Removing old grout

jak68 · 19 Feb 2013

Hi I am having to lift some of our floor tiles as the grout I had used wasn't very waterproof (even though it said it was).
First question is can any one recommend a good tool for removing grout (I only need a cheap one as I only have about 10 tiles to lift) and also what would people recommend for a waterproof grout (I am looking for a cream coloured grout. Out of curiosity would it be worthwhile sealing the grout after it has dried ?

iwaters · 19 Feb 2013

Best thing is a grout rake. Like this:

http://www.wickes.co.uk/grout-rake/invt/514119/

Takes a bit of elbow grease but no so bad.

When you say waterproof do you mean one that doesn't fall apart when wet or do you mean something that is completely impermeable to water? The only true waterproof grout is an epoxy grout which costs a lot of money and is a git to install. If you don't need total water proofing then any decent bagged grout which is suitable for wet areas will be fine. Worth getting one with a fungicide in to prevent mold growth. BAL stuff is widely recommend but there are others.

jak68 · 19 Feb 2013

The problem I have is that the dog is getting a bit old now and occasionally she has used the kitchen floor as a toilet and it has seeped through the existing grout, I am just looking for the best way of sealing against it

jctilingservices · 19 Feb 2013

sorry if this sounds stupid, but i cannot figure out why you want to take some of the tiles up just to regrout, unless the tiles are lifting. The new grout wont be the same colour as the old grout and will stand out like a sore thumb, cut the old grout out and simply regrout.obviously it would be a better job if yu regrouted the entire floor, but a hand rake would take ages, you could buy something a the bosch pmf180 multi tool, would not take long at all to remove ALL the old grout and pretty muc NO mess at all

rjm2k · 19 Feb 2013

Is it a large kitchen? You may be better off just putting some lino over the top until the dog is no more.

jak68 · 19 Feb 2013

no its not a big kitchen, but do not want to put lino down really

jctilingservices · 19 Feb 2013

jak68 said:
no its not a big kitchen, but do not want to put lino down really

sorry if this sounds stupid, but i cannot figure out why you want to take some of the tiles up just to regrout, unless the tiles are lifting. The new grout wont be the same colour as the old grout and will stand out like a sore thumb, cut the old grout out and simply regrout.obviously it would be a better job if yu regrouted the entire floor, but a hand rake would take ages, you could buy something a the bosch pmf180 multi tool, would not take long at all to remove ALL the old grout and pretty muc NO mess at all
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jak68 · 19 Feb 2013

hi , some of the tiles are lifting and I have pulled them up and then I will dig the old grout out of the other tiles and put fresh in so it is all the same

rjm2k · 19 Feb 2013

jak68 said:
no its not a big kitchen, but do not want to put lino down really

have a look at some of the modern tile effect lino, looks pretty much the same as tiles and is softer/warmer and far more hygenic as it's easy to clean.

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Removing old grout

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