What makes tile grout turn white

As previously stated, typical cleaning does not provide enough water to cause efflorescence. Even saturating the grout joints with water during periodic cleaning generally does not cause efflorescence. In exterior installations over concrete, rain can cause efflorescence over time when other conditions are right - especially with poorly compacted or porous grout. More commonly, there can be moisture in the ground below the slab that is always evaporating. Even when a vapour membrane is installed below the slab, penetrations in the membrane may allow sufficient moisture to cause efflorescence.

This moisture, invisible to eye, is steadily traveling through the slab, the tile cement, and the grout. More efflorescence will be observed if the concrete and grout are more porous How do you minimize efflorescence? There are generally effective ways to minimize this problem before tiling and some less effective options after the tile is in place.

Before tiling, if regular vapour migration is detected, remedial steps should be considered before tiling. Alternatively, a vapour equalization membrane can be installed before the tile is installed. There are also companies that sell coatings claimed to reduce moisture migration - however, these may interfere with the ability of the tile cement to bond to the substrate and should only be used if both the manufacturer of the tile cement and the manufacturer of the coating will warranty the installation system.

After tiling, sealing the grout with a penetrating vapour permeable sealer may help retard the rate of evaporation. Note, some caution must be observed in selecting the sealer - topical sealer's acrylic sealer's which coat the grout joint and are not vapour permeable may turn white from reactions between the acrylic and moisture - this is not efflorescence. Rather this is similar to the whitish haze seen with floor wax when it is applied to a damp surface. Last edited: Feb 25, It isn't Efflorescence, it is polymer leaching as mentioned above from wetting the grout joints , this can be avoided by frequent changes to washing off water..

You can try grout haze remover and a white scotch pad to remove the polymer residue. I had this problem and got obsessed with curing it, trying most things, but I've now cracked it. I had lovely black grout, which dried with white chalky deposits on it. It turned black when wet from cleaning, then dried white again.

I tried scrubbing it with Cilit Bang, steam mopping it made it worse , all sorts. A few weeks ago I improved it by scrubbing the grout using Ecover washing-up liquid and a Sonic Scrubber like a big electric toothbrush, from Lakeland , but it did start going chalky white again.

But then I applied Stovax slate dressing to the grout using Lakeland cleaning sticks, and it has turned back to the original black colour and stayed that way for 3 weeks now with no sign of the white returning. I clean the floor with a steam mop and purified water and it looks great.

I'm fully prepared to have to apply the slate dressing again in the future it keeps our slate hearth clean and black for about 6 months at a time but I think it's worth it.

Good luck with finding your own solution. Extreme care should be used to protect the person applying the acid and surrounding fixtures. Also, acid that is too strong can strip some color out of grout which is also undesirable and acid generally cannot be used if acrylic sealers have already been applied to the grout. As this builds up over time, the detergent residue can be annoying, but a little elbow grease will go a long way.

Remember, it is very important to remove all the dirty water on the floor and the best way to accomplish that is through a good shop vacuum. Our team of tile experts goes through consistent training to stay up-to-date on the latest techniques, products, and solutions.

Share on Facebook Share. Spots of Efflorescence on Tile Floors. What About this Shower Situation? How to Solve an Efflorescence Problem? Can this basement situation be fixed? Saltillo Tile and Efflorescence. Oily Efflorescence in the Kitchen. Can efflorescence on a second-floor outdoor patio be sealed?

Can a pool lead to efflorescence? Efflorescence on Cement Roof Tile. How to Deal with Mysterious Efflorescence? Efflorescence for Inspectors explains that,. If any one of these conditions is eliminated, efflorescence will not occur. As a professional tile installer, your role is to anticipate such situations to prevent them from occurring. Tile installers are often called on to look at challenging installation opportunities and use their expertise to solve problems when they occur.

Many times, installers are asked to install exterior tile on a job that appears to be elementary. Unfortunately, some of them develop issues after the tile has been installed. Take for instance a job calling for a natural stone to be installed on the exterior wall of a new retail store that has a roof above it.

The plans call for the stone tile to be installed on a wall consisting of steel studs, cementitious backer board, and a waterproofing membrane. It sounds routine and it should function well; which it did in this case, for about a year. As time passed, the owner began to see a white powdery substance growing on the grout joints.

Upon investigation, the grout had not failed, but a naturally occurring mineral salt which is present in all Portland cement products thin set mortars and cement grouts had found its way to the surface. This salt deposit is called efflorescence. Normally, these residues can be washed away with a very mild acid solution and a bristle brush while being careful not to harm the stone always test first to be certain the acid will not alter the existing finish.

In this case, it worked… for a little while. Continued scrubbing removed the salts, but it kept coming back. What was the cause? For efflorescence to occur on the surface as seen in the photo above, water must be present to carry the minerals to the surface, evaporate and let the salts behind.

The rain could have been the culprit, but not in this case. Remember, there was a roof over the tile. The problem was actually caused by the roofer who failed to properly install the metal cap flashing on the parapet wall above the roof. The water went through the defective flashing, down through the thin set mortar to the lower portion of the wall, and blossomed on the grout joints.

Once the tile installer now a forensic specialist found the problem, the roofer made the necessary repairs, the tile installer washed away the salt deposits and magically the efflorescence disappeared. In this example, defective roof flashing led to excessive moisture, which in turn caused that ugly white powder on the grout joints and tile.

In another situation, the problem could be the result of moisture from the soil under a basement floor or wall and might require a vapor migration membrane instead. The important point is to find the source of the problem and solve it so efflorescence doesn't reoccur. This is what identifies a true tile installation professional. One of the frustrations encountered when that ugly white powder occurs is that it takes detective work to determine the root cause. The house is on a post tension concrete slab.

The house was finished about the beginning of April We did not move in until October of A week later the line turned white. I am assuming that the white jagged line represents a crack in the grout, and the white is efflorescence.

The builder's tile subcontractor said he has never seen this before and needed to discuss this with others. The builder's subcontractor said that the rubber pan liner under the mortar bed had passed water testing and there is nothing to worry about.

He said it also could be a low spot on the floor where water puddles. Sealing the grout will probably fix the problem. When the white line gets wet it is somewhat faded but you can still see it. Low spot theory seems wrong since the rest of the floor is fine and puddles form in other areas of the floor with no white residue; in addition, the white line starts just where the pebble floor meets the perpendicular ceramic tile forming the door opening at the top of the floor pan.

The rest of the floor dries fairly rapidly except for this line and at some of the junctions along the shower floor where the pebble floor meets the wall ceramic tiles.

For some reason we are seeing spots of Efflorescence in different rooms. What do I need to do to fix this, so it stops and does not recur? However, moisture in the mortar bed or setting bed is bringing the naturally occurring salts to the surface. It comes up in little peaks and then hardens to a white scale.

It began with spots in the middle of the living area and now I am finding more in other rooms downstairs in the grout. Is this efflorescence? The tile is on a concrete floor.

This could be efflorescence, but then, again it could be latex leeching. The difference between the two is determined by one question. Is the residue soft and powdery or hard? If it the former, it is efflorescence. When it dries, a hard white-colored coating remains.

More information is needed to appropriately answer your questions. Is this a new or existing installation? Given the limited information provided, it is difficult to offer advice.

But whichever residue is occurring on the floor, the cause is moisture coming through the concrete slab from some at this time unknown source.

Find the source of the moisture, mitigate it the problem should disappear. The dark grey is turning white and my contractor is ignoring my plea for help. I am now working with the manufacturer to come up with a solution. Their ads claim using this grout will not allow efflorescence to occur and can be used in showers. What should have been a beautiful floor using light grey tile and dark grey grout is a major and expensive disappointment. One note: The grout most likely is not the source of the issue, but rather the residence of the efflorescence.

Contractor prepared the floor of the 5x7 room so that it would drain towards the shower drain. Tile was installed on flooring two days later. Now it has hard white stuff in grout and on the tile and I don't know how to get rid of it. I understand grouting can change colour after a while , but not surely a week! Thank you. Using too much water causes the color pigment to be pulled out of the mixture that can cause the variation in color. The installer should follow the installation guidelines of the grout manufacturer that states how much water to use.

Donato, I am sure this is my problem. My husband and I decided to install our tile floor our selves and probably used too much water, how can we fix it now?

Do we need to remove it? I am hoping there is another way!!! It is an epoxy paint that allows you to paint over the grout joints. It is a tedious process to apply and keep off the tile, but it works if done properly.

From my experience when the grout turns white after applying a sealer it is normally because the sealer was applied when the grout was still damp. So the water is trapped in the grout. It might dissipate over time or you might need to use a sealer stripper to remove the sealer and let it dry.

Best to call the sealer manufacturer and ask for their advice. Same situation with my grout. We used the Prism grout. It was supposed to be light smoke a light brownish color , but after drying was a greyish white color. I called the company which walked me through the acid wash process.

I waited the 10 day cure period and did the acid wash for it to still dry the greyish white color. I have porcelain tile. What would be the next step? I even went over some places a second time with the same result.

Normally they would never tell you to acid wash the grout as it would tend to lighten it. Sometimes acidic cleaners are used to clean the grout haze off of the face of the tile, but the they are highly diluted phosphoric acids. You should never use a muriatic acid. At this point your best bet is to use an epoxy grout colorant in the Light Smoke color to paint over the grout joints.

It is a tedious process, but it can work if done correctly. You should call Customer Building Products Technical Service at and talk to them about it. Funny, it was Custom Building Tech support that told me to get the acid crystals and walked me through what to do. He said efflorescence is the cause more than likely and to do the acid wash and I should get my color. I have to say that I do not recommend the Prism grout at all because the consistent color is just not true.

I bought it for that reason and because it was highly recommended by many tile and grout professionals. I had professionals do the tile and the grout and still I get that greyish white color. I did try to contact Custom Building but I guess they are closed since it is Saturday so it will be Monday or even Tuesday before we hear anything I am sure. I am nervous about the grout colorant because I know I will end up getting it on my tiles as I do not have a steady hand.

I may just have to let the ugly grout be and get on with my life as my house is all over the place due to the construction and I need to put it back together and get back to work.

I appreciate your help. I just thought I would see if you had any thoughts on the next step, but if its the grout colorant I will probably do a hard pass…. They must have recommended sulfamic acid crystals which is the least corrosive acid. It makes since that if you did have an efflorescence problem it should have removed it, but it sounds like grout is faded maybe due to using too much water during mixing or cleaning. If you do use the grout colorant then get blue masking tape and tape the edges of the tile adjacent to the grout joint.

Make sure it is tight against the tile. Right after applying the colorant pull the tape right away before the grout colorant dries so you get a clean separation. Yes, that is what they recommended was the sulfamic acid crystals.

Well I feel better! Thank you! And good advice on the blue tape! It will be time consuming and tedious, but might be the only other option. After we do that would we have to seal the grout or does it have a sealant in it! You really should not use bleach on tile grout or you might bleach the color out of the grout.

I am assuming that is what you mean by a portion of the grout turned white. If that is the case, then the only thing you can do is replace the grout or buy an epoxy grout colorant and paint over the grout to achieve a consistent look. You should not use acid or bleach on tile and grout.

You should use a neutral based detergent to clean them with a scrub brush on an extended handle. Use a wet vacuum to pick up the dirt water and rinse the floor with clean water afterwards and vacuum that up too. We just laid new tiles and my husband was told by the tiler that he can use a little bit of acid in the water to help with cleaning the grout off. He used just a very small amount of Hydrochloride Acid.

Is there anything we can do to the grout now and would it have damaged the tiles? Not all acids are created equal. In the tile industry it only recommended to use sulfamic acid for removing dry cementitious film. Tile installers will use diluted vinegar that is not very acidic and normally works well. There are some phosphoric acids that are highly diluted that are contained in some commercial products sold as tile cleaners. The acid that you used was hydrochloric acid ant it is extremely corrosive so even using a little is too much.

Then after cleaning with a diluted sulfamic or phosphoric acid, you have to rinse it with clean water to remove all the acid residuals. If you bleached the grout color the only thing you can do is buy a grout colorant that is basically an epoxy paint that you paint over the grout joints. They normally are available to match all of the colors of major grout manufacturers. We have just moved into our new house.