Clear Sealing
Clear seal is your normal water based acrylic grout and stone protectant. What does sealant protect grout from, you say? How about water, dirt, oil, bacteria, urea, feces, and just about anything else, as long as it isn't a solvent and/or an acid. Solvents and acids will degrade the sealant, so you don't want to clean a sealed floor with one. (You wouldn't want to clean grout with an acid either, as it will dissolve the grout!)
When applying clear seal, we make sure to apply enough for full absorption into the grout. Excess is wiped off the tile, and then tested. If water can absorb into the grout, it needs more sealer. You want a bead of water to form on the grout as in the photo above. Not everyone goes to the trouble of making sure the grout is fully sealed. In fact, we have encountered many new constructions without sealed grout! Some contractors are taking short cuts these days, so beware. Sealing is just too important to skip over. It is key to maintaining a grouted surface whether it is a new construction or old. It is your shield against the onslaught of life. Here's an analogy of the importance of sealed grout. During the Revolutionary War, Charleston was of great importance to both the colonies and to England. Access to the Charleston harbor was critical for each side for purposes of troop and equipment movement. The colonists protected the harbor from the Brits using strategically placed forts. One such fort, Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, came under siege. The South Carolinian colonists had hastily felled palmetto palm trees to buttress the embankments of the fort. These logs were felled upstream the Cooper River, and floated down en route to Fort Moultrie. During the trip downstream, the palmetto trees became water logged, and this resulted in a spongy, recoil-like nature. The British cannonballs were ricocheted off the palmetto logs instead of splintering and busting through them, saving Fort Moultrie, and in turn, the harbor and Charleston herself. In honoring the the palmetto tree, South Carolina has featured it on the state flag and has been nicknamed "the palmetto state." This is the kind of barrier to daily bombardment that sealing does for your grout! |
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