Flooring Tile - Amount of time before wiping grout?

I am getting ready to put down about 250 sqft. of tile in a hallway. I am using 13x13 ceramic tiles. I have layed tile several times before but I am a DIYer. My question is about how long to wait when applying the grout before going over it and wiping up the extra. I have had off and on luck with this and would like to be more consistant. I waited to long one time or maybe just did to big of area before wiping and it was hard to get it off of the tile. Took lots of elbow grease.

So any help in grouting is greatly appreciated. I am using a sanded grout with 1/4 in. spacers between the tiles.

Also, how long should I wait before putting a sealer on the grout?

When grouting replacement tiles in my kitchen, I wiped off the tiles as soon as I was done putting grout in all the joints. I used a soft, flat, expensive sponge (not the el cheapo type) and kept going back and forth to the sink to wash it out until I had got up all the excess. I didn't press down on the sponge, just wiped across the tiles. This worked out fine for me.

I (just another DIYer) gave myself 10 mins from the time I start grouting. That way, I didn't get too far from the joints I already did and have my shoe mess up a line. It helps to have a helper to rinse out one sponge while you wipe with another. When you're done wiping, stir up the rest of the grout and continue. I mix small batches of grout too, use about 1/2 a bag, sometimes less.

And what bigfred said, wipe softly, and try and not wipe too much. Also, try and make sure your sponge is rung out good.

I grouted some travertine in my bathroom and just as I finished, my sister called from back east ...45 min. later after I hung with her, I hurried back to it only find that it had completely cured. A week later, I finally finished scraping the excess grout from the tiles. I had to use a putty knife and phosphoric acid the remove the excess. DON'T make that mistake ....ha.

Steve

Some stone tiles are porous and will quickly draw the moisture from the grout. We usually seal the stone tile prior to grouting to slow down that process. You wont have the same issue with a glazed ceramic tile as the glazing inhibits moisture absorption.

I want to add something to my earlier post.

I covered all freshly grouted joints for at least 24 hours with either wet towels, or plastic taped down with masking tape. I did this to slow down the drying process because it's been my experience that the grout will crack if it dries too fast.