When grouting tiles you need to know how to do it properly other wise you could end up ruining your tiles and the finish. There are specialist tools you can buy to carry this work out properly and they can give you a great looking, long lasting finish if used correctly. There are also slight variations in the method you should use depending if the tiling is on walls or the floor.
Some of these different methods used are below and also the type of tiling they should be used on:
Grouting Floor Tiles
To start you need to make sure you have the right grout for the purpose for example does it need to be a water proof grout etc. The first step you need to take is to clean the tiles down properly to ensure there is no dirt or left over mortar on the tiles surface. Once clean and fully dry you can mix your grout solution when mixing you will have to ensure you mix it to the right colour which can be fairly hard to do especially with the powder mixtures.
When your grout is mixed to a thick cream texture you can then begin to apply it to the tiles sweeping it across the tile joins with the grout shovel at an angle to the join. Try and be as careful as possible when applying the grout to get as little as possible on the tile faces this is because once dried it can be fairly difficult to remove, and if you have to work hard to get it off you may damage the finish.
How To Grout Wall Tiles
When grouting wall tiles it is important to make sure the grout mix is the right constituency because if it is too runny then it can run out of the joins and onto the face of the tiles, and if it too powdery then it can be impossible to work with. As with the floor grouting you have certain tools like squeegees to smooth the grout over the joins you would work this on at an angle also. Once applied leave the grout to dry for around 10 minutes then you can begin to clean any excess on the tile faces with a damp, clean sponge. Then the grout will take around 24 hours to dry completely.
When the grout has dried you can then clean over the tiles making sure there is none left on the tile faces, you can also use a special tool to neaten up the grout in the joins. There is also a type of polish you can buy to polish the tile faces once they have been grouted.