Removing Grout From Slate Tiles
How do I remove a grout nightmare from my very pourous Indian, multi-coloured, un-sealed, slate tile? The genius who installed it, left the gour over-night and now my floor is wrecked!!!!! Help Please!
Adrienne
Hello Adrienne,
You need to acid wash the floor. There are several grout haze cleaning products sold at your local HomeDepot, Lowes or Ceramic Tile store but they all rely on three active chemicals. Phosphoric Acid, Sulfamic Acid or Amonia-bifloride. I mention this because you should try a “grout haze remover” first. However, it might not be strong enough to do your messy job. In which case, you need to go with a potent solution. For a very potent product, search for a “concrete acid etching product”. The product used when preparing concrete for painting or staining. This is strong phosphoric acid and may even have some ammonia bi-floride in it. Test it in a small area for desired results.
Note, these strong products love to eat calcium carbonate base materials such as marble and limestone. Slate is a different composition so you will not have the same detrimental etching results as marble. Still, discoloration may occur so if you go with the heavy duty solution, test it first. ear gloves and protect your eyes as well.
Best wishes,
Tom Cordova
December 20th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
We just installed new granite countertops (Venetian Gold) and natural stone backsplash with cornsilk-color grout. The granite wasn’t sealed yet, and the installer wiped the counters repeatedly as he was cleaning up the grout. Now the edges of the counters and some areas on top have the tiny cracks filled with grout, which I can’t get out. The grout looks white in the granite, and it looks like little tiny spider veins, all along the edge.
I’ve tried scrubbing with a brush, wiping, but nothing helps. The white cracks disappear when the granite is wet, but then they are right back. How can I get the grout out of the tiny crevices without destroying the shine of the granite?
Thank you.