Common Grouting Mistakes & How To Avoid Them

I don’t think anyone would disagree with me if I said grouting isn’t enjoyable. Sure, it’s satisfying and at the end you feel a weight lifted off your shoulders, but deep down it’s not our favorite part. When it comes to the whole tile installation however, grouting is the single most important part of the process (aside from proper tile install like back buttering and such). 

Here's what I mean. A mediocre tile job can be easily saved by a magnificent grout job as long as the tiles installed aren’t completely whack; but a perfect tile job is instantly ruined by a mediocre grout job. This is simply because as humans we like patterns, and when a pattern is interrupted by something out of the ordinary, we see it immediately. Grout, visually, is nothing more than a bunch of straight lines oftentimes amongst blank squares. Of course you’re going to see every imperfection, it’s just our nature. 

This is probably only me because I’m a tile guy, but when I’m at a restaurant or a hotel or someone's house I notice a lot of grout problems and failures. Here are the most common problems I see and how to avoid them during install.

Washed Out Joints

This may seem simple and easy to avoid - and it is - but when you’re staring at the same wall or floor initial washing over and over again, it's super easy to accidentally scrub the same joint multiple times and risk washing it out. The trick to this is always changing your perspective of the room. This will allow your brain to get a fresh look at the grout lines and more easily recognize any unwanted patterns. The other time I see washed out joints typically happens more with epoxy grout, though it's not exclusive. When you’re spreading the grout to move fast, sometimes the grout doesn’t pack tight in the joints and is just suspended at the top of the joint making it look full. This leads to the grout settling down into the joint and creating a washed out look. The trick here is to make sure your float always has good pressure consistently. The reason I see this more with epoxy grout in my opinion is because it’s much stickier than normal grout and is more likely to suction to the tiles making air bubbles under the grout.

Pinholes

This is by far the most common mistake. Some pinholes are very noticeable, and some will forever always go unseen. These typically happen when you’re not spreading enough grout at a time, or you’re spreading way too quickly. The absolute best way to catch them is during the final wash. Since you're already intently looking for streaks and inconsistencies, start also looking for pinholes; if your grout hasn’t already just flashed on you, don’t throw it away until you’re done final washing. If you find a pinhole, dab some grout on your finger, spread it into the area, final wash swipe once or twice and it's taken care of. Another trick of the trade, depending on how visible the pinhole is, is to take some color match silicone if handy and dab a little of the silicone in the joint instead of mixing grout. Now like I said, this is dependent on where the pinhole is and its size - use common sense. :)

Grout Haze

This is a difficult one because every grout is totally different. This isn’t fool proof for every grout type and brand, and especially won't work as well for epoxy / urethane grouts. When you’re final washing, having clean water is important. Well yeah no duh. I know that's a given but it happens all the time. We've all been there - you're washing a large area and you may get halfway through and you probably should go get a new bucket of clean water but you don’t and you keep going and then you have to deal with streaks and haze later. So just... make sure you have clean water. You can also keep a couple microfiber towels with you when you final wash and buff the tile as you go, this will seriously eliminate a lot if you’re concerned about haze. 

Grout Residue 

Similar to haze, kind of, sorta, not really. Grout residue is when there are chunks or patches of dried unwashed grout on the surface of the tile. This is avoidable by just being more aware and observant. So just be aware and observant. 

Now there are many other mistakes that happen in grout and maybe we can talk about more in the future, but these are the most common and easiest to avoid. Next time you grout, try to make it fun! Find something satisfying about your process and take pride in the messy muddy world we all live in as tile setters.