Cleaned Tiles Weeping Water

[SteUK]

Hi all,

Tiling my bathroom and wonder if I might get a sanity check!?

Got all the tiles out last night to sort good from bad. They were a little dusty so used a sponge and a number of buckets of cold clean water to clean them. Left stacked up in 15's over night. Checked on how clean they were this morning and there is water weeping on the tops of tiles between stacked tiles. More so in the piles nearer the radiator (makes sense I guess). I dried all the tops and restacked. Checked them again just, after an hour, and there is returned moisture. I didn't drench them when cleaning them and, naturally, they feel bone dry to the touch.

Can I crack on with the tiling? Or should I wait till they have stopped giving up wate?

Tiles are 300mm x 200mm x 9mm glazed ceramic. Will be fixing with Mapei Keraflex s1 maxi (white). Tanked around shower-bath with mapegum. Substrate under that is tile backer board.

Thanks!
Ste

 

[Andy Allen]

Ceramic is like a sponge it will soak up moisture. ...best wait till there completely dry before fixing.

 

[SteUK]

Thanks for your reply

How will I tell? The ones away from the radiator don't appear to be weeping, but they all had about the same amount of cleaning.

 

[Andy Allen]

Are the damp tiles a darker colour on the back? All so check the face of the tile, I've seen damp ceramic tiles take on a total different appearance through the glaze almost like there different batches especially more with thinner glazed tiles.

I would avoid stacking them if poss.
This isn't helping them to dry.

 

[Andy Allen]

Try getting a hair dryer on one of them see if it gose a lighter colour that will give you a bench mark of what they should be like when fully dry..

 

[SteUK]

I have some broken rejects that I didn't wash I can compare against. One on the left hasn't been washed (white residue can be seen on it. Had a few boxes that I won't use until I was and dry them more conpletely. Don't need them anyway I don't think)

Not sure we have a hairdryer!

Have stacked in the smallest piles my space will allow (see pic). About 4 or 5 high.

 

[SteUK]

I have compared a number of unwashed to washed. The washed are a slight shade yellower, but it really is very marginal.

Should I just wait a week to be sure?

 

[Old Mod]

Stand them up, touching at top, air gap between the bottoms. (Tee Pee's)
Not gonna dry properly the way u have them. U can stand them up on their own in middle of floor, leaning against each other.
Like a letter H, should be able to get quite a few in one stack.

 

[SJPurdy]

Are you sure it is not a case of very cold tiles from outside being placed in a warm damp atmosphere and then condensation forming on the tiles?

 

[Just Rizzle]

when u stack the tiles best stand on there edge so water can run off not as u have at present they dry quicker

 

[SteUK]

They have been in that room for months. So been at ambient house temperature the whole time.

Naturally it depends on actually how wet they are, but when I stand them up....estimated drying time for the paranoid? Week? More?

 

[SteUK]

This is how wet a second pile in the stack is by the radiator. Last dried 10pm this morning.

 

[Just Rizzle]

went into tile place today saw new display of porcelain they were 1200x 600 x12mm very little grout needed so less chance of failure

 

[Just Rizzle]

This is how wet a second pile in the stack is by the radiator. Last dried 10pm this morning. View attachment 80078

have you got a leaky roof?

 

[SteUK]

Will this cut the mustard?