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While it may have been a utilitarian need for tile installation in the past, now grout is an additional design element that can heighten the appearance of your space. Yet, as many homeowners know, in time, the beautiful grout they placed becomes dirty and in many cases, cracks. To help navigate why cracking occurs and how to repair them, we’ve put together this quick guide.
Why Does Grout Crack?
If your grout is a few years old, it’s normal that in time, it will crack. This results from a few key causes:
Exposure To The Elements.
A common problem for wet areas in the home, like the bathroom or shower, grout tends to crack here as a build-up of water slowly eats away at the material.
General Wear and Tear From Traffic.
If your floor tile grout is looking a bit rough, worry not, this is a common area that grout cracking occurs. Over time, the pressure from people walking on the tile, causes the grout to weaken and therefore, break apart.
Why Is My New Grout Cracking?
If time isn’t the issue, allow us to explore the other reasons that may be causing cracked tile grout that was recently placed.
Issues With Thinset During Install.
If you or your installer didn’t use enough thinset when you installed your tile, then there’s a chance there wasn’t enough of an adhesive for the grout to cling to. As a result, gaps and cracks will occur.
Water Interference During Drying Occurred.
The other problem that could be liable for cracking grout after a new installation is introducing water to the grout before it fully dries and sets. This would weaken it, causing it to degrade fast.
How To Fix Cracked Grout on Tile Floor or Wall?
Contrary to thought, tile grout repair is one of the less costly elements of tile care. Whether you have tile grout cracking on the floor or wall, there’s an easy solution; caulking.
Caulk is a material that is used to seal or fill gaps. The act of caulking, is simply taking the caulk and applying it to the grout lines.
Here’s a quick how-to repair cracked grout with caulking:
- First, remove the old grout with a grout saw.
- Next, grab some matching caulk.
- Apply the caulk to the area that needs repair.
- Smooth it out.
- Let it dry.
- You’re all set!
Tile Grout and Maintenance
Now that you’ve learned and hopefully can repair the grout cracking problem, we’d like to teach you a thing or two on grout maintenance so you prevent it in the future.
Here are a few key things to keep in mind to have your grout last long:
Clean Your Grout.
Tile grout cleaning is important to help maintain the durability of your tiles and their flawless aesthetic looks. You should make sure that you are always cleaning your grout.
- If you have tile in your shower or bathroom, every time you get that area wet, try to use a squeegee to dry the tile/grout to prevent mildew and buildup.
- It’s important that no matter where your tile and grout is located, you give it a thorough cleaning weekly or monthly. To learn how to clean grout, check out our guide on it here.
Regrout Your Tile.
In the event your grout is completely done for, it’s time to consider regrouting your tile. This will ensure the tile’s longevity, even if it may take a bit more time on your end for repair. You’ll save money in the long run.
Ready to dive in and repair your grout today? Visit our wide selection of grout and maintenance products!
If your grout is cracked or looking tired, it might be time for a redesign? If so, check out our fantastic range of tiles.
