When it comes to home maintenance, there is a lot you just kinda have to find your way with. But there are some aspects to home maintenance that can be a big time and huge (and we mean huge) money saver – plus there can be some positive health benefits too. Grout maintenance is one such job. Here we look at where in the home you may find grout and its purpose, and how and why you should maintain it.
What is grout
Grout is a cement-based adhesion that is commonly used to bond tiles to a floor or wall. You’ll often find that grout has been used in a bathroom and/or kitchen.
But grout isn’t waterproof and is in fact quite porous. It also won’t last forever, particularly when having to deal with hard-working areas and conditions, like in a shower. You can expect grout to last anywhere between 8 and 20 years, as long as it is maintained.
Sealing and resealing grout- an important step
It is important, to ensure it can tolerate exposure to water, that grout is sealed on installation and is treated and re-sealed every 6 months to 1 year. The grout sealer, often silicone or water based, is designed to stop the grout from absorbing water. If this crucial step is missed, it exposes it to the risk of staining and mould growth – which won’t just stay within the grout but has the potential to affect the wall behind it too.
Considering the average cost to replace a bathroom is £5,000-£8,000, this simple maintenance, although a bit of a faff, is a rather inexpensive treatment that can prolong the life of your bathroom by 10 years! Of course, it isn’t just the room itself that can be impacted by penetrating water, but the rooms adjacent and below.
Not only does the maintenance of the grout help to save you money in the long-run, but it can have health benefits too. By ensuring the grout is properly sealed, you can avoid mildew and mould growth and build-up – a condition which is known to trigger respiratory illness and skin conditions in some people.
So, when you next have your bathroom re-vamped, be sure to ask your fitter about grout sealant. Be sure to ask for their recommendations on the best sealant to use, how often it should be refreshed, and how you can apply it yourself- to avoid the cost of them coming out to do it each year.
How to get started with an existing fitting
If you’re wanting to treat the grout in your existing bathroom – you likely still can! It may be worth having a tile fitter come and take a look at the existing condition, as they may recommend removing and replacing the grout in some areas; likely those already too compromised and full of cracks and splits (which can be done- it’s just a challenge and costly job to do a whole room). But otherwise you can get a sealant from any DIY store and simply follow the instructions.
Dealing with grout maintenance in a property you rent
It is the responsibility of the homeowner to ensure the home is fit for purpose, and grout maintenance comes under that. Of course, it’s not always easy to get the landlord to maintain a property in the way they should.
Some occupants choose to maintain the grout themselves, mostly for the prospective health benefits of doing so, even if they don’t have to. This may be with the use of a grout sealant, or regularly bleaching the tiling and grout to keep mould at bay.
If you are dealing with cracks and repeated and stubborn black mould, you do need to report this to the letting agent or landlord directly. They do have a responsibility to solve it.
