Mike Roth asked about a sealant to help prevent staining of grout lines in
tile floors.  My husband and I just finished putting down ceramic tile in
our living room, where the fuzzies hang out.  We love it!  More details on
that later.
 
First, sealant.  We used something called "Tile and Stone Penetrating
Sealer" made by a company called "Miracle Sealants-Abrasives Company."
Their phone number is 1-626-814-8988.  We got the stuff at Lowe's, who
had a better selection of grout stuff than our Home Depot, although HD
certainly had some good sealants as well.  When you're looking at these
products, read the bottles closely and they will usually mention how long
the product should last before needing to be re-applied.  The stuff we used
is guaranteed for five years.  Some of the ones we looked at were as little
as six months!  Yikes.
 
Be sure to read the labels to see how noxious the stuff is to apply.  Some
of them really should be applied while you wear a "real" respirator with a
carbon filter (not one of those paper masks).  The stuff we used didn't
require that (although I'm sure it wouldn't hurt) but we had to run some
fans in the room to create a breeze and incoming fresh air.  Grout is
really porous, and you will usually need at least two coatings, with time
in between for them to dry.  Fuzzies are close to the ground, so be sure
to follow the directions for how long to stay away from the stuff.  It will
look dry before it's really done giving off vapors.  Of course, if your
builder is taking care of the application, just ignore me.  >:-)
 
Also, when applying, it's nearly impossible to keep it off of the sides of
the tile, even if you use a small paint brush (this depends on the width
of your grout lines).  Because the tile is probably already sealed, the
sealant will not really absorb into it very well, and it will dry on the
surface of the tile.  Aaagh.  Again, because the ferrets will be walking
on it in their bare feet, it's a good idea to give the whole finished
installation a good sponging off just before you move your stuff into the
room in order to help get the unabsorbed, but dry and invisible, sealant
off of the edges of the tile.  You probably know whether or not the tile is
impervious or resistant to absorbing liquids, but just in case, put a bit
of water on it and see whether or not it is absorbed over a few hours.  If
it's not sealed, you'll want to seal it before you turn the ferrets loose
on it - I think the only way to get ferret pee out of unsealed tile would
be to replace it.  You can test your grout sealer in the same way.
 
We've been happy with this sealer, but we've only had the room done for a
couple of months.  When accidents fall on grout lines, you of course want
to clean them as soon as you notice them.  I keep a spray bottle with a
water-and-vinegar mix and some paper towels in the room.  I've cleaned up
pee and poop that was left overnight and it's come totally clean - and our
grout is dang-near totally white in color.
 
A bit on our tiling project in general: We removed old carpet and put down
our tile.  I had done everything I knew of to clean that carpet, but it
still harbored odors from ferret accidents and cat accidents (from before
we moved in).  The ferrets had an approximately 85%hit ratio - some ferrets
were better, one was worse.  Their hit rate always became much worse after
cleaning the carpets, I assume because the scents got all re-arranged.
With the tile, they've got a 99.9% ratio, and I can clean those very few
accidents *SO* much more thoroughly than I ever could with carpet.  It's
really nice to be able to be sure you're "getting it all." >:)  I attribute
the new, improved hit ratio to the fact that it is easy to get the tile
really clean.
 
Something to watch out for is that the tile is much harder than carpet.
Duh.  But if your fuzzies are used to carpet, you might want to put
blankies or small rugs under and around furniture they routinely jump off
of.  I think they could have a hard landing and perhaps chip their canine
teeth if they're not expecting that hard surface.
 
Wow, I didn't mean to rattle on that much!  Enjoy your new home, congrats!
 
-Pam Sessoms
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[Posted in FML issue 2543]