In everyday life, people often encounter a situation where the tile in the bathroom is well preserved, and the grout has lost its appearance. It happens that over time it can not perform the function of protecting against moisture. In order not to change the tile, people are wondering how to remove grout from the tile joints. The services of a professional tiler are expensive, and he will advise you to change the tile. Therefore, it is advisable to find out how to remove grout from the joints with your own hands and how to make a new one. We will talk about this in our article today.
Why does grout wear?
The grout problem occurs due to several reasons:
- It occurs that people initially chose the wrong grout composition that was required. When choosing, you need to take into account what temperature regime in the room, and also take into account increased humidity.
- Independent work with grouting can lead to errors in operation. Some leave empty spaces at the seams, others do not grout to the entire depth of the seam.
- It is important to knead the solution strictly according to the instructions. If you make the mixture liquid, then the final coating may be short-lived. Consistency may also affect grout strength. The manufacturer prints recommendations on the package, you need to step by step follow these tips for preparing the solution.
- Not everyone takes care of the tiles correctly. People often use chemical cleaners that corrode grout. It gradually begins to collapse and crumble.
- One of the most difficult problems with grouting is the appearance of mold and fungus on the seams. Microorganisms can penetrate under the tiles and settle even on the wall. Therefore, often, to get rid of mold, you have to remove the tiles and sanitize the walls.
- Grout wear increases with poor ventilation in the bathroom. Dampness adversely affects the coating.
- Seams become dirty when there is no timely cleaning. As a result, the coating deteriorates.
How to assess the condition of the grout and find out if it needs to be changed?
To understand whether you need to change the grout, you should evaluate the condition of the seams. To do this, remove dirt from the seams. When there are no chips and cracks in the grout, it can still be used for some time. You can simply update the color of the seams.
If a fungus appears or the coating partially crumbles, then dismantling is mandatory. Grout replacement is needed when there are gaps in the seams. The coating begins to crumble. When the mold does not peel off, grout must be removed and the joints disinfected.
What are the main grout removal methods?
People usually use two methods to remove grout from the joints. These include:
Chemical way: differences
Many people ask how to remove old grout from tile joints. One of the most common methods is the use of chemical compounds. Special components destroy the hardened mixture, while the tile remains intact. It is important to remember that the chemical components must be selected specifically for the type of grout. You need to work according to the instructions. Be sure to wear gloves and a respirator during removal of the coating. It is necessary to protect the skin and respiratory tract from these reagents.
What chemicals are suitable?
Before removing the tile grout between the joints of the tile, you need to clean the surface. After that, chemical solvents can be used. Reviews say that Sorpo Zea, Atlas Szop is good. Tools such as Keranet and Clean will help to cope with the problem. Judging by the reviews, Litoclean is well established in the market.
Why are safety precautions important when working?
It is important to know how to properly remove old grout from tile joints. It is also necessary to remember safety measures. This issue is especially important since many solvents are based on acids. When using, you can make mistakes, then the surface will be damaged. For example, after working on a tile, a bright spot may appear.
Chemical grout removal sequence
Before you quickly remove the old grout from the seams of the tiles, you need to study the procedure for processing with chemical agents:
- You need to take a thin brush and with it you need to apply the mixture to the seams in the room.
- Five hours should be enough for the reagent to start acting. The grout gradually becomes softer, after which it can be removed.
- You can try to remove the grout with a knife. It happens that the composition departs poorly. In this case, you need to repeat the application of the solution to the seams. To remove the epoxy grout from the tile joints, you will need to repeat one more procedure.
There are substances that immediately dissolve the grout. After applying this solution, you will need to rinse the wall.
Tools for the mechanical way to remove grout
Before you remove the grout from the seams of the tiles, you need to prepare the right tool. To work, you will need:
- Knife, it is better to use a construction one. In an extreme case, clerical will do.
- You should find a screwdriver, a small chisel is suitable. Removing the grout will take a lot of time and effort, but this method helps not to spoil the tile.
- You will need a joint extender. It is needed in order to remove an already hardened seam. This tool greatly facilitates the work. It has one minus, namely the high cost. It can be purchased if such work is yet to come.
- It will be useful to electric drill. It helps to remove old grout in record time. This work is considered almost jewelry, it is important not to accidentally hook the tile. This method is great for the bathroom, where the tile holds firmly to the wall.
- Electric jigsaw dremel. Its main difference from conventional tools is a flat half-disk. This tool speeds up the work. Grout is removed in a few minutes.
- If there is no drill and other tools at hand, then a screwdriver is suitable for work. He will cope with the removal of the old coating seams. In this case, you need a special nozzle. It is a miniature disk on which there are metal fibers. In this way, the floor tiles are treated. It is more stable in operation.
Step by step grout removal with a drill
Before you quickly remove the grout from the seams of the tiles, you need to prepare the tools and clean the surface. Actions should be performed step by step:
- It is necessary to clean the seams with a solution consisting of water and vinegar. If there is no vinegar at home, then you can use citric acid. It is preferable because of its smell. Vinegar has a more unpleasant odor than acid.
- With this solution, you need to wipe all the seams in the room. If a person used vinegar, then you need to wait thirty minutes. When citric acid was used, the solution should be left at the seams for about a day.
- You need to choose a thin drill, it should not be wider than the seam.
- The drill must be turned on at the smallest power. Next, you need to carefully walk along the seams.
- When the entire grout is removed, then a hard-bristled brush passes along the seams. She removes the remaining coating.
- The final step will be the treatment of joints with an antiseptic.
Step by step removal of grout with a knife
It happens that there is no drill at home, but there is a construction knife. They can also clean the joints from grouting. This process will take a little more time, but the result will be unchanged.
It is important to choose a knife with a convenient handle, otherwise your hands will quickly get tired. The task is complex, time-consuming. You must complete the following steps:
- The knife is placed in the center of each seam. To make the blade go deeper, you can tap the knife with a hammer.
- It is necessary to press the knife and draw a line along the entire length of the seam.
- Remove grout from each edge.
- If a small amount of grout remains, it can be removed at the end of the work with sandpaper.
- Do not forget to treat the seams with an antiseptic composition. There is a special primer that prevents the fungus from appearing.
- When the primer layer has dried, you can begin work with a new grout.
What folk methods help to cope with this task?
Some people are interested in how to remove grout from tile seams with folk remedies. The most famous methods include:
- The use of vinegar and citric acid.
- A solution prepared from glycerin and water helps well; the ratio is one to three. The resulting composition needs to be smeared with seams and left to dry. You can remove the old grout from the seams of the tiles, as soon as the composition is completely dry. You can use a plastic spatula.
- It happens that the grout in the application process gets on the tile. If it has already dried up and cannot be washed off with water, then you can use a solution prepared on the basis of water and white spirit. Kerosene is allowed. Work with such a composition is possible only with gloves. You need to put the solution on the sponge and walk it on the surface of the tile. Tiles can be easily cleaned from the old grout.
After the work done, you can begin the restoration of the joints and applying a new grout to the surface.
Conclusion
So, we looked at how to remove old grout from tile joints. As you can see, this work can be done in several ways. But in any case, removing the old grout from the seams of the tiles will turn out on their own, without the involvement of specialists.