Green Grouting

[Fekin]

Hi there and welcome to the forums

 

[White Room]

Hello and welcome

 

[user123]

Hi Cathy - welcome to the forum, too! How did the grout story end?

 

[monty]

Hello and welcome to the forums..

 

[Cathy]

Well, the builder finally turned up to have a look. He suggested it might be where he had to drill deep into the old 1930's klinker bricks for the bath filler mixer tap; however it is also happening in some areas on the new stud wall he put up to build a cupboard, so I'm not convinced. He did say he will come back to scrape it out and re-grout the whole bathroom, as he knows we're not happy with it; of course, he is busy with other jobs... I don't know much about these things, but I wonder if the grouting had got contaminated or had been open too long? It's not mould or dis-coloured from bath lotions etc, as only my young son uses the bath, we don't have an over-head shower, so nothing like that gets on the tiles by the bath.

 

[user123]

Hi again,

I just googled grout turning green, as mine has ever so slightly on some white grouted mosaics in the past, too, just a tiny very faint patch here and there, I never understood it, thought perhaps I had some pen or something on my hands, that something discoloured onto it by contact. Anyhow, below the copied and pasted reply, and it makes me wonder if the same applies to products like the LTP grout stain remover I use to clean the mosaic up afterwards, as that is similar chemically to vinegar as I understand it - ascetic acid.

Perhaps he used it or similar and didn't rinse it well enough? I will certainly be extra special careful always to rinse mine well in future.... hope this helps...
All Experts. com

Expert: Perry Vellenga
Date: 6/18/2008
Subject: new grout turning green in some areas

Question
I had a shower remodelled by someone; it was fine until they had to come back and replaced some of the tile flooring because the floor was higher in some areas. after that the grout was turning green i have never used the shower yet after they did all that work. they came back and cleaned it with vinegar water and its still there they told me it will go away in time .should i rehire a new contractor to do all over again or wait

Answer
Thank you for your question Penny,

I can't be completely sure what is happening without actually seeing what things look like but I have a feeling that the vinegar itself has affected your grout. You see vinegar is a mild acid and when it comes in contact with any cement based material there is a reaction that will turn cement green and will bubble and even smoke if Muriatic acid had been used. Even when a mild acid like vinegar is used it should be neutralized by rinsing with Baking Soda and water to stop the reaction of the chemical...follow me? I would have them come back out and if they can't "fix" the existing grout they need to "re"grout the floor and do it again and not be so careless when cleaning the floor. I hope this helps you Penny, feel free to return anytime...

Perry V.

 

[beanz]

Question
I had a shower remodelled by someone; it was fine until they had to come back and replaced some of the tile flooring because the floor was higher in some areas. after that the grout was turning green i have never used the shower yet after they did all that work. they came back and cleaned it with vinegar water and its still there they told me it will go away in time .should i rehire a new contractor to do all over again or wait

Answer
Thank you for your question Penny,

I can't be completely sure what is happening without actually seeing what things look like but I have a feeling that the vinegar itself has affected your grout. You see vinegar is a mild acid and when it comes in contact with any cement based material there is a reaction that will turn cement green and will bubble and even smoke if Muriatic acid had been used. Even when a mild acid like vinegar is used it should be neutralized by rinsing with Baking Soda and water to stop the reaction of the chemical...follow me? I would have them come back out and if they can't "fix" the existing grout they need to "re"grout the floor and do it again and not be so careless when cleaning the floor. I hope this helps you Penny, feel free to return anytime...

Perry V.

I get the impression that the grout was turning green before he used the vinegar, so doubt that has really answered the question!?!

 

[user123]

I get the impression that the grout was turning green before he used the vinegar, so doubt that has really answered the question!?!

I know, Beanz, I felt the same, however, I did think he might be onto something, i.e that it is a chemical reaction to something applied and either not washed off properly or not neutralized properly - as said, I have had the same very faint problem on my mosaics on rare occasions, and the only thing I could think of was the acidic wash after, all tying in, at least a bit. In all cases mold isn't the issue...and if the tiler in that case didn't realize it was the first application not cleaned off properly the subsequent vinegar obviously wouldn't help or make things worse...just an idea...I thought of copper turning green and perhaps similar chemical reactions going on for whatever reason....it obviolusly happens sometimes, so it would be good to figure it out.

 

[Cathy]

Thanks for your comments Mosaic Girl and Beanz; it seems the only answer is to have the grouting re-done, I just hope we can get the guy back to sort it out.

 

[user123]

You're welcome, Cathy
If at any point in the future you find out for certain what went on, post it on here, would be interesting.

 

[nige123]

try neat toothpaste

 

[doug boardley]

I've come across this before, were there new copper pipes, and were they flushed through,I'm thinking maybe your builder used water out of unflushed pipes for washing grout down

 

[user123]

AHA! the copper connection! Getting warmer?

 

[BDS]

Yeah i`m with doug sounds like a good explanaition and could be possible.

 

[BDS]

not just washing grout but maybe he used it to mix the grout.