You can get a commercial grout sealer or use a 1-to-1 solution of water & vinegar.

To re-apply grout, you can just get a bag from a local flooring store, add water, and spread it with a trowel until it fills in all of the gaps, smooth out any inconsistancies with a finger, and there'll be a light haze over the floor... just wipe it clean with a wet sponge, then let the grout dry.

In your friends house and restaurants, they probably have a sheet of tiles that came out of the box with the rubber sealant inbetween. You shouldn't put any rubber-like sealant inbetween the tiles in your house -- it would be very messy to say the least. Stick to grout.

Answer 8

I would assume that it is a new house, so I would suggest that you do seal it. It should have been done when the tile was laid, but it won't hurt to do it again. Once a year after this should be fine.