Grout sealant question

[aussie6pk]

We are going to be putting porcelain tile in the living room, dining room, kitchen and hall and I wondered if there were any suggestions for sealers?

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[Davestone]

You won't need sealer on the tile unless it's polished, just use an impregnating sealer on the grout.

[aussie6pk]

LOL...that was what I meant...grout sealer....sorry I wasn't clear. Any suggestions on brands to use?
Annette

[Davestone]

Not really,imho they are all about the same,and if i wanted to totally seal a grout myself i would use epoxy or a grout colorant over the grout.

[aussie6pk]

Thanks so much! I have 6 dogs and also foster rescue dogs, so was told it was important to seal it.

[cx]

Welcome, Annette. If you'll go to the UserCP, find Edit Signature on the left and enter that first name it'll appear in each post for folks to us. :)

Our friends at Tile Experts.com (http://www.tile-experts.com) carry the full line of StoneTech Professional products. Their Grout Sealer, or Heavy Duty Sealer, or, in your case, even BulletProof might be good choices.

You can call StoneTech's tech line (888-786-6343) and axe'em if any of their products is better than any other for possible protection against urine and such on accounta I dunno. Or maybe theirown rep, GeorgeT, will stop by here and 'splain us. :)

My opinion; worth price charged.

[GeorgeT]

When you've got a lot of traffic, dogs, kids or whatever, the real secret is how you clean as much as it is what you seal with. (There are a couple of perfect sealers in the TYW store right here... as well as cleaners too.)
Sealer protect against staining from liquids that hit the floor... It helps prevent the liquids from soaking in. But with lots of traffic on the floor you've got another issue - surface soil or tracked in dirt. Sealer will not do a thing about that. Thats maintenance.
If you want to keep the grout clean, the process of cleaning is important. A damp mop or sponge mop doesn't get into the grout lines and "lift" out dirt and soiling....but a deck brush and a shop vac will! Once in a while ya gotta make a mess to clean up properly.
Take a bucket of your favorite neutral pH cleaner mix and pour some on the floor, spread it around with the deck brush... saok and scrub for about 10 minutes or so and Vacuum it up... rinse and repeat if needed... this won't hurt the sealer in the grout but it will keep the grout clean... do this once every three months or so...
the rest of the time a regular damp mop...

[aussie6pk]

Thanks so much for all the helpful hints. Deck brush...yep, familiar with that. My dogs are not little dogs and my house is small. I sweep up enough hair daily to amount to a small dog, and there is never a shortage of sand/dirt.
Thanks again.
Annette