Seven years ago, I hired an architect to redesign the kitchen in my “new” house, transforming it from a humdrum galley space with bulky cabinets and dated appliances that the previous owners never used, into a contemporary-style kitchen fitted with open shelves, high-tech appliances, and porcelain floors. I recall lots of back-and-forth discussion with the architect about the merits of refinishing the existing worn wooden floors or pulling them out and starting anew with white porcelain tile that mimicked the look of marble. Keeping the wood floors would maintain aesthetic consistency with the adjoining rooms but tile would give us more options for choosing the fronts for the cabinets. We decided to go with the latter. The caveat was that I’d need to seal the floor within three months of installation. Which brings me to this week’s Ask Veronica column.
I never got around to sealing the floors within the allotted time. In fact, it took me seven years to get it onto my to-do list. With family and work obligations, sealing the floor didn’t stand a chance…until I could no longer stand to look at the floor.
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It’s important to seal porous tile because dirt and grime will otherwise penetrate the grout, settle in, and turn it an unattractive dirty brown hue. No matter how often you sweep (constantly) or mop (weekly, at least), the floor never looks clean. If you’re a clean freak, this will drive you crazy as it did me.
This past summer, I decided it was time to get cleaning and reserved three days to clean and seal the kitchen floor. I bought a grout cleaner and brush, though you could just use a toothbrush, but I say spring for the real deal. My kitchen is fairly small and shaped like an L, which makes it easy to divide the space in two and give me some space to work and prepare food as the other side dries. Scheduling the task on a weekend when I knew that the kids would be out of the house helped. It took about three hours to get through the first half. Remember…you’re on your hands and knees scrubbing very small sections of tile so don’t try to cram the whole project into one day.
Once the grout is clean, the clock starts ticking. Everyday that goes by without the sealant opens the tile to small particles of dirt. I gave myself a two-day break before moving onto the next step.
Comparatively speaking, sealing the floor was a breeze. The best way to apply the sealant is to use a tool that’s similar to a paint brush but made out of spongy material. Its handle is larger than that of a grout brush and there’s no need to be as precise as when you’re cleaning the grout. Simply paint atop the lines to protect or seal the grout from falling layers of debris. All told, this took me less than two hours to complete.
The results? Pretty great. The kitchen floor looks brighter, cleaner. I won’t wait another seven years to reapply the sealant.
