What is Performance Grout?
Traditional Grout- Grout has been made from sand and concrete for hundreds of years. Sand is effectively miniature rocks and cement glues it all together. Add some color and you have grout.
With about 15% porosity. Porosity means holes that water can enter. The grout in your home is similar to the sand at the beach which absorbs some ocean water and the rest rolls back out to the sea.
Yes, your grout is designed to absorb water, even the grout in the shower. It doesnt make much sense? Showers have a water proof memebrane below the grout. The grout is DESIGNED to let the water in and out. And you can witness this after every shower in a tile bathroom as the grout lines slowly dry out and release the water.
Shower Versus Kitchen
The problem with using shower grout in the normal floors is that the grout is designed to absorb and release water. And water isnt the ONLY thing getting absorbed. Oils, fats grease, dirt, dog urine and feces also get absorbed into the grout. That makes for a bacterial nightmare in your floors. And that is why your friends tile floors look disgusting in the grout lines.
And you may ask why is this porous grout being used in both my shower and my living room?
And the reason is because its cheap. Its also easy to use the same products in multiple places to keep the cost down for subcontractors.
Big Box Stores
Using the same porous grout is good for builders but not for homeowners. Specialty grout companies began to create grout that is water and dirt resistant grout. You can find it at all the big box stores like Floor & Decor and Home Depot. Their version of performance grout is about 3-5% porous.
We use and install these and they provide a good result for areas which do not get wet.
Epoxy Grout
Epoxy Grout is what is used in commercial kitchens and commercial buildings. It is near 100% non porous, and completely blocks stain. However it has some problems, yellowing. Many epoxy grouts yellow over time, especially the light colors. They are also brittle and hard to install. Making them a less than ideal choice for many people.
Polyaspartic Grout
Have you seen those garage floor coating that have become so popular? People refer to them as epoxy coated garage floors. However the high end versions do not use pure epoxy. They use a more expensive and non yellowing material on the top, polyaspartic acid.
Polyaspartic acid is the expensive top coat used on epoxy floors and it is also used in Asia and Europe for Grout. It provides 100% lack of water penetration without the yellowing problems of epoxy.
A Changing Industry
The Building industry is changing and this polyaspartic grout is being used in Asia and Europe. This is very similiar to the use of suedes fabrics for furniture. People like suede and microdenier fabrics because they provide stain and rip resistance.
My family was heavily involved with the early stages of suede fabric importing and quality control of imports. I personally used to sell containers full of suede to furniture manufacturers in North Carolina.
Polyaspartic Grout is a cutting edge building product that will soon be taking over the market and we are excited to offer this to you as an upgraded grout solution. If you have a demanding application where you want to 100% stain resistance, than this is the best product on the market. And with 75 colors available, Im certain we can find a color that works for your application.
We also can create custom colors for commercial or large applications.
