Grout turned green?

[hogjowl]

No picture of the floor, sorry. However, it's a green tile floor. One of those floors that is so shiny that it almost looks like a mirror. The tile is two toned ... light and darn green, with a grout that is slightly darker than white. Tan colored.

Anyway, I cleaned it today and used an acid tile cleaner. I have never used an acid before. I always use Oxyblaster. For some reason, today I decided to use the acid cleaner I have had on my shelf for years. I have no idea why ... it was just THERE! Staring at me!

So, I mop it on the tile really hot ... like super hot ... right out of my #4 Little Giant heater. I let it dwell while I went and cleaned a couple of oriental rugs. When I got back to the floor, I rinsed it with my spinner tool and immediately noticed, before my very eyes, the grout turned green. Same color as the floor!

Did the darn tile color bleed onto the grout?

 

[Blue Monarch]

Oh man, I'd freak. Never heard of such a thing. Sure hope you don't have to do a free color seal. Uhg

 

[Clean Response]

Your best bet is to tell them it is suppose to be green and it was just too dirty to see it before.

Never heard of grout change color like this.

 

[Jim Martin]

Don't know what color it was before you started....or what color it was supposed to be....

a few few things come to mind....it was really dirty and when you cleaned off the dirt the color came thru....
or it was colored sealed and that battery acid crap you put on the floor ate the color seal off....

 

[Mikey P]

What did the customer say?

Here in California where people hire other people to chose their grout color for them, the chooser usually matches the color to the tile.


Is the green consistent?

Acid cleaners don't need heat. They do their job in cold water.

 

[hogjowl]

Jim Martin: Read the original thread, stooped!

For the intelligent posters: The lady was cool. I called her into the bathroom as soon as I saw it turning green and showed it to her. I asked her if the grout used to be green, and if they had put some type of color seal on it. She said no. She said they installed it themselves. She called her husband who told her ... wait for it ... "the tile must be fading into the grout." I'm like ... well ok ... I'll go with that. The lady said, "oh well, things like this happen to us."

I advised her that color sealing it back to the original color was an option, but she didn't seen too interested.

 

[Mikey P]

I've seen dark grout bleed on to tile, but never the other way around.


Porcelain?
Ceramic?
Stone?
Clay?
Quarry?


What was it besides "shiny"?

 

[boazcan]

Depending on what acid it was, it could have dissolved the grout to point of starting to burn into the edge of tile that probably did not have a glaze on it. Acid does its job in about 10 mins max. If it was on there for 30 mins plus, then it most likely burned into the edge of the green tile.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[GCCLee]

Oh wow Yikes! I use elacido too! Almost got black grout clean once : )

Interesting thread we have here.

 

[Jim Martin]

Jim Martin: Read the original thread, stooped!

For the intelligent posters: The lady was cool. I called her into the bathroom as soon as I saw it turning green and showed it to her. I asked her if the grout used to be green, and if they had put some type of color seal on it. She said no. She said they installed it themselves. She called her husband who told her ... wait for it ... "the tile must be fading into the grout." I'm like ... well ok ... I'll go with that. The lady said, "oh well, things like this happen to us."

I advised her that color sealing it back to the original color was an option, but she didn't seen too interested.

i did did miss all that..sorry...i got to stop skimming over your posts...I just not use to you being serious...

 

[hogjowl]

Mike it was ceramic.

 

[Mikey P]

I seen two members here etch ceramic with acid, I think both were in commercial bathrooms. Never heard of or seen colors run.
What color was the acid itself?

 

[Vivers]

It does sound like that was probably the color the grout and you removed the filth

 

[hogjowl]

The tile looked the same after cleaning as it did before! No change. I did notice some efflorescence appearing in the now green grout as I was leaving.

 

[Mikey P]

so what poor chemical manufacturer will be put on your slop list?

 

[GCCLee]

The tile looked the same after cleaning as it did before! No change. I did notice some efflorescence appearing in the now green grout as I was leaving.

Oh do tell us more lil piggy : )

 

[hogjowl]

What I meant, doofus, is the tile did not appear to be damaged. Only the grout was adversely effected.

 

[Brian H]

Were you using a brass sprayer? Any chance that it was the acid reaction to the brass sprayer?

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Were you using a brass sprayer? Any chance that it was the acid reaction to the brass sprayer?

x2

 

[hogjowl]

In the original post, I clearly said "I MOPPED IT ON"!

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Brass bucket?

Sorry, I couldn't resist Marty

Serious question: Tell us more about the acid you used, and the mop you used.

 

[hogjowl]

Cotton mop head. Maxx Brand (TCS private label product) Ultra T.G.R. "Acid Based Restorer"

 

[Jim Pemberton]

OK. These are serious questions and asked respectfully Marty:

What else have you used the mop for, and could it be contaminated?

If you pour the acid in a clear container, what color is it?

I ask because mops can pick up all sorts of contaminates that may be hard to rinse out, and sometimes products change over time in the container.

 

[hogjowl]

The mop has been used for mopping on stripper and Oxyblaster. It possibly could have not been washed after an Oxyblaster use. I am not sure. I'll check the acid tomorrow.

 

[FredC]

Left it on to long? I can find references to acids turning grout green if too strong or left too long..........but nothing that says why.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Most acids you are only supposed to put down for a minute or 2.