How Long Does Grout Take To Dry – The Ultimate Answer

When it comes to building, there are numerous materials you have to be careful when using, especially if you are a beginner. Grout is one of them.

Grout helps fill in the blanks in the surfaces, such as between two bricks, to keep them connected.

Therefore, it is vital to ensure the perfect grout application, which means grout has to be dry. But how long does grout take to dry? Most of you might not know the answer, so let our article give you a helping hand. 

How Long Does Grout Take To Dry?

Waiting for grout to dry up is of importance. Or else you will damage your home or building.

How long does it take grout to dry? On average, it takes from 24 to 72 hours for the grout to dry due to many factors. Keep reading to know what can make grout dry faster. 

Factors Affect The Drying Time Of Grout

What kinds of grout you use, the humidity of the environment, or where the grout is placed can lengthen or shorten the waiting time. 

Grout Types

Quarry, Non-sand, epoxy, and finely sanded are four basic types of grout. Moreover, there are many mixed grouts, and each of them has a different time to dry.

But specifically, how long does grout take to dry? Epoxy grouts need around 24 hours, while others might require up to 72 hours to dry.

To know the exact time you have to wait, you should read the packaging instruction.

Our tip to make sure the grout structure is perfect is to wait for half an hour more because many external impacts can also affect the dryness.

Humidity

Grout placed in very humid conditions will need a longer time to dry and vice versa. That is why grout dries slower than usual on a rainy day. In contrast, an air-conditioned room can shorten gout’s drying time.

Indoor Or Outdoor

If grout is placed outside the house, it will take a more extended period to dry, especially in humid weather. Rain, snow, or cold temperature also make the drying time longer than usual.

Sealing The Grout

Besides the question of “how long does grout take to dry?”, how to seal the grout is an equally important issue.

Generally, after the grout is dry, you can start sealing it. However, it would be best if you also waited for the seal to dry too.

To seal the grout, you can use a brush to spread the seal. It takes a few hours to a few days for the seal to dry. Our tip to know whether the sealer is dry or not is to spray a few water drops on the surface. If the grout absorbs water, it is still wet, and you need to apply the sealer again and wait for it to dry correctly. 

What Happens If Grout Does Not Dry Up?

Why knowing “How long does grout take to dry” is essential? Because if grout is not adequately dried, these problems will happen.

Crumble And Cracked Gout

Grout is cracked or crumbled is a common mistake of many users. It is because before the grout dried up, you let water touch the surface. Therefore, it is crucial to keep the newly applied grout away from moisture. 

Uneven Color

When the gout has not dried yet, you may see uneven color areas in the grouted surface, especially in white or light color material. Thus, it makes your structure look worse and negatively impacts on the grout strength.

Mildew

Mildew or mold will appear and grow if you do not let the gout dry properly. It is because undried gout has a cavernous structure so that it is easier for water to penetrate.

Moreover, through cracks and breaks resulting from improperly dried gout, moisture will go inside the gout structure to create mildew.

Tips To Make Grout Dry Faster

Because drying time depends mostly on the type of grout you use, there is nothing much you can do to cut down on your waiting time significantly. However, you can shorten it a little bit or prevent slower drying speed.

Turning the air-conditioner or dehumidifier on to reduce moisture inside the room is how you help grout dry faster. If grout is outside the house, you should cover it to prevent rain, snow, or humidity from affecting it. 

In A Nutshell

Now we bet you have grasped the answer to the question: “How long does grout take to dry?”. It is not a simple question that many of us know. However, we hope that our article has given you the answer you need.

That is our experience with grout. If you know any tips or interesting information about using grout, let’s leave a comment to share with us.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *