How long after cleaning do you wait to seal grout?

ACE

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Mike Hughes
If you use an alkaline followed by an acid cleaner, grout can take a long time to return to a normal moisture level. I checked on a job 24 hour after cleaning with the AC running and my wet check was still giving a slow beep. Do you wait till grout is bone dry to seal?
 

tmdry

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We make sure there are no puddles, grout can be damp, no need to wait 24 hours anymore. Hardly use acids. We've gone with GP.
 

ACE

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It sounds like solvent base is the way to go. I want to always finish a job the same day if possible. There is nothing like the feeling of a job done well and check in hand.


tmdry said:
We make sure there are no puddles, grout can be damp, no need to wait 24 hours anymore. Hardly use acids. We've gone with GP.

Mikey P said:
use a Airpath and giddie up with a WF Solvent base



What dose WF and GP stand for?
 

TimP

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May 19, 2007
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I don't know about WF

I think GP is grout perfect, a company name.

Solvent is the way to go, but grout sticks don't hold up with solvents. Solvent sealers do a much better job of sealing, and not to mention little to no worries about efflorecense.

Probably the best buy I know of is cobbs impregnator sealer.
 

Louis

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Put the air path on, wipe up puddles then pack up the truck and start sealing. I use cobbs and have never had any problems.
 

BlinkClean

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ACE said:
If you use an alkaline followed by an acid cleaner, grout can take a long time to return to a normal moisture level. I checked on a job 24 hour after cleaning with the AC running and my wet check was still giving a slow beep. Do you wait till grout is bone dry to seal?


I usually use no-wait sealer right after the Job. I just turn my air movers on. I leave the air movers doing their thang behind me while I clean. By the time I'm done there is only a small area of wet tile, and I just have the air movers dry there while I pack my van. Once I'm inside, I start by the area I cleaned first, as it is usually already dry, and by the time I get to that last area, that's dry too.....works even for color sealer. I usually just use a grout wand on big jobs (Doesn't break your back) and grout perfect on smaller (residential, under 1500sq ft) jobs.
 

BUSY BEE

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Mar 2, 2009
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I do it differently and some probably don't agree. I wipe down thoroughly after cleaning, tape down brown paper and leave the custy booties. Come back the next day and seal by hand with my speedwheel. This has been debated many times, but I feel it's better to be safe then sorry, some may think it's overcautious, but I never get call backs.
 

BlinkClean

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BUSY BEE said:
I do it differently and some probably don't agree. I wipe down thoroughly after cleaning, tape down brown paper and leave the custy booties. Come back the next day and seal by hand with my speedwheel. This has been debated many times, but I feel it's better to be safe then sorry, some may think it's overcautious, but I never get call backs.

I've only gotten one single callback on a job, and it was because of a spot I missed (about 3sq ft). Last week with my method I cleaned and color sealed a 2,500 SQ ft home in 9 man hours in a day and walked away with $3,800 (before taxes). I got 2 referral jobs this week from those same customers, and one of them also wants a color seal, the other wants a clear seal.
 

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