unsanded tile grout for kitchen floor?

[Stephen Tashiro]

Is using unsanded grout in the new tile floor for a kitchen a bad idea?

I have to decide whether to use wide or narrow joints on a new ceramic tile floor for a kitchen. I'm told that narrow joints require unsanded grout. There is also this interesting youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDmiq76hwfk that claims unsanded grout is not good in shower floors - so I think unsanded grout might be a bad idea for the area around a kitchen sink.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Unsanded will be fine in the kitchen.
Just seal the grout well a couple times a year.

Shower floors are considered different because of the amount of water exposure.

Anyhow - the decision of sanded/unsanded is more about the width of the grout line.
1/8" and under can use unsanded.
Anything wider than 1/8, you should use sanded.

I used 3/16" grout lines in my shower surround and had a miserable time with shrinkage. I had to regrout something like 4 times before I got rid of all the little holes.

Opps _ I see I didn't really answer this:

unsanded grout is not good in shower floors - so I think unsanded grout might be a bad idea for the area around a kitchen sink.
I have no idea why anyone would not think unsanded grout isn't suitable for a constantly wet area?
I've seen it used a lot in pools... :confused:

[Chris Padilla]

Go reasearch a bit over at john bridge dot com. They are the tile experts. There are new products with grout that won't stain and won't shrink so you don't have to worry about sealing.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Unsanded will be fine in the kitchen.
Just seal the grout well a couple times a year.


I'd really like to avoid the periodic maintenance!

[Chris Padilla]

In a nutshell, epoxy and urethane based grouts offer much higher performance over the typical cementious based grouts.