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Q. My shower stall tile grout has some minimal little chips and gaps here and there. Nothing big, but I don’t want moisture getting behind the tiles and making it worse. Do I have to take all the grout out and redo the whole thing or can I just do something to repair the little gaps/chips? If the latter, what do I do? - TheEileen

A. The good news is that you do not need to take it all out. The bad news is that you do need to take some out. But that isn’t really all that hard to do.

Depending on the type of tile and the size of the grout lines, here are the best alternatives:

For standard 4-1/4” tile with a narrow grout line, you can buy a special tool for scraping out the grout. I have one that I bought long ago, and it still works fine for relatively soft non-sanded grout on this type of tile. Just be careful, as some tile is actually quite soft, and can be chipped or scratched if you get too aggressive.

For grout lines of more than 1/8” in width, the grout should be sanded and will be harder to remove. You may need to buy, rent or borrow a small grinder or Dremel type tool. With this you can carefully grind away some of the grout in the areas needing work.

The main thing you are trying to accomplish is scraping away any soap residue that is always present in a shower, even one that is kept clean. Once you have removed enough grout to be sure that you can add more and easily work it in to the gap, just mix a small amount of the same grout used originally and press it in. Allow it to set up and wipe away the excess. Allow that to harden and buff the tile clean. Give that a day to cure and then apply a tile sealer if you like.

 
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