I just retiled and grouted my shower walls. Do I need to wait to use my shower until after I seal the grout?
2007-05-25 23:55:16 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
I've installed thousands of sq. ft. of tile and remodeled a lot of bathrooms, and to wait 10 days to seal grout is a bit of overkill.
Certainly with care you can use it if you have to. Use plastic drop cloths taped above wherever the spray will hit any of the shower walls, and covering whatever they butt to at the base.
For a DIY I assume 10 days was suggested but if I was doing the job, I would wait that long to seal. Beyond that I'd have concrete backer board as the substrate, and use a poly blended mortar and grout. Others here will thumb me down, but I've never used a sealer on any grout I've ever installed, and have no complaints so far.
Steven Wolf
2007-05-26 00:06:16 · answer #1 · answered by DIY Doc 7 · 1⤊ 5⤋
I've installed lots of tile and really the only time you can't use the shower is between the time you lay the tile and you grout it. after you grout the shower (and rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse & rinse some more.) 24 Hours is plenty of time to wait to seal it. But if you are thinking (and it sounds like it) that the sealer's job is to make it water proof, it isn't. Sealer just makes cleaning the grout easier and keeps the grout from absorbing stains, soap scum etc.. You really could go with out sealing, but best practices say seal. After all how many people do you know that even bother to reseal a shower, ever. The grout itself is water tight. So unless you're planning to shower with red dye #2, I'd turn off the garden hose and start showering.
2007-05-26 01:28:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
If you can get it reasonably clean with an amonia or bleach based cleaner, you can get a paint like whitener that comes in a bottle with a fine applicator and paint that on. If you were staying, I would recommend removing the existing grout with a special tool and regrouting - its the only real way to get it clean, but it may not be worth the effort if you are only going to be there short term. Once you have it clean, get a squeegy so you can squeegy the shower dry after each use - it really does stop mould developing.
2016-04-01 09:04:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Water isn't a problem on curing grout but you don't want soaps or chemical on the grout before it is sealed, but you should be able to seal within a few days.
2007-05-26 10:44:52 · answer #4 · answered by buzzards27 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I've never heard of waiting 10 days for the grout to dry! Check your instructions again. It's usually only 24 hours! The grout seal should dry in less than 24 hours!
My god! How long has it been since you showered?
Thanks
2007-05-26 00:02:16 · answer #5 · answered by telwidit 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I would be best to seal then shower. If the grout gets wet then you have to wait even longer for it to dry before sealing.
2007-05-26 00:05:23 · answer #6 · answered by BJPW 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would be wise to wait until the sealing has been done otherwise you need to completely wait until the area dries again. We bought a spray on sealer which dried in about 6 hours. Good Luck
2007-05-26 00:01:09 · answer #7 · answered by someones friend 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would be a good idea soap scum could prevent the sealer from penatrating properly.Also wait the alloted time for the sealer to dry usually 24 hours.
2007-05-26 16:12:54 · answer #8 · answered by Amy m 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes you should. If you don't wait the grout won't be dry all the way through and the sealant will not penitrate all the way through.
2007-05-26 06:54:35 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no some peopledont even use grout sealer its an xtra
2007-05-26 03:29:24 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋