Discoloring on tile grout

[mep]

Hi,

I recently moved into a new apartment and the grout in between the tiling in the bathroom is stained a yellow/brown color in various sections. I tried sanding the grout down after various cleaning products failed to do the job. While it did help some with the discoloring in that it made it appear fainter, the discoloring returned once again after I washed the tile down. The water seems to have reacted with the discoloring in the grout and made it more noticeable. I was hoping there might be some solution to this dilemma aside from scraping out and reapplying the grout. Thanks for any help on this matter.

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[Davestone]

I wish it was as simple as telling you to click on the tyw store above and order some grout cleaner..and it may be, but let's investigate...is the discoloring just at the flooring areas,or up the wall also...and is it mainly in the corners, or all over?I'm trying to rule out moisture from behind causing yellow algae,and or mold. :)

[mep]

Hi,

Thanks for replying back. The discoloring is all over the wall or walls I should say. I have tiling on all four walls in my bathroom. The tiling only goes up half the length of the wall in all areas outside the shower while the tiling within the shower itself extends up to about ninety percent of the wall. The tile in the shower itself is fine. There was no discoloring aside from some mold/mildew which I was able to clean off. The tiling outside the shower suffers from this discoloring. The grout in between the tiling on these walls is wider then the grout in the shower as the tiles are spaced a little further apart from one another. As for the distribution of the discoloring, it can be found near the flooring and up the length of the tiling. It is not everywhere because much of the grout on the walls afflicted with this discoloring is fine. There are two main problem areas where much of the discoloring is concentrated however. One being the flooring area behind the toilet and the other area is the wall directly opposite it in the middle section of the wall. The discoloring can be found in other areas on these two walls but the areas I just described contain the brunt of it. Hope this helps to clarify things a bit in terms of a diagnosis. Let me know if you need further info. Thank you.

[Davestone]

Well, that almost sounds like somebody was missing the toilet, and also thought it was on the other wall. :D Since we don't know exactly what it is i guess a good general cleaning with tile and grout cleaner would be a good start,be sure to use a scrubbing brush to get in the joints,and rinse clean...and if it does come clean, i would use an impregnating sealer on the joints.The cleaner is a little acidic, so keep it off metals.All these products can be found above at the store, or you can experiment on your own...but good luck. :)

[mep]

Thanks for your help. I will give it a try.