How Long Does Epoxy Grout Take To Dry

How long does tile grout take to dry? The short respond is 24-72 hours of drying time. It'due south a large range because grout drying time depends on external factors like humidity and temperature and blazon of grout yous're using.

To assist you pin down the fourth dimension frame for your ain grout job a flake more than specifically, let's become into the total reply.

Humidity Levels

Humidity just refers to how much moisture is circulating in the air. That moisture level will bear on how rapidly tile dries, of course. High humidity means slower drying times and low humidity makes for quicker drying times.

This is obvious in the abstract, but it's sometimes difficult to discern how local humidity levels will affect the verbal drying fourth dimension of your particular tile job. In that location are some general guidelines that can help you gauge your dry time more than accurately, though.

Humid rooms like basements typically dry slower than more barren rooms like entryways. A tile flooring in a new bathroom that's never been used before will dry faster than the aforementioned tile flooring in a frequently and recently used bathroom that'south being renovated.

Lots of indoor plants in a pocket-sized place like a bathroom tin raise the indoor humidity of that room, likewise, so factor that into your expectations.

Indoor grout dries faster than outdoor grout, which tin have up to 7 days. You've undoubtedly guessed that drier climates make grout dry faster than damp areas, so if you're tiling in southwestern Ontario in July, you lot can expect to wait an extra long time. Even weather changes like sudden storms can have an touch on.

Common Types of Grout

close up of kitchen floor with red chair - process of drying grout

Every grout manufacturer will include drying times in the manufacturer's instructions on the packet. Here's a ballpark idea of how long common kinds of grout accept.

Cementitious Grout

Cement grout is a mixture of sand, cement and a water-retentive additive. That additive makes cement grout easier and more forgiving to work with (since it won't immediately harden on you), but it does accept longer to dry out—up to the full 72 hours. For a bathroom, it also requires a penetrating sealer to repel water, stains and mildew, which adds to your total renovation time.

There are a few different kinds of cementitious grout. In general, though, the following types of grout volition take similar dry times:

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Unsanded grout uses polymers instead of sand, so the particles are so fine they're non visible. This type of grout feels very smooth and is commonly used on wall tiles and as a shower grout. The Home Depot offers this pro tip: simply use it for grout joints between ane/six-inch to 1/viii-inch because it's decumbent to cracking.

Sanded grout contains larger particles of sand and has a sand-like texture that you tin encounter and feel. The texture runs from finely sanded grout to a coarser quarry-type grout. This is a general-purpose grout for wall and floor tiles and is skillful on areas with high foot traffic.

Information technology'south used for tiles with a grout line wider than 1/8 inch. The sand prevents weak joints in these larger spaces, but equally the Dwelling house Depot advises, tin can't be used in narrow seams considering the sand particles are too large to let for strong bonding.

Epoxy Grout

Epoxy grout is made of epoxy resin, too as a hardener. It has a loftier bonding strength. This kind of grout is less porous than cementitious grout, and so it's waterproof and resists stains. It's most commonly used on shower surrounds, countertops and backsplashes.

It has a fast drying time, coming in at 24 hours. Information technology also doesn't need a grout sealer, shortening up your reno time so you could, in theory, have your project done the side by side day.

Furan Grout

Furan resin grout is made with furfuryl alcohol polymers and, like epoxy grout, does not crave h2o. Information technology's highly resistant to chemicals and stains, simply because it's hard to apply, is a better pick for industrial settings. Average drying time is 24 hours.

Regardless of the type of grout you utilize, exist conservative in your estimates, especially if the grout is drying in a humid environment. For best results, treat the package's instructions equally the minimum amount of fourth dimension to let the grout dry. It'due south better to leave grout drying besides long than to cut the drying process short.

What's the Difference Between Dry out Time and Cure Fourth dimension?

Dry time is exactly what information technology sounds like—the time it takes for the grout to experience dry. Merely because it feels dry, however, doesn't mean it'southward properly cured, and that's really what y'all're going for.

Curing is a process in which materials similar epoxies and other polymers or cement alter on a molecular level and form adhesive bonds or accomplish structural strength. Lots of materials need to cure when you lot're doing a tile chore: whatsoever tile adhesive, quick-setting mortar or thinset mortar you apply likewise needs fourth dimension to cure before yous grout.

Every bit grout cures, a chemical reaction takes identify in which the cement present in cementitious grout bonds with water in a process called hydration. Hydration causes calcium silica hydrate crystals to grow, which twine effectually the sand (and each other) and grade the hard, durable substance that we need grout to be.

The chemistry actually starts fifty-fifty before you apply the grout. You lot've probably noticed that the instructions for dissimilar grout mixes will include giving the grout a 10-minute residual after y'all've mixed information technology. That rest is actually an important step chosen "slaking."

Each of the components of tile grout needs to exist wet, and since each component absorbs water at a different charge per unit, that pocket-size rest assures that all the ingredients accept soaked in the water they need. Then all the ingredients will attach together, with no air bubbles, and form stronger bonds.

Once practical, it takes some fourth dimension for the crystals to grow and ensure the grout bonds properly. Cutting that curing process short, and you run into structural issues.

Why Is It So Important for Fresh Grout to Dry Fully Before Sealing Information technology?

colourful loose tiles at market - how long does tile grout take to dry

To cure properly, grout needs the right amount of h2o and enough fourth dimension to dry slowly and evenly. This is why cementitious grout formulas generally include a water-retentive additive—it creates more ideal weather condition for grout past keeping the grout from drying too chop-chop.

Grout that dries besides quickly will exist soft and absorb water, ultimately leading to crumbling. So a long grout drying time is the best way for the material to mature so information technology can perform well.

It'due south equally important for the tile not to go soaked before information technology's fully cured, though. If you lot're installing natural rock tiles on a patio and it pours rain on your wet grout, for instance, that excess wet volition become a problem because a) the drops of water could create h2o impairment and b) it volition weaken the grout by calculation too much moisture.

Grout with also much water volition shrink as information technology dries because it will lose volume as the backlog water evaporates. In drying, the grout will peel away from the tiles, causing cracking and chipping.

That's why pros recommend using a damp sponge to remove backlog grout and grout haze from the tile surface as you're working—a soaking moisture sponge can add too much water to the mix.

(How) Tin can Yous Speed up the Drying Fourth dimension of Grout?

There'southward really no substitute for patience. Merely if you're trying to get the work done on a tight schedule, you can try to remove excess humidity from the expanse you lot're tiling and see if that helps. You tin run a dehumidifier, an air conditioner or an electric fan to assist go along humidity levels low every bit the grout dries.

Even a pocket-size fan might brand a difference in a very boiling area, but it's not going to shorten the minimum advertised drying time. Nor do you want it to, if y'all desire your grout to last. You lot've already invested your hard work and cash—yous might likewise take the extra fourth dimension to let the grout ready so your new tile project can look and perform its best.

Feature image: James McDonald; Paradigm i: cottonbro; Image 2: Task Savelsberg