So what is efflorescense? What causes it? Efflorescense is the salts and minerals in cementatious materials like grout, thinset & concrete. All grouts, thinsets and concrete have it present. The problem is when the efflorescense comes to the surface. Water is the culpret here. Water/moisture brings the efflorescense to the surface. Water can come from below or above the surface.
Darker grouts that are left unsealed tend to start looking lighter or caulky looking after frequent mopping. Efflorescense is a good reason to seal your flooring. Acid washing will remove the efflorescense. However, since the efflorescense is throughtout the grout or the substrate. and we use water to rinse the acid off, it’s usually not very effective. The best solution is to color seal the grout. The color seal bonds with the efflorescense and grout leaving it uniform in color and natural looking.
