Think Twice Before Using Paint To Refresh Your Dirty Grout

Dirty grout not only ages your shower or bathtub, but it also makes for an uncomfortable shower experience. Rather than feeling like you're at a spa, you instead feel like you're trapped in a grimy motel. That's why some folks might look for DIY solutions to refresh their grout lines, but we're here to tell you using paint is not the way to go. It might seem like a common sense solution at first. All you want to do is refresh the color, and what better way to do so than by using a small paint sample from The Home Depot? As long as you carefully fill in the lines with a thin paintbrush, it will look like you paid a handyman to refresh and reseal your grout, right?

While it might look attractive for the first couple of months, it's nothing but a temporary fix. The paint will begin to deteriorate, leaving you with a worse mess than you started with. While it's tempting to take such a convenient shortcut, here is why it won't deliver the results you are hoping for.

Several things can go wrong when painting grout. First, it takes a very steady hand to paint the lines, or else it will stain the surrounding tile. Since this is likely your first time painting grout, chances are the lines will come out shaky, making the job look amateurish. Secondly, grout is a porous, sandy material that isn't formulated to be painted. If it is discolored, the sealant most likely wore off, and the sandy texture is exposed. This means the layer you paint will eventually flake and wear off — whether due to the pounding water from the showerhead or because of cleaning products and scrub brushes — revealing the fresh grout underneath. The result will be flaky paint, where some grout lines are filled and others are sanded off, creating a hodge-podge mess. 

A better DIY alternative is to use a grout pen, which stains the sandy surface rather than paints it. However, while that will last longer, it will also begin to wear off over time, making it another temporary fix. Your best bet is to resurface the grout instead. This means you will remove and replace the grout. To do so, scrape off the top layer; add a new, clean layer of grout on top; and seal it to prevent further staining or damage.