El Cheapo Grout Repair

Yet another constant irritation for the last seven years is the rate at which mildew multipies in our unvented master bath. No vent + shower humdity + Florida climate = smelly yucky mess. And also equals extremely fruitless and frustrating cleaning procedures.  I cannot count the times I have scrubbed the grout lines in our tiled shower surround with a toothbrush and straight bleach - only to be rewarded with gray (not white) grout that’s moldy again in a week. And have you ever scrubbed an entire shower surround with a toothbrush?! Sheesh. I have better things to do with my time (like blog).

So, with a (very) deep sigh, I told my husband that what we really needed to do was regrout the shower surround. This is a labor-intensive endeavor which also requires a modest sum spent on grout saw, new grout, and sealer. B didn’t want to spend the money, and frankly, I didn’t want to spend the effort.

I had heard about grout pens in the past and smugly thought to myself that this method of grout restoration was impure and dishonest. Only cheaters use grout pens.

Enter mom with beans-and-rice budget who would rather blog than spend hours restoring shower surround.

So. I bought two grout pens (in a fit of spendthriftiness) and methodically cleaned the grout (see above) and allowed to dry per package instructions. The pen worked beautifully - for about 25% of the shower. The paint then began flowing irregularly and the nib was getting shredded. At least the manufacturers were aware of the nib problem and outfitted the pen with a reversible nib (just reverse to other side when one gets shredded), although this second nib seemed to wear out twice as fast as the first one. I even tried to sharpen the nib back to a point with  a kitchen knife. No luck. So I removed then nib, dug out my art supplies and tried to at least salvage the paint inside the pen by sticking my paintbrush down in it. Still out of luck.

I had already read that the ingredients in the pen were basically latex (water-based) paint and grout sealer mixed together. In a fit of ingenuity I determined that my el-cheapo artist’s acrylics (water-based) and my Grumbacher paintbrush would make fine substitutions for a grout pen.

And they did. Although they were a bit messier than the pen, that was not a problem since the water-based paint easily wipes off glossy tile with a dampened rag.

The only thing I would add to this cheaper version of grout restoration is to finish your art with an actual grout sealer - unless you have a sick desire to repeat this process again in six months. And invest (gasp!) in a cleaner specifically made for tile and grout. Bleach does not do well with either grout or paint - so I’ve learned.

Happy terrorizing.

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