DIY Re-grout White Ceramic Tile Countertops

Being an Interior Designer, I don't NORMALLY condone DIY projects because you can mess up a lot of things when pretending to be a construction expert or try to cut corners.  Also, sometimes by the time you purchase the tools, all the supplies, etc., it may be the same if not less money to just hire a professional...especially with the time that goes into it.  SO normally, I really do love to let the professionals do their thing!  However, small jobs like this are easy enough, no tools required and not a lot of money needed to get it done so when I can manage it, I am thrilled to share!

So I don't know about the rest of the world but here in Orange County, California, almost every home has had white ceramic square tiles at one point or another.  Being that my little house was built in the 60's and the counter-tops are probably the original, it looks pretty old to say the least. 

Although I do not condone keeping these atrocious counter-tops, I can't change them now so I have to do SOMETHING to make them look better.  

If your white counter-tops are old like mine are, they may resemble this image:

Before Re-Grouting  YUCK!

For the longest time I thought that the grout was just dirty and scrubbed away at it for days.  The actual ONLY solution is to re-grout to look clean and brand new again!

So here is what you will need: 

-A bucket

-a large sponge

-Grout... I used sanded but should have used non-sanded for the smaller grout lines.  I chose the color, snow white but you can choose whatever color you want. 

-Something to stir the grout with like paint sticks or large spoon you don't care about. 
-Water to mix the grout

All purchased at Home Depot for around $20 total.

Once you are ready to start, take a screw driver and scrap out the old grout or at least the top layer of it.  This will allow the new grout to adhere well.  Don't go crazy scrapping it for hours, as long as you have at least the top layer up, the new grout will stick.

Scraping the old grout out with a screwdriver.

Still scraping.

Once you have finished that, it will look really gross but just wipe it away and you are ready to grout!

So first you take some grout out of the box and put in the bucket to mix with water.  You need to kind-of eye ball it because it's hard to know how much you will need.  I took a couple cup fulls and put in the bucket to start and added more later as needed.  Then you will add enough water to make it not too running but not too thick.  The mix should be of a yogurt consistency.

Once you have mixed, you will pour on the counter-top and spread with a large sponge.  Don't worry about it getting all over the tiles, it will wipe right off.

Spreading the grout

More grout spreading

Do da do... spreading away

Once you have covered the counter area, gently wipe off with the sponge.  You will need to rinse the sponge a lot to get all the grout off and wipe clean. You will still notice a film over the tiles and that is okay! 

Once you have gently wiped, you will see the film on the surface but leave to dry until the next day.  Once you are through, you will need some serious hand lotion if you didn't wear gloves like me! ;0) 

Counter with the film on it.  Sitting until the next day.

The next day, wipe the counter down with a damp rag to get the film off and clean it.  You will see the grout stays and looks brand new!! 

TAH-DAH!!!!

 

Still...it's not a beautiful marble from Italy but at least it looks newer and cleaner than before!  

Thanks to my Dad for the step-by-step instructions over the phone from St. Louis!  Love him! =0)