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suz_natural

Low-maintenance bath - subway tile?

suz_natural
15 years ago

Anyone regret doing their tub surround with subway tile? Someone is telling me all those grout lines will make me curse on cleaning day. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Comments (16)

  • sarapamela
    15 years ago

    We are about to do the same.... I can't believe it would be any worse than square tiles, but I guess we'll both have to stay on top of it!

  • pepperidge_farm
    15 years ago

    Tile is tile, grout is grout... use a good grout and consider a sealer if you want to be double sure. You have to clean no matter what.

    Our subway tile and grout look great, with increased use as we use that bath since the master reno, and I just have to be vigilant about wiping down the grout for the well water we have. It looks perfect, one yr out.

  • bill_vincent
    15 years ago

    Since I was a child (my father was also a tile contractor) we've always had tile baths and showers. Never once was a bit of the white grout (or any other) sealed, and never did we have problems keeping it clean. That's with 6 kids in our family, and my mother wasn't the best of housecleaners. You should be fine just rinsing the shower down every week, and maybe once every few months hitting the tile and grout with some oxyclean.

    As for your friend and cursing cleaning day, the only thing I can think of is she may be a compulsive cleaner. Other than that, I can't understand why she'd say that.

  • pepperidge_farm
    15 years ago

    Oh Bill, I knew you would say that about the sealer... as I torture myself with the ones I bought!!

    I am not a vigilant cleaner, yet of late have been stuck with the task (for too many reasons) and I do find that the sealed grout in my tub surround seems to just wipe off with my finger (the pinkish water deposits). Maybe I am comparing it to the old grouts I had in all the homes I had with old showers?

    Seriously, though, doesn't the sealer help ease the cleaning of a surface that is not perfectly smooth? At all?

  • suz_natural
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for asking that last question, Pepperidge farm. I'm wondering the same thing.

    As for the pinkish water deposits, I wonder if you refer to the same thing I get in my shower. A pink goo that accumulates in the shower frame. I read that there's a bacteria in the water that turns the water that colour. What turns it all to "goo", I don't know. I get the same colour deposits in my toilet bowl. Both come off easily; mind you, they don't accumulate much on the tiles or grout. It's the shaving cream and soap deposits that require a bit more elbow grease to get off tile and grout. Perhaps if I were a more fastidious housekeeper...

    Thanks for the reassurance, Bill. I really want those subway tiles :) For once that I have a complete vision about a room!

  • Lori Billy
    15 years ago

    I would like to see any white subway tile pics for bathrooms! I"ve been looking at durango travertine but want something with more white.

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    15 years ago

    You're supposed to clean it? It gets washed down every morning when I use it!
    Seriously, though, I tiled mine this spring, and it is as easy to clean as any other kind of tile. It has as many feet of grout lines as it has; Less than 1x1 and more than 24x24. I like the rhythm of the brick pattern.

    This is regular A/O from Lowe's.

    Casey

  • bill_vincent
    15 years ago

    Seriously, though, doesn't the sealer help ease the cleaning of a surface that is not perfectly smooth? At all?

    To a point it does. But it's not the miracle of miracles that everyone seems to think it is, and for my money, it's not worth the cash or time spent applying it, because sooner or later, even the sealer won't make a difference. As I've said in other threads-- it delays the inevitable.

  • pepperidge_farm
    15 years ago

    To a point it does.

    I'll take it!

  • debo_2006
    15 years ago

    Casey - what size grout line do you have there? Looks like 1/8". Nice work.

  • suz_natural
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for those pics, Casey. Just reaffirms my desire.

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    15 years ago

    This tile has lugs that space it automatically. The grout line seems to be a whisker more than 1/16.
    Casey

  • caroline94535
    14 years ago

    Can you tell me what color your grout is? It's lovely and I'm about to install the very same tile, sans the decorative border. My border will be their 1/2 x 8 beaded pencil line.

  • conn123
    14 years ago

    Would I be nuts to put n 5/8" x 5/8" (or even 1" x 1") white marble (shimmery white for my 13 yr old DD's bathroom) as a tub surround??

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    14 years ago

    My grout is Delorean gray.
    5/8" square tile has the maximum amount of grout per sq ft (except for penny rounds) of any tile. So if you worry about stained grout it may not be for you.
    Casey

  • bill_vincent
    14 years ago

    Or stained tile. Teenagers aren't known to be the most responsible people in the world with respect to keeping things clean. :-)