grout: to seal or not to seal

[glenCOCO]

I just finished grouting my tile and I'm still debating whether or not I should seal the grout. All this stuff is completely new to me so I have a couple questions. Is sealing it necessary? Is it ok if it gets on the tile? Are there sealers that I could just put on both the tile and grout that won't change the texture of the tile? Also, has anyone had any problems with poop or urates staining grout when left unsealed? How would I go about cleaning it if it gets rubbed into the grout?

 

[Pacmanandy]

I would seal anything porous, especially since when you grout it you won't be able to clean under or between the tiles. Although I'm debating whether to grout at all, because some people like to have loose tiles for easier cleaning. I feel like it may be easier to clean grouted tile just by wiping it up.

 

[rissa]

Well, um I actually don't put in any grout at all.. usually I'll just put some papertowel underneath so If his junk is really watery it'lll suck it up and and place tile on top so when he goes poop i can just take the piece of tile out and either scrub off loose debries/soak it in watered down bleach or clean it and bake it in the oven.. i would probobally put a sealer on the grout though so it doesn't get bacteria stuck in there and soak your tank with a 10% bleach/water mixture when you're cleaning the cage up/ rinse it with water untill the fumes are gone. I heard you can also use a natural cleaner on the market like "Helathy habitat Spray" or "Flukers super pray brush cleaner" and then use bleach or some alcohol or acidic based product to sanitize but I havent ever tried those so maby ask someone els about it before you try it

 

[glenCOCO]

How exactly would I go about applying the sealer on the grout without it getting on the tile? I can't really use the wheel/ball applicator since I don't have any straight lines and a brush would just be extremely tedious. I've heard of people using mod podge to coat and seal up the whole surface but I don't want the surface to be slick. Are there sealers that work on both tile and grout that don't change the texture?

 

[glenCOCO]

Would it be ok to use minwax polycrylic on both the grout and tile? I'm thinking of just brushing a few coats of that on it.

 

[pimmsoclock87]

Just buy a normal slate tile sealer, once that's applied ive never noticed it to make tiles "slippery" just seals so nothing can stain the tiles etc (BTW one of the jobs i do is tiling)

 

[glenCOCO]

I just found some leftover penetrating tile and grout sealer from when we were landscaping the front yard so I'm probably just going to use that. The instructions on the sealer says to let the grout cure for 48 hours but on the grout tub it says it cures within 24 hours. Is it necessary to wait another 24 hours for the sealer to work properly? Sorry, I'm just a very impatient person when it comes to completing projects like this.

 

[rissa]

better safe than sorry? I'd probably wait the full 48 hours...