Epoxy grout for bathroom?

[JohnW2]

Hi there,

My daughter is re-doing her bathroom and, because of mould problems she's had in the past, has asked me if I could use epoxy grout (the room is being almost completely tiled). My only past experience of epoxy grout has been on kitchen work surfaces. That was a good few years ago and was a pretty messy business, but has proved worthwhile; I gather that things have moved on and that it's probably not quite so messy/tedious these days!

Given that epoxy grout seems to still have pretty limited available, I can but presume that it is not being used very much in normal domestic situations. Does this mean that modern 'anti-mould' cement-based grouts are actually regarded as adequate in this situation? In other words, do you think I should be trying to persuade my daughter that 'traditional grout' would be OK?

Another issue is that the logistics of this work is such that the tiling/grouting will not all be done at the same time. What little epoxy grout I can find seems only to come in relatively large quantities these days - does anyone know if smallish quantities (say 1 kg) are available from anywhere and/or does anyone have experience of trying to mix less than the entire batch (something not recommended by manufacturers)?

Kind Regards, John

 

[mikethepipe]

hi John,don't usually post on here,there will be many others with info I'm sure,there are several strings to your question,the mould,which is almost inevitable after a period of time somewhere in a wet area may be lessened by a good extractor fan.
I have tried many mould proof grouts over the years,but they will eventually discolour,if not get mould on.
Epoxy grout may ultimately discolour,but can be restored to as new with a strong cleaning agent as it is non-porous,hence it is required for food prep areas.
there are several makes,they vary a bit in application,but as you have used it before you are probably familiar with the method,ie.emulsifying pads-scotchbrite or similar-loads of'em,buckets of clean water plus several sponges,a bin bag for the clogged pads/sponges,vinyl gloves of course,oldest clothes/boilersuit,and allow plenty of time as you have to work in smallish sections.
Others may have more tricks!
You can get 1 kg amounts fairly easily,granfix maybe?
You can mix smaller amounts,it is just a weight ratio,volume ratio works the same I think.
Spend loads of time getting the old grout out and the tiles as clean as you possibly can,as any epoxy grout adhering to bits of the original grout will be very hard to remove,and if the tiles are nice and shiny,they clean easier.
I imagine you know this,but leave no haze whatsoever,it can be removed with a special cleaner afterwards,but it is real ball-ache!I use masses of paper roll,cleaning each tile to the grout line,might be a better way than that,but it works for me!
Be very,very careful not to leave any grout on door handles,van doors,anywhere in fact,it's good stuff,but it sticks like hell.
It is much more expensive of course,but it sounds like dad's rates apply!
Good luck!

 

[JohnW2]

hi Mike, thanks for your detailed comments. Yes, I have some experience of using epoxy grout, but only in food prep areas (on work surfaces), never on walls. As I said, I've been having difficulty finding small quantities of epoxy grout, but I'll have a look a Granfix, which I don't think I've come across.

It's brand new tiling I'm talking about, so no problems of 'old grout' to deal with!

Kind Regards, John