Those with ceramic floors - I need to pick your brain

coasterqueen wrote: I was talking to my co-worker yesterday about how DH is going to let me do ceramic flooring in the girls/guest bathroom. She mentioned that we'd hate it because of the grout situation and that I should go with hardwood flooring. DH is NOT a fan of hardwood flooring whatsoever and I'm not that big of a fan of it, so that's really out of the question. Now we have ceramic tile in our downstairs bathroom and on the bar. The tile is dark and the grout is dark and we've never had an issue with cleaning the grout. Like I said, though, it's dark tile and dark grout. I'd like to go with a light neutral color in the bathroom so obviously it will be light tile and light colored grout. Am I going to hate it? How bad is it to clean? This is the girls' bathroom so it will have their traffic mostly and then any guests that come over.

grapfruit replied: Sorry can't help you. I'm stuck w/lovely sheet vinyl. Ah the joys of renting!

amynicole21 replied: Try to go with a darker tile, or at least not white or nearly-white. Ever speck of dirt or drop of water shows on our eggshell tile. The grout also gets very dark and becomes a pain to clean, but in the bathroom it wouldn't be that big of a space, so not that big of an issue. Don't use wood or laminate in the bathroom - it will warp if it gets wet.

mom21kid2dogs replied: I clean my high traffic areas (like near the doors and major "paths") about every 3 months with a magic eraser. Dirt comes up like that~super easy to manage, in my opinion. Both my baths have tile. One has a med brownish grout the other is a rose color. I clean them maybe once or twice a year~ more frequently around the toilet when necessary. The trick is getting a silicone grout. It won't need resealing and repels stains. It is pricier, but worth it.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Well I used to have ceraminc tiles in my bathroom at my old place... they were light taupe, I guess.. and they weren't that much of a pain to clean. Except this one time, when Zach vomitted all over the place. All over the tiles. I cleaned what I could... but because I couldn't get it all (weak stomach for barf) some of it got "stuck" on the grout, and dh had to dig at it. It left a few chips.

mom2my2cuties replied: I have light colored grout in the whole kitchen, bathrooms, and entry.

They are actaully not bad since we sealed the grout.

In our house in Texas, we thought our floors were sealed (since it was a new build) and they weren't, we got the grout dirty, and once we managed to get them cleaned and bleached, and then we sealed them up tight and it was no problem to keep it clean.

TheOaf66 replied: our kitchen and dining room are this way and if it is sealed good enough then there are no problems

Our Lil' Family replied: We sealed our grout and in 5 years have only had to bleach the grout once. I wouldn't go too light but you're right about it looking better than dark in a bathroom.

coasterqueen replied: Thanks everyone. I will be sure to discuss the grout situation and sealant to the company that will do our flooring. Unfortunately we aren't going with the company who has done all of our flooring in the house - Dh had a tiff with them. They are the only ones in town I trust and usually don't have to bring up things like sealant they just take care of it. This time I'll have to be sure to know everything going into it.

gr33n3y3z replied: ppl. with light grout I hear complain all the time
keep with dark grout and you will be happy
wood flooring in a bathroom no way

Maddie&EthansMom replied: Ours is light with light grout and we have had no problems with it at all. The other tile in our house is a brownish tile with lighter grout....still no problems. Of course we sealed the grout really well on all the tiled areas in our house. I think that makes a big difference. And we did install it ourselves. (if that helps any)

ETA: I just saw where you said you are hiring it done, sorry about that. I thought y'all were gonna do it. You can buy the sealer yourselves and do it. It's really easy. Most places don't seal the grout well....if at all.

CantWait replied: I think in the bathroom it will be alright. Not a lot of dirty traffic (shoes, mud, food). We have it in the kitchen, at least that's what I think it is, and I hate it. The grout is always getting quite dirty, and stains easily.

As Aimee said though, and I never thought of that, it might be that hers is sealed properly, I don't know what the previous owners did here, and it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't seal it.

luvmykids replied: Ditto to having it sealed or you will be very, very sorry. Also, maybe it's just me, but I think lighter colored tiles show lots of streaks and water marks...the only time I'm happy with mine is if I dry it with a towel after mopping, which between the kitchen and four bathrooms is A LOT of mopping.

Cece00 replied: We have mexican tile and semi light grout...I'd just get the grout sealed and you can bleach it when it becomes dirty...its easy upkeep compared to hardwoods. We have those, too.

JadensMama05 replied:
Same here...

redplaydoh replied: We have very light gray tile with a darker gray grout inbetween. Maybe that is an option?

coasterqueen replied:
I had really wanted to do greys in that room, but after discussing it with Dh I think we are going to stick with the neutral colors (tans, etc).

Boo&BugsMom replied: Seal, seal, seal, and you'll be fine. We have almost off-white/very light grey grout in our kitchen and dining room and I rarely have to scrub anything from it because I put like 6 layers of sealant on it. BUT, it doesn't mean it wont get dirty. In high traffic areas you will see a difference in the color. Whenever I clean under the rugs, the grout still looks almost white compared to the other areas where there is traffic. You will get this with any color grout. To be honest, if I could do it again, I'd still go with our tile but I would use a darker grout with it. Not because it does get dirty, but because I am paranoid about it. Even if you have light tile, dark grout will still look nice and classy. ETA: if you want to know what our tile looks like, check out the pic of our cats in my slide show.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied:
This is exactly what I was going to say, word for word!