Grout haze is a cement file left on the surface of the tiles after the tile have been grouted. . . It is important to completely remove the grout haze or the appearance of the tiles can be severely degraded.

 

 

Grouting Tile	Mixing and Preparing the Grout
Applying the Grout	Cleaning Grout Haze

 

Removing grout haze can be an extremely difficult process.  Hardened grout haze that has been allowed to set for an extended period of time can be extremely difficult to remove.   On the other hand if the grout haze is properly cleaned up and removed immediately after grouting the tiles then the grout haze can easily be removed.  There are also many other factors that affect how difficult it will be to remove grout haze.  These factors include the type of grout used, how the grout was mixed, how long the grout haze has set on the tiles and the type of tiles that are installed. 

Grout haze is a cement film that is left on the tiles from the grout after the tiles have been grouted.  When wiping the surface of the tiles with a grout sponge there will always be some cement residue that is deposited on the surface of the tiles. This cement residue commonly called called grout haze will be present on the tile surfaces in all tile installations after grouting the tiles. It is important to promptly remove the grout haze after grouting the tiles before it has a chance to harden and become difficult to remove. 

It is best to remove the grout haze about 2-4 hours after grouting the tiles.  You want to allow the grout to slightly firm up after grouting so you do not damage or disturb the finished grout lines while removing the grout haze.  Many times people believe that they can grout the tiles one day and come back the next day or later to clean up the grout haze.  This technique may work for extremely smooth glazed ceramic or porcelain tiles.  If the tiles are coarse or you are trying to remove grout haze off of stone tiles then the grout haze can start to become hard and difficult to remove if it has set overnight. 

There are many techniques for removing grout haze.  It is always best to use the least aggressive grout haze removal techniques first.  If you find that the grout haze is not being removed with the less aggressive procedures then you will need to advance to the more aggressive grout haze removal techniques.   In general it is necessary to do whatever is necessary to remove the grout haze off the surface of the tiles.  A grout haze will not fade away over time or come off when just cleaning the grout.  Many people will have a grout haze on the surface of their tiles for years and just believe that the tiles naturally look the way they do.  It is only when the grout haze has finally been removed that people realize what their tiles are supposed to look like.  A grout haze clouding up and distorting the natural appearance of their tiles can severely alter the natural beauty of the tiles. 

The easiest and least aggressive technique for removing grout haze is to use a dry cheese cloth designed for removing grout haze.   Cheese clothes are specially designed for cleaning up and removing grout haze.  If you have not allowed the grout haze to set for a long period of time then a dry cheese cloth is the best type of towel for removing grout haze.  Cheese clothes are specially designed to use dry for removing grout haze without damaging the still setting grout in the grout lines.   When using a cheese cloth for removing grout haze you simply rub the tile surfaces with the dry cheese cloth and the grout haze will easily and quickly become cleaned up and removed.

 

 

In many cases grout haze can not simply be removed with a dry cheese cloth.  Grout haze that has been allowed to set for too long or when removing grout haze from coarse tiles a cheese cloth will not be aggressive enough to remove the grout haze.  In these cases the hardened grout haze will require more aggressive techniques than trying to remove it with just a dry cheese cloth.  The next more aggressive grout haze removal technique is to use a wet terry towel to scrub away and remove the grout haze.  Often times the water in a terry towel will reactivate the grout haze so that it can be easily wiped up and removed.  Reactivating the grout haze with a wet terry towel works for grout that has not set for more than a few days.  If the grout haze has set for a long period of time then the water in the terry towel will not reactivate the grout and allow it to be wiped away.

When removing grout haze with a wet terry towel you should wring as much water out of the terry towel as possible before trying to clean up the grout haze.  Excess water in the grout lines can be detrimental to grout that has not finished setting.  It is important to only use as much water as necessary to remove the grout haze without over wetting the grout lines.  If you saturate the grout lines with too much water while the grout is setting then the grout can become weak or the grout can lose some of its color and look splotchy in areas where too much water was used in the grout.  When using a damp terry towel you should simply wipe the tile surfaces with the damp terry towel to reactivate the grout haze.  Then while the tile surface is still wet you can use a dry terry towel to dry the tile surfaces and remove the grout haze at the same time.

Often times grout haze has been allowed to set for a long time to the point where it has hardened over time.  In these cases of hardened grout haze a cheese cloth or wet terry towel will not begin to remove the hardened grout haze.  Hardened grout haze on ceramic or porcelain tiles will require an acidic cleaner and a scrubbing pad to remove the grout haze.  

You should not use any type of acidic cleaner on stone tiles or you will etch the surface of the tiles.  When trying to remove grout haze from stone tiles you should use non acidic grout haze remover like Aquamix's Grout Haze Clean-up solution.  Aquamix's Grout Haze Clean-up solution is non acidic so it will not damage or etch the surface of stone tiles.  You can use the Aquamix's Grout Haze Clean-up just like an acidic cleaner when cleaning up grout haze. Aquamix's Grout Haze Clean-up solution will not be as effective at removing grout haze as an acidic cleaner.   For acid resistant tiles like ceramic and porcelain tiles an acidic cleaner will be more effective than Aquamix's Grout Haze Clean up solution at cleaning up and removing grout haze.

In most cases of hardened grout haze the grout has been allowed to totally set so the acidic cleaner will not damage the grout in the grout lines.  You should only use a mild acidic cleaner with a urea acid in it like Stonetech's Restore acidic cleaner.  You should start by diluting the acidic cleaner with half water and spraying the cleaning solution directly on the tile surfaces.  In many cases you will be able to see a fizzing effect on the tile surfaces as the acidic cleaner reacts with grout haze.   A soft white scrub pad will often be necessary to additionally agitate the grout haze and loosen it up from the tile surface.  Then you can use a normal terry towel or mop and bucket to clean up the excess acidic cleaner and the grout haze from the tile surfaces.

 

 

For extremely hard and difficult to remove grout haze an even more aggressive procedure will need to be used.  In these cases the acidic cleaner can be applied at full strength to soften up the grout haze.  Also more aggressive scrub pads will need to be used to loosen up the extremely hard to remove grout haze.  An aggressive green pad is often extremely effective at scrubbing away and removing grout haze.  It is important to understand that aggressive scrub pads can scratch or dull the surface of stone tiles.  In most cases you will be required to polish the stone tiles to remove any scratches or scuff marks caused by aggressive scrub pads.  Ceramic and porcelain tiles are usually much harder than stone tiles and they will not be scratched or scuffed when aggressive scrub pads are used on them.

 

 

In some cases cleaning grout haze is next to impossible.  Many times people are actually trying to remove hardened grout off the surface of their tiles as opposed to just removing grout haze.  Also trying to remove non cement based grout haze can truly be a monumental task.  Removing an epoxy grout haze requires strong epoxy grout haze removal products and a specialized epoxy grout haze removal procedure.  You can read more about removing epoxy grout haze here.

As a last resort you may attempt to chip away at the grout haze with a chisel or window scraper tool.  In general when you have tried scrubbing away the grout haze with an aggressive scrub pad and an acidic cleaner and the grout haze can still not be removed you may want to call a tile restoration professional to have them take a look at it for you.  In most cases it is simply a lot easier to replace the tiles and apply the grout correctly next time as opposed to trying to remove hardened grout haze off the surface of the tiles. 

 

 

Removing grout haze can involve working with acidic cleaners and can also involve a lot of backbreaking hard work.  You may want to consider hiring a tile cleaning and restoration contractor to clean up and remove the grout haze for you.

You can read some valuable information and tips on how to hire a tile, grout and stone cleaning and restoration contractor at our contractor information page here . . .  Tile Restoration Contractor.