I’m selling my house and need advice to help spruce it up a bit. First off, I have saltillo style tile on the kitchen floor. The tiles look great, but the wide grout lines (they’re irregular and range from half-inch to one-inch wide) became discolored right around the time they were sealed. I’m not sure what caused the discoloration, but the grout looked fine before it was sealed. It was a sandy color and now has dark brown and even blackish discolorations. It just looks dirty, even after it has been cleaned. Any suggestions on how to make it look good? I really don’t want to dig out the grout and re-grout. . .
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Sounds pretty much on par with saltillo floors I have done and seen.
Of course much may depend on what the floor was sealed with and wether or not it was stain as well.
I recall boiled linseed oil and turpentine being used as a sealer, followed by a good buffing with melted butchers wax.
Either you love saltillo or you don't. And there is no way that the grout joints will look the same as they did when freshly grouted.
Ditto Eric. Old restaurants in Texas that have saltillo tile floors have very dark grout. Patina. If you insist on trying to clean it, first you will have to strip the finish off the grout, and chances are that you will end up stripping the finish off the tile. And if you don't strip all the finish off the floor, you're going to see lap marks between the old and nes finish."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Like a worn shiny saddle.