Howdy Seeing as everyone here is multitalented am sure someone can advise me on a tiling question. I've laying some unglazed porcelain floor tiles , that's easy enough, what I'm struggling to find out is do I need to seal them for to be waterproof, can't seem to get a definitive answer. Also, what about the grout? Cheers guys
Unglazed porcelain tile surfaces can contain microscopic pores that can stain under some circumstances but generally not to worry. Some in the industry recommend sealing even the porcelain tile for this reason. Not sure by your question on grout. Care to elaborate?
Eat some fresh fruit. Seriously though it depends where the tiles are being used and how they react to water, do a drop test on an off-cut, stick a drop of water on it and leave it for 20-30 min then wipe it off, if the tile stays discolored then you know the water has penetrated and they would benefit from treatment. Also if they're in a high traffic area they may benefit from treatment to make cleaning easier, ultimately treatment just comes down to making them easier to clean and maintaining the looks, same goes for grout, treatment is only going to make it easier to clean and maintaining colour.
Tiles are going in a kitchen so plenty of traffic and general mess liek food spills etc so handling water is important for cleaning. I'll try the water test as advised though! Thanks
Or DuPont do a sealing spray, seals grout and any pores in tiles, touch dry in an hour or so, fully dry in 12 h. Recently used it for a friends shower and though it's early days seems to be doing the trick.
The video doesn't play. Maybe you could try re-uploading it?. Please..or maybe the problem seems to be from my end..i don't know?
My understanding is that the grout is more pourus than the tile and that is what should be sealed. The tile itself is usually pretty impervious, but the grout will stain easily and is impossible to get clean.
Any impregnating/penetrating sealer should be good to go for unglazed porcelain. You should seal both the tiles and the grout. Black grout will be less obvious if you still manage to stain it. If you use an epoxy grout you don't need to seal that.
Dark grey grout as the tiles are pretty black, I did my moms kitchen many years ago and didn't seal the grout, it's a very different shade now, I will definitely be sealing the grout
