Grout Renew, I Love You

Before we bought our condo, everything was re-done...new paint, ceramic tile floors, carpet, etc. Whoever did the entry/kitchen tile did not seal the grout. Ugh. It's what my dad calls "Mickey Mousing" AKA cutting corners. So, after a year and a half or so in our condo, the grout was icky. Observe:

Gross, right?! No amount of bleach or skin-dissolving grout cleaner would fix it. Sigh. I decided to roll up my sleeves and re-grout my kitchen floor. While looking online for tutorials, I found a link to a blog that recommended this magic stuffs:

(Insert chorus of angels singing)

I picked up this guy ($10.97) and a grout sponge ($1.97) at home depot, and grabbed a toothbrush from QFC ($1) to help apply it.

Here's what my floor looked like before (yucky):

So, I put on my paintin' clothes (read: Old Navy PJs and an SU t-shirt. Hot.) and got down to business. First you put a leetle dollop on the grout.

 Then use the toothbrush to work it into the grout and spread it out.

Then, take your sponge (or a washcloth...I actually thought the washcloth worked better and switched to it halfway through!) and wipe the paint off of the tile. Work in a circular motion and wipe gently, so you don't pull the paint out of the grout. I smudged up a decent amount of paint but the nice thing is, you can just glob a little more on and cover it up :)

Here's what the difference was:

(Insert more angels singing)

I was so excited. I did my entire floor this way in about two hours. WAY faster than grouting and sealing! This stuff has sealer built in. And it dries really fast. It's important to wipe paint off the tile as you go, but know that it will scrape off fairly easily if it dries a little :) Here's proof it dries really fast...this is about five minutes after application and there no paint rubbed off on him:

Oh hai, am I in your way? Yes, Watson...you are. 

With re-grouting, you have to wait like 24 hours until you can walk on it. I can't live without my kitchen for two hours so this was much better. Anywho, here's the after:

So white, right?! And yes, a box of wine has appeared since I started the project. Hey, it's tedious! :)

Here's the before and after side by side:

aaaaand a close up:

I only used about an ounce or two from the eight-ounce bottle so there is plenty left in the event I need to touch it up. Basically this product is incredible. Some people (cough - my dad) would say this is cheating. Well, this is what I have to say to those people:

And to close this blog, I leave you with another picture of my dog Watson, clearly unaware he's suuuuuper in my way...