Do Grout Pens Work? Sure, But They’re Not the Best Solution for Coloring Your Tile’s Grout. Here’s Why!

When it comes to coloring your tile’s grout or if you’re trying to fix your grout’s discoloration, a lot of people want to see how effective a grout pen is. Well, it can be extremely effective and it can be extremely problematic. At The Grout Medic of Northern Virginia, we recommend only utilizing a grout pen as a means of “touching up” areas of your tile’s grout that are discolored. Not only do we recommend that they’re used sparingly, but we also want to note that they don’t last very long after the grout pen has been applied. Think of a grout pen in the same way you think of “touch up” paint for your car. You wouldn’t color your entire car with “touch up” paint, would you? The answer is most likely a resounding, “no”, so we recommend that you don’t use a grout pen on the entirety of your grout. Find out more about why grout pens are not the best option when it comes to coloring your tile’s grout by calling The Grout Medic of Northern Virginia today at 703-634-4646.

At The Grout Medic of Northern Virginia, we offer deep cleaning for your grout, as well as a variety of different tile grout color sealing options. This is a much more efficient manner of bringing your grout back to life and then giving it a custom color. Grout pens will only temporarily cover your grout’s discoloration. That’s probably why they are the cheapest option available. We run into the infamous grout pen issue nearly every other week. The project usually goes awry when the homeowner applies the grout pen to the grout and some bleeds over onto the tile. In most cases, we’re able to remove the discoloration from the tile. However, if it’s been adhered to the tile for too long, we may have to replace the tile. So, the grout pen option may seem easy and effective, but it’s only a temporary fix and one that can end up being costly if applied incorrectly.

The grout in the image above was white prior to beginning our project. We first cleaned the grout using low-pressure, high-heat water vapor to push out all the discoloring agents. Once the grout had dried completely, we were then able to cover the different grout sealant colors at our disposal to the homeowner. As you can imagine, going from an off-white grout to a darker grout, completely transformed the tiled surface’s appearance. Furthermore, the tile grout color seal will last for at least two years, which is why we recommend having your tile and grout cleaned and sealed every two years for optimal performance.

So, if you’re considering using a grout pen to color your grout, please remember that it’s a temporary solution and is very similar to using touch up paint on your car – use it sparingly, as it’s not designed to color your entire grout. To claim a free consultation and learn more about our grout cleaning and grout color sealing options, call us today at 703-634-4646 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you soon!