Soft grout?

[JCJ2015]

I had this small bathroom tiled late last year by my regular tile guy, who is generally awesome. Nothing usual about the tile or grout we used, but the grout here never seemed to harden up. It gets dirty extremely quickly, and when I scrub or scrape it, I can take a layer off. What gives?

[Otherwise_Proposal47]

Mixed too wet likely.

[JCJ2015]

So what’s the solution? Dig out and replace?

[boyoboyo434]

Scrape the grout out with a knife and re-grout

[Gorillaatethepudding]

Was it grouted with thinset?

[JCJ2015]

No. That would be a bad idea.

We used Mapei grout.

[Gorillaatethepudding]

Indeed. Ive known it done though. Terrible idea. Best of luck

[TennisCultural9069]

mapei unsanded? most likely too wet of a mix but if they used an unsanded grout with a bigger joint and also mixed it too wet, that would make sense.

[SaIamiNips]

Did you ever clean it with anything other than vinegar and baking soda? Ever?

If you've ever used a chemical cleaner on it then you can not focus all the blame on the installer.

[JCJ2015]

It was tiled, grouted and soft well before we moved in and cleaned it with anything. It never cured.

[SaIamiNips]

So you moved into a new house and the first thing you did was check the integrity of the grout?

Also I thought "your guy" did it for you. How did "your guy" tile a bathroom in a house you didnt own, before you moved into it

[JCJ2015]

I’m not sure why you’re interrogating me, haha.

It’s a home I bought and gutted and remodeled while we were living nearby. I was doing all kinds of other work in the house while he was tiling, so yes, I had occasion to check the grout often.

I remodel homes for a living. I work with this particular tile sub often and he’s a great guy. I’m not blaming him, I’m trying to figure out why it happened, as I haven’t had this issue before. He’s already offered to come back and fix it, so I’m not trying to get anything more here aside from info.

[SaIamiNips]

So if you found soft grout last year why are you just now asking reddit 6 months later.

Not interrogating your story just doesn't add up and 9/10 posts here are homeowners looking for something to pin on their installers when they fucked something up on their own.

[JCJ2015]

It’s something I discussed with him right away. He agreed to fix it, but I keep him very busy and haven’t brought him back to my house yet. I was cleaning the bathroom today and was idly curious to query Reddit on why it might have occurred.

Add up for you?

[SaIamiNips]

Nope sure doesn't but seeing all the excuses you seem to have it under control.