Flooring Tile - kitchen floor tile grout

When we grouted our kitchen floor tile the first time we didn't grout up high enough so every time I mopped, dirt would build up in the lines because of the dip, so we tried to add more grout on top of the old by adding some bonding glue to the mixture before putting it in the lines. Now, even after putting a sealer on twice, it seems worse than before because even though it did stick to the old grout and is level with the tile now, it seems to act like a sponge and soak ALL the dirt up now. The original color was fawn and now it looks literally like a dark brown yuk color. After a couple of months we even took the time to sand off the top layer showing only the beautiful fawn color and then add another sealer twice, but after about a couple weeks, we are back to the dirty brown yuk color. We started to dig out all the grout to redo the whole thing until we found out how impossibly hard it would be, (our kitchen is about a 16 x 16 room). We tried the grout remover razor type tools and even the dremel electric grout remover. The hand tool would take forever not to mention physically how hard it is and the dremel thing just didn't seem to want to actually remove the grout. Can you tell me what you think our options are? How hard is it to rip up tile? I would love to save the tile but not if something can't be done with the grout. I would try bleaching the grout but I'm afraid it would be a lot of work and then it would soak up the dirt again anyway. Thanks. Kay

Hi
The problem with floor grout is the sand...the joints are as rough as sand paper..and tend to trap more dirt. You may want to try a grout colorant...it gives a nice new colour, and seals the joints at the same time. Try: www.aquamix.com

I agree with adanac eh. ;) I wouldn't rip out the tiles just because of grout that won't stay clean. You need to use a good colorant/sealer on it. To tear out the tiles is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. :) If you like the installation of your tile and the grout is the only problem then go the colorant/sealer route on it. Just be ready to get down on your knees with a paint brush for a few hours. It beats starting from scratch.