River Falls, WI · East Twin Cities Metro Mon–Fri 8a–5p · Sat by appt Owner-operated · Veteran-friendly (715) 307-8302

Tile & Grout Sealing · Twin Cities Metro · Est. 2003

Seal the grout and it stops absorbing what gets mopped into it.

Tile holds up. Grout is cement, it is porous, and it sits lower than the tile, so every mop bucket in the building drains into it and dries there. That is why a restroom floor can be scrubbed on Friday and look gray again by Wednesday, and why the smell comes back with it. We clean the tile and the grout, then seal both under one coat of EPIC water-based urethane. The grout stops taking on water and soil, and daily cleaning becomes a damp mop.

Text Dave · (715) 307-8302 What We Do
1 Coat Over the tile and the grout together
3-5YR Between coats Manufacturer rating in normal traffic
4-5HRS To foot traffic Restrooms reopen the same shift
0.9 Matte traction Dry DCOF, higher with aggregate

What we install

Three scopes, depending on the condition of the grout.

The tile tells you very little from a photo and the grout tells you everything. How deep the lines are, how much soil is in them, and whether any of them have failed all change the work, so we look at the floor before quoting it.

Smallest scope

Spot Repair

One restroom, one entry, or the run in front of a serving line.

Tile floors do not wear evenly. The wear is in the doorway, along the front of the counter, and in the two stalls nearest the door. We mask the area, sand the existing finish to dull it, clean the tile and grout, and recoat that section. The rest of the floor is left alone.
  • Sanded, cleaned and recoated in place
  • Masked to the edge of the worn area
  • Usually a single visit
  • Grout lines checked for cracks while we are there

Most common

Clean & Seal

Deep clean the tile and grout, then seal the whole floor.

The main job. Whatever is on the tile comes off, the grout lines are worked individually rather than mopped over, and the floor is neutralized and pH tested before anything is sealed. One coat goes down over the tile and the grout together. Matte is what most restrooms and kitchens get, with traction additive where the floor takes water.
  • Grout lines cleaned individually, not mopped
  • Neutralized and pH tested before sealing
  • Matte or gloss, traction additive available
  • Foot traffic in 4 to 5 hours

Scheduled Recoat

The 3 to 5 year reapplication.

When the finish is ready, the floor is sanded and one coat goes back on. There is no stripping and no deep grout cleaning the second time, because the grout has been sealed since the first visit and never took the soil on. That makes the recoat a much smaller job than the original.
  • Sand and one coat, no stripping
  • Grout is already sealed, so it stays clean
  • Restrooms can be done one at a time
  • Much smaller than the first job

Why we seal the grout

Why the grout is the part that matters.

Ceramic and porcelain tile is close to non-porous and it is harder than anything that can be put on top of it. Grout is the opposite. It is cement, it is full of open pores, and it sits a fraction of an inch below the tile face, which is exactly where mop water goes and stays. Almost every complaint about a tile floor is actually a complaint about the grout.

What mopping does to grout

A mop lifts soil off the tile and puts it into the water. The water then runs to the low point on the floor, which is the grout line, and evaporates there. The soil does not evaporate. Repeat that twice a day for a few years and the grout is holding everything the building has walked in, plus the moisture that lets it smell. Scrubbing harder cleans the tile faster than it cleans the grout, which is why the floor looks better after a service and the odor comes back first.

Where large tile is a poor candidate

On a floor of large-format tile, roughly 12 inches and up, most of the surface is tile and very little of it is grout. The tile is already harder and less absorbent than any coating that goes over it, so there is not much for a sealer to improve. Smooth, dense tile with tight joints is the same story. If that is your floor, sealing it is not worth what it costs, and we will say that on the walk rather than quote it.

Restrooms, kitchens and entries

These are the rooms where sealed grout is worth the most, because they combine standing water, cleaning chemicals and small tile with a lot of grout in it. The manufacturer's published case study at CentraCare Plaza in St. Cloud covers tile and grout across a healthcare campus in matte with traction additive, in a building where surgical-suite sanitizers had been destroying the acrylic finish every few months. That is the manufacturer documenting its own product at a named customer, not a job of ours, but it is the right example of where this product is used.

The 6-step job

What the work looks like, step by step.

The same sequence whether it is a restroom, a commercial kitchen or a tiled entry.

  1. Look at the floor

    Tile size, joint width and depth, how much soil is in the lines, whether any grout has cracked or gone missing, and what has been used on the floor up to now. This is also where we tell you if your tile is a poor candidate, which large smooth tile often is.

  2. Clean the tile and the grout

    Cleaner dwells, then the floor is machine scrubbed and the grout lines are worked individually with a brush rather than passed over with a pad. Where there is old acrylic on the tile, that comes off first with stripper. Edges, corners and the base of every fixture get done by hand, because that is where the buildup is worst.

  3. Extract and neutralize

    The slurry comes up with a wet vacuum, then a citric acid scrub brings the surface back to neutral and we pH test to confirm it. Grout that is still alkaline will not let the coating bond, and grout is the part of the floor that holds the chemical longest.

  4. Check the conditions

    Air temperature, humidity, floor temperature and dew point are read and recorded before mixing. Above 70 percent relative humidity the job stops. Restrooms and kitchens hold moisture longer than the rest of a building, so this reading gets taken in the room, not in the hallway outside it.

  5. Seal it

    Two technicians, one spreading and one back-rolling immediately behind, so the coat wets into the grout lines evenly instead of bridging them. Traction additive goes in at this stage, which on a restroom or a kitchen floor it usually does.

  6. Hand it back

    The room stays closed until it is dry with the ready time posted on the door, and foot traffic goes back on in 4 to 5 hours on the fast formula. We go over cleaning with whoever maintains the building: damp mop with water or a neutral cleaner, and nothing that leaves a film behind.

Common Questions

Common questions about tile & grout sealing.

What does it cost compared to having the grout scrubbed?
Square footage matters less here than the grout does. A floor with narrow joints and light soil cleans up quickly; small tile with deep lines and years of buildup is most of the labor on the job. We walk the floor and give you a fixed written price before anything starts. The comparison worth making is against what you are spending on grout cleaning every year, because once the grout is sealed it stops taking the soil on in the first place.
Will the grout go back to its original color?
Grout that is gray from soil rather than stained usually comes back a long way once the lines are cleaned properly, and the coat that goes over the top wets the surface and brings the color up further. What sealing does not do is recolor grout. Grout that has been permanently stained, or that was patched at some point with a different batch, stays the color it is, and you will see that on the walk before you decide anything.
Is it slippery in a restroom or a kitchen?
The matte finish tests at 0.9 dry coefficient of friction and the gloss at 0.51. On any floor that takes standing water we mix a traction additive into the coating, which raises the slip rating and the abrasion resistance together. Restrooms, kitchens, entries and anywhere that takes snowmelt get it as a matter of course.
Does it hold up to disinfectants?
Better than acrylic does, which is the reason this product exists. Quaternary disinfectants used in clinical and food areas break acrylic finish down directly, which is why those rooms end up on the shortest recoat cycles in the building. EPIC is tested against bleach, hand sanitizer, food acids, vinegar and motor oil.
Does this work on large-format tile?
It goes on, but on tile of roughly 12 inches and up there is little to gain. Most of that floor is tile, the tile is already harder and less porous than the coating, and the grout that would benefit is a small share of the surface. Small tile with a lot of grout in it, and any floor where the grout is the problem, is where this is worth doing.
What happens to grout that is cracked or missing?
It gets repaired before anything is sealed. Coating over a failed grout line seals the problem in and the coat will let go along that line first. Loose tile is the same answer. If a floor needs enough repair that regrouting makes more sense than sealing, we will tell you that rather than quote around it.
Can it be done while the building is open?
The room being coated has to be closed and stay closed until it is dry, but nothing else in the building stops. Restrooms get done one at a time for that reason. The finish is low odor and low VOC, 46 g/L in gloss and 25 in matte, which is why this work goes into occupied clinics and restaurants overnight rather than waiting for a shutdown.
How is the floor cleaned afterward?
Damp mop with water or a neutral cleaner, and an auto-scrubber with a microfiber pad on the larger runs. What has to stop is anything that leaves a layer behind: no acrylic-enhancing cleaners, no grout sealers on top, and no products meant to be buffed. The grout no longer needs its own cleaning routine, which is usually the part that changes most for a custodial team.

Where we install

Tile & Grout Sealing across the Twin Cities metro and western Wisconsin.

We clean and seal commercial tile and grout across the Twin Cities metro and western Wisconsin, in clinics, schools, restaurants, offices and retail. Most of it runs after hours.

→ Get a quote for tile & grout sealing in your city

Get a quote

Start with one restroom.

Tell us the building and which floors are giving you trouble. We will walk them, tell you what condition the grout is actually in, and put a fixed written price in front of you. If your tile is a poor candidate for this, you will hear that on the walk.

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