Regrouting questions

[Mesa Guy]

I have spent hours reading page after page in these forums so thanks in advance for keeping me from making some stupid mistakes and taking the time to post answers here.

I'm re-grouting a 17 year old shower, we bought a house and in the hall bathroom the grout at the front where the tile surround meets the shower failed. The only area it affected was the bullnose tile where the tile meets the drywall behind the toilet. I tore all that out and inspected everything for mold and such, there is no mold on the studs and I reached clean rock before I quit tearing stuff out.

Part of the problem with this shower is the previous owners probably had not cleaned for 2 or three years prior to selling. There were two cracked tiles which were sealed with caulk that I am replacing (on the opposite side of the shower).

the good news is whomever installed the tile seems to have done a good job they are stuck on the wall very good.

The bad news is the mildew had penetrated the grout so I decided it must go. I have removed almost all the grout down to the bottom of the tiles. The mold and or mildew was limited to the top of the grout. Cleaning and scrubbing with bleach or commercial grout cleaners would not fix this we tried everything. BTW I used the dremel kit to remove the old grout and it works well but I have spent many hours removing grout. :sick:

Sorry for being long winded here's my plan, please chime in. I'm going to re-grout with unsanded grout (< 1/8 grout lines)(not the premix stuff) after replacing the two full tiles and the bullnose tiles after putting hardibacker where the bullnose belongs. And then sealing the grout twice after it cures. The full size tiles are 4" tiles.

After reading a lot on this forum I intend to caulk the joint between the tub and the surround and the vertical corners from the tub all the way up to where the tile meets the painted wall. There was grout in all of these places previously. Please let me know if I am understanding correctly.

I pulled a bunch of crap from around the soap dish that I think was plumbers putty. Maybe it was caulk. There was no leakage around the soap dish. But there is a pretty good void behind the soap dish (but its stuck on the wall good). I was thinking of filling the top part of this void with plumbers putty and then caulking the seam between the tile and the dish all the way around. Any comments?

Thanks for taking the time to address my dumb questions.

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[Davestone]

I would clean away any putty and use unsanded thinset instead. :bow:

[doitright]

Hi Mesa Guy, Welcome! :)

My concern is that the mildew generally starts from behind the tiles. Even the regrout, and sealing, are not guaranteed to stop the mildew issue if there is water damage behind the walls. You most certainly will slow it down, but not guaranteed eliminate it.

I concur with Dave. Don't use plumbers putty around the soap dish. A better solution would be unsanded grout. Silicone caulk will also work.

[Mesa Guy]

Thank you for the advice and letting me know the rest of my plan is good.

Your advice makes sense and is appreciated. I held my breath when I started removing the grout because as you say mold and mildew generally starts behind the tile. In many areas I removed all of the grout because the tiles are textured which meant that even though I had the dremel set to a specific depth it went deeper in some areas. I've spend a lot of time checking with a flashlight and I could not find any mold or mildew behind the tiles. Again I think the person who did the install really did a good job.


I can't explain how nasty these people were. I know they had lots of problems and we got the house cheap because of the lack of cleaning and maintenance. But I had to rip out 600+ sq feet of floor tile because the tile and grout was saturated with pet urine. We put almost 900 sq ft back in after multiple cleanings with 4U (which is a great product by the way) and a lot of prep.

Thanks for the input any additional comments appreciated.

[doitright]

Hi Mesa Guy :)

Can you pull off one of the plumbing escutcheons (shower head or valve) and check if the tile is installed over drywall, cement board, or mud? :shades:

PS - Please put a first name in your signature. ;)

[Mesa Guy]

John,

The tile is installed on drywall, or at least it has a paper outer cover. The consistency of the media is a little different most rock I have seen.

[doitright]

Hi Leighton :)

Thanks for giving us a name! ;)

I'd sure like to be back in AZ today (used to live in Phoenix, then Carefree). Several inches of snow today here (north of Chicago).

If you proceed with your grout removal, you may at least buy some time by spraying the open grout joints with a bleach and water solution, and let dry thoroughly.

With a fresh grout job, using a good modified unsanded grout, properly cured, then sealed, you should be able to get a few more years out of this installation. Mildew needs temperature, moisture, and a food source to grow. Eliminate any one, and you will stop it.

I'd also push on the tiles around the tub spout, valve, and bottom perimeter of the tub, to make sure nothing is loose.

[Mesa Guy]

Thanks John