For a while after we moved into this house the shower stall looked fine,
but then the grout lines -- especially those between the edge of the
floor and the bottom of the walls -- started looking dirtier and dirtier.

The usual shower cleaning products did not do much, nor did undiluted
bleach straight from the bottle.

We thought of redoing the shower with plastic or fiberglass panels, but
it's significantly smaller than any standard off-the-shelf units. No
doubt we could get a custom liner made, but probably costing more than
we would be willing to spend.

I've just started attacking the grout with a grout saw, with the
intention of regrouting those joints, but it appears that the previous
owner used silicone caulking compound over the existing grout along
those edges. This complicates cleaning out the crevices. And even where
I've managed to clean out the old grout and caulking compound,
everything is still black, and even straight bleach seems to have no effect.

Any suggestions about the best way to deal with this?

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
For a while after we moved into this house the shower stall looked fine,
but then the grout lines -- especially those between the edge of the floor
and the bottom of the walls -- started looking dirtier and dirtier.

The usual shower cleaning products did not do much, nor did undiluted
bleach straight from the bottle.

We thought of redoing the shower with plastic or fiberglass panels, but
it's significantly smaller than any standard off-the-shelf units. No doubt
we could get a custom liner made, but probably costing more than we would
be willing to spend.

I've just started attacking the grout with a grout saw, with the intention
of regrouting those joints, but it appears that the previous owner used
silicone caulking compound over the existing grout along those edges. This
complicates cleaning out the crevices. And even where I've managed to
clean out the old grout and caulking compound, everything is still black,
and even straight bleach seems to have no effect.

Any suggestions about the best way to deal with this?

Keep cleaning out the mess, regrout and use sealer, or pull the sheet rock
and start over. this time use a good grout sealer.

olddog

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

For a while after we moved into this house the shower stall looked
fine, but then the grout lines -- especially those between the edge of
the floor and the bottom of the walls -- started looking dirtier and
dirtier.

The usual shower cleaning products did not do much, nor did undiluted
bleach straight from the bottle.

We thought of redoing the shower with plastic or fiberglass panels,
but it's significantly smaller than any standard off-the-shelf units.
No doubt we could get a custom liner made, but probably costing more
than we would be willing to spend.

I've just started attacking the grout with a grout saw, with the
intention of regrouting those joints, but it appears that the previous
owner used silicone caulking compound over the existing grout along
those edges. This complicates cleaning out the crevices. And even
where I've managed to clean out the old grout and caulking compound,
everything is still black, and even straight bleach seems to have no
effect.

Any suggestions about the best way to deal with this?

I regrouted our tiled shower stall with good results, about 4 yrs. ago.
I used the Dremel with special bit and guide. Only tough part for me
was kneeling for the low spots and using enough pressure to regrout (I'm
old ) The black stuff you find is bothersome, and I hope it is from
the previous caulking applied over dirty old grout and not from a leak
that has saturated the wall. If you get through all of the grout and
still find blacfk mold, I've be very concerned that there is a leak
behind the wall. Any chance the original grout was black? When you get
it cleaned out, use full strength bleach, rinse well, and dry well
before you regrout.

I ended up with a few grout joints that didn't fill entirely, which is
due to my lack of muscle and dim lighting. I'd be sure to check the
grout for flaws with light across the joints to catch the little "misses".

The smallest tip for the Dremel tool is, I believe, 1/8". We have a few
tiles that are apparently closer, and the bit skipped out of the joint
but fortunately did not scratch or chip the tile.

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
For a while after we moved into this house the shower stall looked fine,
but then the grout lines -- especially those between the edge of the
floor and the bottom of the walls -- started looking dirtier and dirtier.

The usual shower cleaning products did not do much, nor did undiluted
bleach straight from the bottle.

We thought of redoing the shower with plastic or fiberglass panels, but
it's significantly smaller than any standard off-the-shelf units. No
doubt we could get a custom liner made, but probably costing more than
we would be willing to spend.

I've just started attacking the grout with a grout saw, with the
intention of regrouting those joints, but it appears that the previous
owner used silicone caulking compound over the existing grout along
those edges. This complicates cleaning out the crevices. And even where
I've managed to clean out the old grout and caulking compound,
everything is still black, and even straight bleach seems to have no
effect.

Any suggestions about the best way to deal with this?
It's not too much work if you use a Fein Multimaster with their carbide
tile blades. To remove the grout is a leisurely day, and to regrout is
perhaps 4 hours. Once the grout is out I'd wash the surfaces and grout
streets down with a good mildewcide like those sold by Zinssner before
regrouting.

Boden

Norminn wrote in
m:

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

For a while after we moved into this house the shower stall looked
fine, but then the grout lines -- especially those between the edge
of the floor and the bottom of the walls -- started looking dirtier
and dirtier.

The usual shower cleaning products did not do much, nor did undiluted
bleach straight from the bottle.

We thought of redoing the shower with plastic or fiberglass panels,
but it's significantly smaller than any standard off-the-shelf units.
No doubt we could get a custom liner made, but probably costing more
than we would be willing to spend.

I've just started attacking the grout with a grout saw, with the
intention of regrouting those joints, but it appears that the
previous owner used silicone caulking compound over the existing
grout along those edges. This complicates cleaning out the crevices.
And even where I've managed to clean out the old grout and caulking
compound, everything is still black, and even straight bleach seems
to have no effect.

Any suggestions about the best way to deal with this?

I regrouted our tiled shower stall with good results, about 4 yrs.
ago. I used the Dremel with special bit and guide. Only tough part
for me was kneeling for the low spots and using enough pressure to
regrout (I'm old ) The black stuff you find is bothersome, and I
hope it is from the previous caulking applied over dirty old grout and
not from a leak that has saturated the wall. If you get through all
of the grout and still find blacfk mold, I've be very concerned that
there is a leak behind the wall. Any chance the original grout was
black? When you get it cleaned out, use full strength bleach, rinse
well, and dry well before you regrout.

I ended up with a few grout joints that didn't fill entirely, which is
due to my lack of muscle and dim lighting. I'd be sure to check the
grout for flaws with light across the joints to catch the little
"misses".

The smallest tip for the Dremel tool is, I believe, 1/8". We have a
few tiles that are apparently closer, and the bit skipped out of the
joint but fortunately did not scratch or chip the tile.

The Dremel "grout" bits are 1/16 or 1/8" There is another general purpose
tapered carbide bit that can be of use as well. Probably others as well.
Still can be time consuming but much less painful than a hand grout saw.

On 10/21/08 12:42 pm Norminn wrote:

For a while after we moved into this house the shower stall looked
fine, but then the grout lines -- especially those between the edge of
the floor and the bottom of the walls -- started looking dirtier and
dirtier.

snip

I've just started attacking the grout with a grout saw, with the
intention of regrouting those joints, but it appears that the previous
owner used silicone caulking compound over the existing grout along
those edges. This complicates cleaning out the crevices. And even
where I've managed to clean out the old grout and caulking compound,
everything is still black, and even straight bleach seems to have no
effect.

Any suggestions about the best way to deal with this?

I regrouted our tiled shower stall with good results, about 4 yrs. ago.
I used the Dremel with special bit and guide. Only tough part for me was
kneeling for the low spots and using enough pressure to regrout (I'm old
) The black stuff you find is bothersome, and I hope it is from the
previous caulking applied over dirty old grout and not from a leak that
has saturated the wall. If you get through all of the grout and still
find blacfk mold, I've be very concerned that there is a leak behind the
wall. Any chance the original grout was black? When you get it cleaned
out, use full strength bleach, rinse well, and dry well before you regrout.


Thanks for the suggestion, I did not know about the Dremel bits. The
1/16" one seems to be doing a good job. I', mot using the Dremel guide
because I don't have a genuine Dremel tool: I'm using a battery-powered
B&D. (IAC, I couldn't even see any genuine Dremel tools with the model#s
the grout removal kit was intended to fit.)

Any ideas on getting rid of the silicone caulk residue?

Perce

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

On 10/21/08 12:42 pm Norminn wrote:

For a while after we moved into this house the shower stall looked
fine, but then the grout lines -- especially those between the edge of
the floor and the bottom of the walls -- started looking dirtier and
dirtier.


snip

I've just started attacking the grout with a grout saw, with the
intention of regrouting those joints, but it appears that the previous
owner used silicone caulking compound over the existing grout along
those edges. This complicates cleaning out the crevices. And even
where I've managed to clean out the old grout and caulking compound,
everything is still black, and even straight bleach seems to have no
effect.

Any suggestions about the best way to deal with this?


I regrouted our tiled shower stall with good results, about 4 yrs. ago.
I used the Dremel with special bit and guide. Only tough part for me was
kneeling for the low spots and using enough pressure to regrout (I'm old
) The black stuff you find is bothersome, and I hope it is from the
previous caulking applied over dirty old grout and not from a leak that
has saturated the wall. If you get through all of the grout and still
find blacfk mold, I've be very concerned that there is a leak behind the
wall. Any chance the original grout was black? When you get it cleaned
out, use full strength bleach, rinse well, and dry well before you
regrout.



Thanks for the suggestion, I did not know about the Dremel bits. The
1/16" one seems to be doing a good job. I', mot using the Dremel guide
because I don't have a genuine Dremel tool: I'm using a
battery-powered B&D. (IAC, I couldn't even see any genuine Dremel
tools with the model#s the grout removal kit was intended to fit.)

Any ideas on getting rid of the silicone caulk residue?

Perce

Someone else pointed out that there was a 1/16" tip, which is likely the
one I used that "grabbed" in a few places where the tiles were too
close. We have a very old, and a much newer Dremel rotary tool, and I
used both on my grout job. As for the silicone caulk, if it is on tile
I would use a razor blade scraper (with fresh blades). I've never used
any of the chemical caulk removers.