I'm tiling the bathroom-from-hell this week while Wife and DD are out of
town. The walls are 4" cheap ceramic wall tiles. No problem. The
floors are fancy porcelain things from Italy that look like stone. They
have a lot of texture to them. I laid them several months ago and just
didn't get around to grouting until now.

The grout is a latex-modified sanded grout, with portland cement in it.
I'm applying it with a rubber-soled trowel, just like a did the wall
tiles (unsanded grout). Here's the problem; it dries and sticks tight
to the texture on top of the tiles before the grout lines are hardened
enough to work. How do I clean the tops of the tiles? The damp sponged
was almost worthless. I've been scrubbing them one at a time with a
damp sacrificial dish towel, but it's taking forever.

I only mixed enough grout for a little over a quarter of the bathroom,
and I started under the commode. I've got it all scrubbed now, and in a
little while I'll need to clean the tops again.

When I grout the next section (then wait ~45 minutes so the grout lines
are ready to work) is there a better way to get stubborn grout off the
top of textured glazed tiles? How about that little stainless steel
toothbrush I bought from Harbor Freight? Or am I already doing it the
"easy" way. (I would mix a little phosphoric acid with the rinse water,
but I don't trust myself to keep every drop off of the grout lines.

I've got enough done that I can reset the toilet. I don't think I'm
gonna do another section of floor tonight. I still have other things I
can work on.

Thanks,
Bob